Any Pharmacy Technicians Out There?

[tabbysia]

I am considering enrolling in a pharmacy tech program at my local community college. It consists of six classes and then I can take a test to become certified. It takes about 40 weeks. My other option was medical billing and coding, but through my research online, it seems that there are more pharmacy tech jobs available out there than billing and coding. In Texas, I technically don't have to go through formal training. Most jobs just require a high school diploma it seems, but I would feel more comfortable having the training before I land a job.

I know a pharmacy tech job will not make me rich, but it would pay more than I am making now. I just need to make enough to get my own place and support myself and my two cats.

Has anyone here been a pharmacy tech? Did you love it or hate it? What are some pros and cons? Was it easy to find a job? Is it stressful? What are some of the best and worst places to work? Is there room for advancement and higher pay down the line? What was your starting salary? Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[tangers40]

No longer a tech, but I am now a pharmacist!

I actually started as a tech years ago. Kinda fell into the job by accident and found out I really loved working in a pharmacy. So much so that I quit my tech job to go back to pharmacy school.

Stress and pay rate obviously vary by where you work, both in the company you choose and the region of the country you live in. Hospital tech jobs pay more than retail jobs, but if you enjoy patient interaction, you won't get it in the hospital. As for advancement, there isn't much, aside from becoming a lead/head tech or similar. The lack of advancement is part of what pushed me into going back to school, as I realized I could not support myself in the lifestyle I wanted on a tech's salary. But I was in school with several others that started as techs as well, so there is advancement to be had if you choose pharmacy school.

If you have any more questions, please ask! The world of pharmacy has changed quite a bit, even in the 8 or 9 years since I have been a tech, but a lot is still the same too, so please ask if there's anything else you want to know.

 

[tabbysia]

Thanks for your response! Since I didn't have any other responses, maybe it is not such a popular job? I applied to and was accepted into the pharmacy tech program and will start classes in August. Fortunately, the classes are at night, so I will still be able to work during the day. I was a little encouraged when I went to the orientation session and saw a lot of "old folks" like me. I was a little afraid that I would be the only forty-something person there among a room full of kids. I guess I am not the only person starting over later in life. I think I would like to work in a hospital pharmacy or better yet, a mail order pharmacy. I don't think I would enjoy a retail situation, with having to deal with (sometimes unpleasant) customers all day. If I did do retail, I have heard that Costco is consistently rated as one of the best places to work, although I'm not sure why. I would love to hear your thoughts on being a pharmacy tech. I know there have to be some more of you out there!

 

[denice]

I was 55 when I started and 56 when I finished a Medical Billing and Coding course. I managed to find a job at 56 so you are far from being too old to go to school and then find a job.

 

[tabbysia]

I was 55 when I started and 56 when I finished a Medical Billing and Coding course. I managed to find a job at 56 so you are far from being too old to go to school and then find a job.

Thanks, I just feel a little old sometimes! Medical billing and coding was really my first choice, but the jobs don't seem to be as plentiful as pharmacy tech jobs, and the jobs that are available all seem to require previous experience.

 

[tangers40]

Thanks, I just feel a little old sometimes! Medical billing and coding was really my first choice, but the jobs don't seem to be as plentiful as pharmacy tech jobs, and the jobs that are available all seem to require previous experience.

I had that "old person" feeling when I went back to pharmacy school too. Most (but not all, fortunately) of my classmates were young, who came to pharm school right out of high school, essentially. I was....a long time out of high school, haha! But that's one of the fun things about pharmacy is that there is always a large range of ages in employees. You have the middle-aged folks that have been a tech for 30 or 40 years, and you have the young kids who are working their first 'real' job, and then you have everybody in between.

 

[denice]

Thanks, I just feel a little old sometimes! Medical billing and coding was really my first choice, but the jobs don't seem to be as plentiful as pharmacy tech jobs, and the jobs that are available all seem to require previous experience.

It's the same here now as well. Medical Billing and Coding was one of those jobs that got a lot of publicity as a job for displaced workers. I think enough people trained for it to fill the entry level jobs.

I was on jury duty recently with a pharmacy tech, she worked at one of the hospitals in Columbus. Of course I don't know how much she made but she was renting in an area that is solidly middle class and some areas are upper middle class. She wasn't married and didn't have a roommate so I think she was making decent money. She did work a night shift. She had recently moved to Columbus and I think that often someone new has to start on nights.

 

[Kal_shadowsmom]

I just saw this thread and thought I would add my own experience.

I was a pharmacy tech for 4 years, back in the early 2000's. I started working at a CVS about a year out of high school. I enjoyed the job a lot and worked with a really great bunch of people.

How I left that field is kind of weird. I was on vacation from work, and I was set to take my state certification (at the time in Ohio you didn't have to be certified but then they changed it to where you had to be). So the day before I was supposed to sit my exam, my stupid butt decides it's a good idea to climb two stories up a ladder to scrape some paint off of my house in preparation for painting.
It didn't end well. I ended up over stretching, slipping, falling and landing on my feet, causing one foot to break. An ER visit later and I wasn't able to sit my exam the next day.

I did a lot of thinking after that (having been laid up for 6 months). I decided that there was a reason things went down the way they did. I transitioned over to retail management after working my way up through a company.

If I could go back to pharmacy, would I? Absolutely

There is room for growth, and you can do your classes in a classroom, but the real learning comes from doing. Being in the pharmacy and handling situations.

I really liked the structure of the job. Everything has a process, and the tiniest detail mattered.

I ended up doing more than pharmacy tech. I also handled the astronomically huge amount of records that you had to hold in house for 7-10 years.

And I also was solely responsible for ordering the medications for the pharmacy stock.

I took a lot away when I ended it with the pharmacy. A lot has changed in the industry, but given the chance to go back, I would. But I would also be gunning to become a pharmacist. That's where the real money is at.

 

[tangers40]

But I would also be gunning to become a pharmacist. That's where the real money is at.

Alas, unfortunately the pharmacist world has become oversaturated. I know lots of new grads are having a hard time finding a job now. When I left my tech job to go back to pharmacy school, there were more jobs available than there were warm bodies to fill them. When I was a tech, companies were offering huge signing bonuses for new grads. Now, lots of grads can't even find a job at all. I don't really like the job I am at (floater pharmacist and routinely used & abused), but there are literally no other pharmacist jobs in the area I live. If a job happens to open up, 50-100 people apply for it. It's insane.

 

[catlover73]

I am not a pharmacy tech but I do work in a drug store. Here are some websites about the pharmacy world that I enjoy reading on Facebook if your are a member.

Excuse me! This is a PHARMACY not a fast food restaurant!
Pharmacy Follies

 

[tabbysia]

Well, I guess I am doing this thing. I stopped thinking about it and have officially registered and paid for classes and will start in August. I am really hoping I like it because I am kind of out of options!