Pharmacy Technicians
Prepare medications under the direction of a pharmacist. May measure, mix, count out, label, and record amounts and dosages of medications according to prescription orders.
Also Known As:
Accredited Pharmacy Technician
Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT)
Chemotherapy Pharmacy Technician (Chemo Pharmacy Technician)
Compounding Technician
OR Pharmacy Tech (Operating Room Pharmacy Tech)
RPhT (Registered Pharmacy Technician)
Wages
Annual wages for Pharmacy Technicians in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
521,800
6% Change From 2024
Explore Pharmacy Technicians video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Compute charges for medication or equipment dispensed to hospital patients and enter data in computer.
- Clean and help maintain equipment or work areas and sterilize glassware, according to prescribed methods.
- Price stock and mark items for sale.
- Receive written prescription or refill requests and verify that information is complete and accurate.
- Receive written prescription or refill requests and verify that information is complete and accurate.
- Supply and monitor robotic machines that dispense medicine into containers and label the containers.
- Compute charges for medication or equipment dispensed to hospital patients and enter data in computer.
- Deliver medications or pharmaceutical supplies to patients, nursing stations, or surgery.
- Enter prescription information into computer databases.
- Establish or maintain patient profiles, including lists of medications taken by individual patients.
- Deliver medications or pharmaceutical supplies to patients, nursing stations, or surgery.
- Enter prescription information into computer databases.
- Maintain proper storage and security conditions for drugs.
- Assist customers by answering simple questions, locating items, or referring them to the pharmacist for medication information.
- Mix pharmaceutical preparations, according to written prescriptions.
- Order, label, and count stock of medications, chemicals, or supplies and enter inventory data into computer.
- Restock intravenous (IV) supplies and add measured drugs or nutrients to IV solutions under sterile conditions to prepare IV packs for various uses, such as chemotherapy medication.
- Maintain and merchandise home healthcare products or services.
- Price and file prescriptions that have been filled.
- Answer telephones, responding to questions or requests.
- Clean and help maintain equipment or work areas and sterilize glassware, according to prescribed methods.
- Clean and help maintain equipment or work areas and sterilize glassware, according to prescribed methods.
- Supply and monitor robotic machines that dispense medicine into containers and label the containers.
- Assist customers by answering simple questions, locating items, or referring them to the pharmacist for medication information.
- Operate cash registers to accept payment from customers.
- Order, label, and count stock of medications, chemicals, or supplies and enter inventory data into computer.
- Prepare and process medical insurance claim forms and records.
- Transfer medication from vials to the appropriate number of sterile, disposable syringes, using aseptic techniques.
- Restock intravenous (IV) supplies and add measured drugs or nutrients to IV solutions under sterile conditions to prepare IV packs for various uses, such as chemotherapy medication.
- Receive and store incoming supplies, verify quantities against invoices, check for outdated medications in current inventory, and inform supervisors of stock needs and shortages.
- Operate cash registers to accept payment from customers.
- Prepack bulk medicines, fill bottles with prescribed medications, and type and affix labels.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")