Pharmacy Tech Salary Information – Income Data and Projected Demand

Pharmacy Tech salary has remained strong compared to many industry salaries over the past few years. Although the world has been through a few years of difficult economic times, the demand and pay for Pharmacy Technicians has remained high. In fact, both demand and pay for techs is projected to increase for the next few years as the baby boomer generation ages and becomes more likely to use medicines and prescriptions.

Typically, employers will pay more to certified pharmacy technicians and jobs in hospital settings may pay more than those in retail pharmacies. Being a certified pharmacy technician will at the very least open more opportunities as employers also prefer to hire certified techs over those that are not certified.

According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the highest paying industries for pharmacy technicians are the Federal Executive Branch, scientific research and development services, insurance carriers, and specialty hospitals. The pay in these industries ranges from a high of about $39,000 to a low of about $35,000.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor also lists the top paying cities for pharmacy techs as San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara, all in California. They list the annual mean wage as being from $43,000 to $40,000.

You can get a free salary report for pharmacy technicians in a specific city at payscale.com

There are additional options for increasing your income if you are a technician. You can consider continuing your education and becoming a pharmacist. Many pharmacy techs choose to follow this path and with some additional education you can move up to become a pharmacist. Salaries for pharmacists can range from $80,000 to over $100,000.

There are many options for online training and education for pharmacy technicians. Whether you are interested in becoming a pharmacy tech, or are a tech and are interested in advancing to a pharmacist, many schools and programs offer online training.


TOP