Certified Pharmacy Technician Salary

With the development and diversification of pharmaceutical sector in the recent years, the scope and extent of pharmacy technician jobs has increased to a considerable extent. Consequently, pharmaceutical jobs have become more competitive in terms of salaries and selection criteria. The wages of a certified pharmacy technician is generally paid on hourly basis as the professional set up of pharmacy technicians work is such that they have to work in day and night shifts. Nevertheless, career opportunities in the field of pharmacy technicians has shot up in the last few years and this has led to better salaries.

Salary Range
Salaries, in any profession are dependent on various factors like work experience, educational degrees, job responsibilities and work location of the employees. The pharmacy technicians earn a salary of near about US$ 10 to US$ 18 per hour. Pharmacy technicians who are licensed technicians have better opportunities to earn more hefty salaries. This makes the need of having certificates and educational degrees absolutely important. These certifications prove that the pharmacy technicians are capable of handling various types of jobs associated with the work of pharmacy technicians.

Pharmacy technicians having these certificates have to go for certification after every two years. The pharmacy technicians have various sources of incomes and this also affects the average salary. Pharmacy colleges, on-the-job training stores, chemist shops and various other professional set ups are the place where the pharmacy technicians can find employment. Previous experience also plays a pivotal role in increasing the salary. The general set up in which pharmacy technicians are employed is, general and medical stores, grocery stores, pharmacies and drug stores, hospitals and retails. The salary for people who have been newly employed is between US$ 25,000 to US$ 35,000.

The average salary for technicians having work experience of more than a year and less than four years is US$ 42,000. With further work experience and advancement in the skills, the salary can cross US$ 50,000. Work location is also a significant parameter that affects the earning potential of the pharmacy technicians. For example, pharmacy technicians residing in Washington earn about US$ 30,000 to US$ 45,000 while those in cities like Alabama average around US$ 25,000.

In the health and personal care centers, shops or stores, the salary range is near about US$ 28,000. In the general medical and surgical hospitals, the salary range is between US$ 32,000. In simple merchandise and general stores, the salary is US$ 25,000. The top paying professionals are those who work in industries like federal executive branches where the earning potential is US$ 40,000. Further, in scientific and development services, the earning potential is roughly US$ 38,000. Pharmacy technicians working in various pharmaceutical companies earn salaries of US$ 36,000. The salary range for highest earning pharmacy technicians is up to US$ 45,000.

As we can see, the pays scale has increased in the recent years and it holds promises for better growth as work experience increases. The education programs for pharmacy technicians lasts anywhere from six months to two years. These courses are generally a part of various pharmacy schools and they cover extensive programs like pharmacy laws, calculations, record keeping and other necessary skills for getting trained as a pharmacy technician. The type of organization in which one pharmacy technician work with has a great impact on the pharmacy technician salary.