Pharmacy Technician Career Outlook

The outlook for pharmacy technicians now and in the future is very good. More and more doctors are prescribing prescription medication to their patients than they ever have before. This means more visits to retail pharmacies to get their daily prescriptions filled. Hospital visits are increasing as people live longer and in turn have more illnesses that need to be treated with medications that are prepared by the pharmacist. Patients are not only on more medications as they live longer but they are also on the medications for a longer time. More insurance company prescription plans want their customers to use mail-order pharmacies to get their prescriptions filled. These types of pharmacies of course are also hiring new and experienced pharmacy technicians.

Job Description

The job that you decide upon as a new pharmacy technician will determine what kind of responsibilities you will have at work. If you choose to work in a retail pharmacy, you might ring up customer's orders, print receipts, stock medications, and assist the pharmacists. In a hospital pharmacy you might work under more stressful conditions. You might need to retrieve orders for medications, verify doses, deliver medications to patients or nursing units, as well as compile medicine administration records. You might also have other tasks to do that will be delegated to you by the pharmacist.

Where to Look for High-Paying Jobs

Government jobs and those available in hospitals probably offer the best benefits as well as the most money per hour for pharmacy technicians. You should look for jobs in bigger cities in order to make a slightly higher salary. There are many jobs available in smaller towns as well, but they might not pay quite as well. Don't forget that after several years of experience your salary can dramatically increase no matter what type of job you decide on.

Maximizing Your Salary

In order to maximize your salary, you should try to get as much training and experience as possible. You should consider becoming certified if you have not already and you should also think about working in a location where you can learn as much as you can about your job. This will make you more marketable as you look for other jobs in the future. Experience will lead to more money as well.

The Future of Pharmacy Technicians

Pharmacy technicians will be needed now and in the future to assist pharmacists in a number of settings. There will be an increased need for pharmacy technicians as new retail pharmacies are built and as hospitals admit new patients to the hospital. Compounding pharmacies are also available and this is a relatively new technology. In compounding pharmacies, pharmacists prepare medications that are not commercially available; they need technicians available to assist them in these pharmacies.