This Question Is From: Pharmacy Technician Schools in California and has 5 Answers
I’m 35 and have a BA in Psychology but never entered into that field. I live in Southern California. I’ve spent my working life in office jobs and just got laid off from a very stressful job in the mortgage industry. I’m looking to make a change and I qualify for a federal program where they will pay for training in a field that is “in demand.” The only one in the program that appealed to me was the Pharmacy Tech program. I expect to take a major pay cut at first but does anyone know how much I can make after a few years of experience and my certificate? I don’t plan on going to med school to be a Pharmacist just so that’s clear.
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Starting Salary
Median starting salary for pharmacy technicians as of 2009 is about $9 hourly, with an increase to about $12 after 5 years experience.
General Range
As of 2008, most pharmacy technicians were making between $8.50 and $18 an hour. To narrow it further, the middle 50 percent had an hourly wage between $10 and $15.
Higher Pay Locations
Pay for pharmacy technicians is typically higher in large hospitals (at about $14 per hour on average) and in large metropolitan areas.
you don’t need any sort of certificate…it’s all about knowing people in the pharmacy to get hired as a technician. All the technicians I know get hired because they know someone in the pharmacy and when the pharmacy needs someone they will hire technicians.
Par rate in michigan probably starts at 8 dollars an hour for a technician and if you are good and step up to a lead technician can go up to 14 dollars an hour.
P.T. make about $30,000 a year
Honestly, this is not the job for you if you are looking for a big paycheck or if you need to support a family.
Most pharm techs only stay in the field for an average of 5 years, just because the pay is so sucky, and there is an obvious lack of advancement opportunities.
You CAN make good money, but you need to have a ton of experience. If you can slog through 3+ years of crappy retail work and lousy pay, then you can make big bucks working in a hospital. The thing is, most people can’t or won’t stay in retail for 3 years. It’s way too depressing.
I did a quick look at usajobs and 2 positions in Los Angeles paying 27.2K and 34.1K and 1 job in Palo Alto paying 42.3K per year at the VA hospital. I don’t know how that sounds to you, or if that’s close to you.
I started at my last job at 12.35 in South Carolina and was at $14 when I quit to finish my BA in History. Historian jobs are hard to come by so I may end up back in the pharmacy at a hospital.
I agree with the other person that said retail sucks, I did it for one month and had enough, worked in a hospital for 2 years.
It’s not really true that people don’t stay as a Pharmacy Tech for long, I see quite a few 50+ year old techs. I don’t understand that.