pharmacy tech

what is better a pharmacy tech or a dental assistant i just cant make up my mind which one to take in college they both sound good

Dental definitely! You will make more money and no one can abuse you with cotton in their mouths and a pick in your hands.

alena in Spokane, Washington said: what is better a pharmacy tech or a dental assistant i just cant make up my mind which one to take in college they both sound good

dental I am a certified pharm tech with 10 years exp in syracuse ny and make a 11.00/hr thats why I am back in school!!

Be a dental, (just looked up at the respones, it's unanimous) less aggravation. Work as a pharm tech in one of the major retail chaines and we are constantly abused, if not by the "paitents", the management.

-aka

alena in Spokane, Washington said: what is better a pharmacy tech or a dental assistant i just cant make up my mind which one to take in college they both sound good

I am taking the pharmacy tech course at apollo and I love it! I am learning so much and the more I go through the more interesting and exciting it gets. It's so much fun! Plus, you have to think how so many people have nasty mouths, and I dont know about you, but I couldnt deal with all that.

emily in Syracuse, New York said: dental I am a certified pharm tech with 10 years exp in syracuse ny and make a 11.00/hr thats why I am back in school!!

its because you are comfi where you are at, or your not
trying...I have no exp at all, and was just hired at $10/hr
so your story about having 10 years of exp and can not make more then $11/hr is a little hard to believe....

I have been in the dental field for over 16 years. I have been a receptionist, dental assistant and my last position office manager. I can tell you that hardly anyone stays in the dental field and there are reasons for that. You not only get to deal with patients who complain, but having worked for several different dentists and being around a lot of employees of other dental offices, most dentists are difficult to assist. When things do not go as planned (and that happens alot) they get very frustrated and since you are the one sitting right there with them - you get the blame. You do not have the option of many (if any) benefits. You basically work for your paycheck. Also, a lot of dentist will have there spouse work in the office, which is nothing but stressful for employees. Another strike against the dental profession in recent years has been the addition on consulting programs that run the office. Consultants can be difficult to work with because you can't win as an employee. If enough money is not being made the consultants can't blame the doctor, so they put blame on the staff. I wouldn't recommend anyone do into the dental profession and expect it to be a career, unless you are a dental hygienist.

I was just hired by a pharmacy and i will be making $12+/hour, and I'm not even in pharmacy school and I'm just 19. so that's weird that you have 10 years of experience and are still making 11 dollars an hour. So I have a quick question, because I was just hired, i know i have to get certified with the state because i'm not actually a pharmacy student yet, what do i have to do for that?

Gerry in Wayne, New Jersey said: Dental definitely! You will make more money and no one can abuse you with cotton in their mouths and a pick in your hands.

I absolutely LOVED this reply! Well done!

VRose in Belle Glade, Florida said: its because you are comfi where you are at, or your not
trying...I have no exp at all, and was just hired at $10/hr
so your story about having 10 years of exp and can not make more then $11/hr is a little hard to believe....

You were hired making $10 an hour with absolutely NO EXPERIENCE as opposed to Emily in Syracuse, NY at $11 an hour after 10 years. You have to understand - SHE started way lower than YOUR $10 an hour wage back 10 years ago. When I started hospital pharmacy in Texas over 32 years ago the salary was a whopping $3.11 an hour! The techs that came in after me TEN years LATER - were starting out at $8 an hour ... and lil old me was only up to that after 10 years - so you see where I'm coming from with this? You can't imply that Emily is "comfy" where she is - it's the area she lives in and the crappy raises she's no doubt received over the years that have her at only $11/hr. That's my opinion anyway. The fact that people like yourself that are getting hired with absolutly NO experience at all and starting out at that payrate is extremely frustrating to experienced techs and techs that are certified AND licensed in their States. I hope you're thankful for what you have and I also hope if you aren't already certified/licensed that you will be shortly.

Lindsey in Iowa City, Iowa said: I was just hired by a pharmacy and i will be making $12+/hour, and I'm not even in pharmacy school and I'm just 19. so that's weird that you have 10 years of experience and are still making 11 dollars an hour. So I have a quick question, because I was just hired, i know i have to get certified with the state because i'm not actually a pharmacy student yet, what do i have to do for that?

Lindsey, you need to speak with your new employer about the certification. If they hired you without your certification then it's up to them - usually - to provide you with the means [education materials, etc.] of certification. If you were hired by a chain pharmacy, they do this and most hospitals also. I can't imagine you being hired at a hospital pharmacy with no experience, but, then again, I'm not familiar with the way they do things in Iowa, beings I'm from Texas and Colorado myself, and now in Maryland.

Does anyone know the kind of physical you have to take before pre-employment for a hospital? What does it consist of??

DanisNavy in Baltimore, Maryland said: You were hired making $10 an hour with absolutely NO EXPERIENCE as opposed to Emily in Syracuse, NY at $11 an hour after 10 years. You have to understand - SHE started way lower than YOUR $10 an hour wage back 10 years ago. When I started hospital pharmacy in Texas over 32 years ago the salary was a whopping $3.11 an hour! The techs that came in after me TEN years LATER - were starting out at $8 an hour ... and lil old me was only up to that after 10 years - so you see where I'm coming from with this? You can't imply that Emily is "comfy" where she is - it's the area she lives in and the crappy raises she's no doubt received over the years that have her at only $11/hr. That's my opinion anyway. The fact that people like yourself that are getting hired with absolutly NO experience at all and starting out at that payrate is extremely frustrating to experienced techs and techs that are certified AND licensed in their States. I hope you're thankful for what you have and I also hope if you aren't already certified/licensed that you will be shortly.

I'm 18 yrs old and did pharm tech school online and took the ptcb exam and got my CphT certification. I just got hired at walgreens and I am making 14/hr with no experience, so if she is certified and only making 11/hr she must have a crappy personality or something or just not really try or care about the job. If I had experience or worked in a hospital or in a town larger than radcliff, KY (radcliff barely has 20,000 people in it) I could expect much higher pay than 14/hr let alone 11/hr.

DanisNavy in Baltimore, Maryland said: You were hired making $10 an hour with absolutely NO EXPERIENCE as opposed to Emily in Syracuse, NY at $11 an hour after 10 years. You have to understand - SHE started way lower than YOUR $10 an hour wage back 10 years ago. When I started hospital pharmacy in Texas over 32 years ago the salary was a whopping $3.11 an hour! The techs that came in after me TEN years LATER - were starting out at $8 an hour ... and lil old me was only up to that after 10 years - so you see where I'm coming from with this? You can't imply that Emily is "comfy" where she is - it's the area she lives in and the crappy raises she's no doubt received over the years that have her at only $11/hr. That's my opinion anyway. The fact that people like yourself that are getting hired with absolutly NO experience at all and starting out at that payrate is extremely frustrating to experienced techs and techs that are certified AND licensed in their States. I hope you're thankful for what you have and I also hope if you aren't already certified/licensed that you will be shortly.

Also you talk about people who are certified AND licensed in their states, most states don't require a state certification and state certifications are a bit silly, maybe if the tech was nationally certified, through ptcb she would get paid more.

Anna in Fort Knox, Kentucky said: I'm 18 yrs old and did pharm tech school online and took the ptcb exam and got my CphT certification. I just got hired at walgreens and I am making 14/hr with no experience, so if she is certified and only making 11/hr she must have a crappy personality or something or just not really try or care about the job.

Wow, you do show your age, don't you? Where do you get off on assuming that the person who makes 11/hr MUST have a "crappy personality or something or just not really try or care about the job"? It doesn't matter WHERE you are, wages are going to be different. Why don't people get this?

It shouldn't be the difference between 14/hr starting no experience and 11/hr with 10 YEARS experience, and I'm pretty sure a company as big as Walgreens would have a pretty standard pay for all their locations.

Also VRose in Belle Glade, Florida said the same thing 2 months ago, so I was agreeing with her, I'm not the original poster of that I was just agreeing to it and backing it up with my experience, read the whole page next time.

Did you not read DanisNavy's reply to the post as well? In case YOU didn't read the whole page, here is what he or she said:

"You were hired making $10 an hour with absolutely NO EXPERIENCE as opposed to Emily in Syracuse, NY at $11 an hour after 10 years. You have to understand - SHE started way lower than YOUR $10 an hour wage back 10 years ago. When I started hospital pharmacy in Texas over 32 years ago the salary was a whopping $3.11 an hour! The techs that came in after me TEN years LATER - were starting out at $8 an hour ... and lil old me was only up to that after 10 years - so you see where I'm coming from with this? You can't imply that Emily is "comfy" where she is - it's the area she lives in and the crappy raises she's no doubt received over the years that have her at only $11/hr. That's my opinion anyway. The fact that people like yourself that are getting hired with absolutly NO experience at all and starting out at that payrate is extremely frustrating to experienced techs and techs that are certified AND licensed in their States. I hope you're thankful for what you have and I also hope if you aren't already certified/licensed that you will be shortly."

Ari in Winchester, Kentucky said: Did you not read DanisNavy's reply to the post as well? In case YOU didn't read the whole page, here is what he or she said:

"You were hired making $10 an hour with absolutely NO EXPERIENCE as opposed to Emily in Syracuse, NY at $11 an hour after 10 years. You have to understand - SHE started way lower than YOUR $10 an hour wage back 10 years ago. When I started hospital pharmacy in Texas over 32 years ago the salary was a whopping $3.11 an hour! The techs that came in after me TEN years LATER - were starting out at $8 an hour ... and lil old me was only up to that after 10 years - so you see where I'm coming from with this? You can't imply that Emily is "comfy" where she is - it's the area she lives in and the crappy raises she's no doubt received over the years that have her at only $11/hr. That's my opinion anyway. The fact that people like yourself that are getting hired with absolutly NO experience at all and starting out at that payrate is extremely frustrating to experienced techs and techs that are certified AND licensed in their States. I hope you're thankful for what you have and I also hope if you aren't already certified/licensed that you will be shortly."

funny you should ask that because my original post IS IN REPLY TO THAT POST!

Anna in Fort Knox, Kentucky said: It shouldn't be the difference between 14/hr starting no experience and 11/hr with 10 YEARS experience, and I'm pretty sure a company as big as Walgreens would have a pretty standard pay for all their locations.

Anna! You amaze me! You're telling us you're from a little podunk town in Kentucky and Walgreens [whom I've worked for for almost 10 years now] is paying you $14.00 per hour to START? Hmmm, that's really strange because out here in the Baltimore area, where the cost of living is absolutely quite a bit HIGHER than your lil neck of the woods Kentucky, techs do NOT, I repeat, do NOT start out at $14 an hour! They're lucky to get a bit over $10 and hour, seriously. I've got friends who work in corporate and they're telling me that you must be mistaken or something, because the payscale for Kentucky is most def NOT what you're making - especially, with your lack of experience and basically new to the field. Sorry, don't mean to disrespect you, but, it just rubs me the wrong way when people get up on these boards and aren't exactly up front with their info ... know what I mean? I took a pay CUT when I moved here from the Denver, CO area [a BIG metropolitan area] ... so, ya see why I'm having trouble buying your salary claims? Walgreens salaries for techs AND RPhs's are customized to the area in which they're located. Cost of living is hellacious in California for example and techs can make upwards of $18 an hour out there - which is a piss ant wage for the cost of living...
BTW, I'm a female ... in case all ya'll were wondering.
Have a great day.

Anna in Fort Knox, Kentucky said: Also you talk about people who are certified AND licensed in their states, most states don't require a state certification and state certifications are a bit silly, maybe if the tech was nationally certified, through ptcb she would get paid more.

Check up with PTCB - more and more States are requiring "LICENSING" which is different from "Certification" - you HAVE to be NATIONALLY CERTIFIED" to get licensed in these States - Maryland being one of them. And F.Y.I. most places will give you $1 to $2 more an hour if you are Nationally Certified! Not a big diff in pay. Seriously, you need to 'educate yourself' a bit more before sounding off on these boards .... just a suggestion! Have a great day!

Actually I JUST got here 2 months ago, I'm from Denver, Colorado, my husband came home from Iraq in January and we got re-stationed from fort carson to fort knox, so If you knew anything about the people who protect your country you'd know that fort knox is a military base and that 99% of the people who live here are not actually from here and are here by no choice of their own. But thanks for being ignorant.

Also maybe it's because I have 3 years of college done in pre-pharm at CU Denver health sciences center and I plan on working for walgreens as a pharmacist and taking full advantage of their education assistance programs, maybe they are paying me more because they know I will be a future pharmacist for the company, they are probably paying me better because of the future I am working towards in the company. But I'm really not here to defend my pay all I was saying is that someone with 10 years experience should be making more than 11/hr. If anyone disagrees with that please let me know.

"I'm 18 yrs old and did pharm tech school online and took the ptcb exam and got my CphT certification. I just got hired at walgreens and I am making 14/hr with no experience, so if she is certified and only making 11/hr she must have a crappy personality or something or just not really try or care about the job. If I had experience or worked in a hospital or in a town larger than radcliff, KY (radcliff barely has 20,000 people in it) I could expect much higher pay than 14/hr let alone 11/hr" [YOUR WORDS MS. ANNA!]

Excuse me? There is NO need to get viscous on here, calling me 'ignorant'... Read your post I pasted above this message. It states that YOU ARE 18 yrs old and did 'pharm tech online' ... explain to me - HOW did you [ALSO YOUR WORDS, ANNA] "...Also maybe it's because I have 3 years of college done in pre-pharm at CU Denver health sciences center..."

Hmmm? Are you a child prodigy?? Do NOT spout to me about 'the people in the Military' ... Dear, I come from a Military Family - MY daughter has also been in the Navy for the past 15 years and is STILL serving ... so ya may wanna back off on those remarks. Get your stories straight before posting is all I'm saying. Enough with the nasty comments, okay?

I am 19 now turned 19 in june but was 18 when I started working as a pharm tech, i would have been 17 when i graduated if i graduated on time but i graduated a year early when i was 16 and went to school summers as well as fall and spring semesters and I went to penn foster online when I found out my husband was being re-stationed in feb, we got married in feb so i could come with him and he moved then i followed when the semester was this may and started working, one month before turning 19, and i was just agreeing with this post

VRose in Belle Glade, Florida said: its because you are comfi where you are at, or your not
trying...I have no exp at all, and was just hired at $10/hr
so your story about having 10 years of exp and can not make more then $11/hr is a little hard to believe....

And adding in my own personal experience.

So everyone can STOP ATTACKING ME FOR STATING MY SITUATION!!!

ALL I AM SAYING IS THAT THERE MUST BE SOME REASON SHE IS ONLY GETTING 11/HR WITH TEN YEARS EXPERIENCE!!!

I'm just saying I'm not from some podunk town in KY I'm from Denver and I don't CHOOSE to live here.

I said I AM PRETTY SURE a company as big as walgreens has a steady pay rate no matter where you are, not I am positive or i know, so it was CLEARLY AN ASSUMPTION.

DIFFERENT PEOPLE GET PAID DIFFERENT AMOUNTS BASED ON EDUCATION CERTIFICATION EXPERIENCE AND PERSONAL DRIVE I WAS ONLY SAYING SHE SHOULD NOT BE GETTING PAID ONLY 11/HR WITH 10 YEARS EXPERIENCE THERE MUST BE SOME OTHER REASON FOR IT.

And I was a little offended that you called a military base a podunk town in kentucky

I started less than a year ago as a pharmacy technician and I started at 14.25 an hour the company then paid for me to PTCB certified and then I got a pay raise to 16.75 an hour which is what I get now and I have full benefits and 401k and vacation days. I barely finished Tech school a year ago. It really depends on the company that you work for and how much they care about the employees.