Thinking of a 2 year Pharmacy Tech program? Waste of time, money, and heres why....

Thinking about attending a 2 year legit jr college? Your probably thinking that this 2 year degree means something, as a pharmacy tech it really does not. The nuts and bolts of the pharmacy tech industry is that pharmacy techs are low wage earners, and you are a slave to the phamacist that owns a nice home because of your efforts. I have heard of people having BS degrees making only $10/hr as a phamracy tech, so what do you think about this 2 year pharmacy tech program now? Ok, congrats, you completed your 2 year pharmacy tech program, you have been hired at $12/hr if your lucky... but wait, the guy that was hired yesterday right off the back ally street was hired at $10.50 - you can finish the rest of the story on your own.

Ok, you have not gone to school yet, but you were thinking of a 2 year degree such as pharmcy tech, dont...

Radiology Tech requires a 2 year degree, once you are hired, your starting pay could be $20-$30/hr depending on location. This is compared to a 2 year pharmacy tech program starting at $10/12hr (if that)

You decide if you want to piss your life away as a pharmacy tech, and stressful days with customers for what little is paid...I know every PT dream is to get into a hospital, well wake up, 95% of pt will never ever see the inside of a hospital with higher wages. Your 2 year pharmacy degree is over, now your stuck in a dead in job.

a 2 year pharmacy tech is career suicide compared to a better
life as a 2 year Radiology Tech...

and if you have not made up your mind yet, read through this forum
on pharmacy tech's and see the unmployment rate for pharmacy tech's...
read post after post, after post on "i can not find a job as a pharmacy tech" it goes on, and on....

Hey John,
I have been following your post for a few months here.
And over the months the sense of more and more frustration with your situation. But nothing lately. Does this mean you have found a job?
It is a frustrating situation. The "diploma mills" pumping out more and more techs and only so many jobs to go around. I feel for you because you have spent the time and money to go to formal schooling only to discover this. One only has to watch daytime television to see this.."Become a (fill in the blank), only 6 short months....financial aid available...yada yada yada. Of course when these people "graduate" from these programs, they find out the hard way that the school wasn't needed and they wasted the money. No placement, no job, and for some..in debt.
Not to discourage you, but doesn't the job for Rad. Tech make the same kind of claims as the ones for Pharm. tech made?
Anyways, I was just wondering what you were doing now. Did your education finally pay off?

Take it from me, I've been a hospital tech for 5 1/2 yrs. As a tech, I do it all. I have an associates degree, but many techs have bs degrees as well. This job is merely a stepping stone to a real career. Yes, there are chances to advance to a higher position, sometimes, if you do want some type of a career as a tech. However, do not expect to make more than 30-38,000 a year. Even the highest paid tech does not make over $20 an hour where I am. The majority of my coworkers including myself are in school to prepare for real careers.(e.g. Pharmacist, RN, PA, etc.) Now if you are 18 to 21, living with your parents, and need some change, this is a good job for you. But imagine trying to raise a family off this salary. If you need quick training for fast employment and you don't wanna work at some fastfood chain or grocery store then a pharmacy technician is a better option for the moment. If you received a worthless BS and/or MS degree then this is also a reason to become a CPHT until you find something better. I do want to add that other than the low pay and low status on the totum pole my job is not that stressful. This is just my opinion.

Every pharmacist knows that their techs are underpaid. So why not pay pharmacists a measily $5.00 less and give techs $5.00 more? Hmmm- also, why isn't this position unionized? Now there's something to think about!
PS- I am a lowly pharmacy tech

Good point!

Concerning two year college. I am in one, and in a sense, I am rather disappointed. Not about studying for an Associate's Degree to become a pharmacy technician but at how they US' pharmaceutical camp works.

I am very proud to be taking my two year course, I've learned more than I have my whole life and I don't see how you can not take an actual course and pass so easily. There is alot of information that has to sink it, the types of antibiotics, their generics, commercial names, they're action mecanism, the different laws, the requirements, what's illegal, HIPAA, posology, learning how to make certain medicines, remembering their formulas, to know the basics of what each is used for, the different presentations, their benefits, pharmacy abbreviations, it's just so much.

Fact is, in Puerto Rico, the pharmaceutical industries are 10 times more strict than in the US apparently. You can't just become a pharmacy technician right of the bat. You need to have finished high school, have a college degree (of any kind), you need to have completed 1,000 of practice, among other things. Here they REQUIRE you to have studies and you NEED all of that to take your certification to work anywhere. It is completely illegal for someone who doesn't have the studies to work in this field.

Sometimes when I read what you all type it's like...you're working with animals. The pharmacy technician's job is to do everything the pharmacist does except consultations, verify that the prescription is right and to give it to the patient once it's been throughly verified. Pharmacist here except you to have the knowledge to not depend on them in any way and do your job right. Even if you don't give consultations, you need that basic information. You need to know what you're working with, you need the knowledge to be able to respond to certain situations.

Katherine said: Concerning two year college. I am in one, and in a sense, I am rather disappointed. Not about studying for an Associate's Degree to become a pharmacy technician but at how they US' pharmaceutical camp works.

Who is "you all"? Anyways, that is wonderful that you perceive it that way. You are entitled to your opinion. I also have a degree and I do not agree with you. However, since you are so proud and you feel this way...make sure you stay employed in your country and don't try to come over here. Don't forget to mention that to your relatives & friends who maybe in pharmacy tech school also.

Hi all, I am a Registered Tech in Baltimore Md. I have been a Pharmacy Technician for almost 6 years now. I have worked both in retail and hospital Pharmacies. My boss has changed my official title to "engineering Technician I" because there is no official position for "Lead Tech" or "technical supervisor" at my hospital. Even with the destinction of lead technician, I do not make more than 35,000/year. The only way I make anywhere close to what I was promised, is with massive amounts of overtime. Let's face it ya'll, we do the grunt work and are the back bone of general pharmacy operations, and get very poor compensation for our efforts. Perhaps some of you have worked with the "sit and check" or "internet" pharmacists. You know, the one who just sits there and makes you do everything and all they want to do is compare what you filled to what was ordered. I am sick of hearing in their conversations about their disposible income, DISPOSIBLE INCOME? give me a break, I mean if pharmacists are so fortunate to have all this extra money, then why are Technicians so underpaid? We all need to join a national union, and demand higher wages.

Well written, James! I am totally feeling you, man.

James in Baltimore, Maryland said: Hi all, I am a Registered Tech in Baltimore Md. I have been a Pharmacy Technician for almost 6 years now. I have worked both in retail and hospital Pharmacies. My boss has changed my official title to "engineering Technician I" because there is no official position for "Lead Tech" or "technical supervisor" at my hospital. Even with the destinction of lead technician, I do not make more than 35,000/year. The only way I make anywhere close to what I was promised, is with massive amounts of overtime. Let's face it ya'll, we do the grunt work and are the back bone of general pharmacy operations, and get very poor compensation for our efforts. Perhaps some of you have worked with the "sit and check" or "internet" pharmacists. You know, the one who just sits there and makes you do everything and all they want to do is compare what you filled to what was ordered. I am sick of hearing in their conversations about their disposible income, DISPOSIBLE INCOME? give me a break, I mean if pharmacists are so fortunate to have all this extra money, then why are Technicians so underpaid? We all need to join a national union, and demand higher wages.

I work for a pharmacy that is in a union. Unions will screw you just as bad, our company has signed a contract stating that we are not allowed to go on strike. I think think the company and unions are in with each other..something like rub our back, and we will rub yours...nothing but crap, pharmacy techs get screwed once again...what type of BS union is that, you can not go on strike...our union clearly does not fight for higher wages. our 9.00/hr company has a wage freeze for the next 3 years with the union...

937

Bottom line,.... Pharmacy Technicians don't get the proper compensation for their efforts. I agree with wendy from new hampshire, why not take some of that burdonsome "disposible income" that they have so much trouble spending, and give it to the Techs?

techs are very underpaid & underappreciated. i make $13/hr with 3 years hospital
experience, with $1 differential on evenings and weekends, which may sound better
than mcdonalds but then you are the only pharm tech in a whole hospital. you fill
orders, empty tubes, run around and hand deliver things, solve problems, for
example the computer part of the Pyxis in the ER may be frozen, constantly track
down missing meds, shuffle meds around the hospital or between institutions because
there's always something that didn't get ordered, pull narcs from the safe, mix
oral solutions, write it all up, prepack a medication for hospital use from the
cheaper bulk bottle, maybe jump under the hood to mix an IV, all with the phone
ringing about every 15 seconds. my x-ray tech friend just got hired with $20/hr and
$6.75 differential--i know he had to go to school for 2 yrs and has a lot of
specialized knowledge but we have to know a lot as well. i think we're underpaid
with the reasoning that we don't have to think (not true)and don't have much
responsibility (not true). Also, believe me, being on your feet all day and running
around a hospital (really ALL DAY) is not easy, it should be more appreciated.
we're constantly understaffed bc. they would rather overwork one person than pay
two. i've often worked 10 hour days with no break whatsoever, even though i'm
scheduled for 8. we don't even get christmas bonuses while the drug companies make
billions in profits. this job will grind you up, and nobody cares, when that
happens they're just going to throw more meat into the grinder. by the way, i have
a bachelor's degree, i'm still in school, and not for pharmacy!!!

James in Baltimore, Maryland said: Bottom line,.... Pharmacy Technicians don't get the proper compensation for their efforts. I agree with wendy from new hampshire, why not take some of that burdonsome "disposible income" that they have so much trouble spending, and give it to the Techs?

The answer is simple. You can pull anyone off the street, and pay them any dirt amount of money you wish, and someone will be there to do it., on the other hand, you just can not pull a pharmacist off the street, they spend 6 years in school, so all the money is going to go to the pharmacist...any company will pay more to keep a pharmacist rather then a tech..why? because pharmacy techs are a dime a dozen...

If this nation would close the loop hole and require everyone to go to a 2 year school before allowing certification, then you will see pay go up because of shortage, right now there is no shortage for a tech, as they are not required to be educated. If techs were required to be educated, then it would be a completely different story.

VRose in Belle Glade, Florida said: The answer is simple. You can pull anyone off the street, and pay them any dirt amount of money you wish, and someone will be there to do it., on the other hand, you just can not pull a pharmacist off the street, they spend 6 years in school, so all the money is going to go to the pharmacist...any company will pay more to keep a pharmacist rather then a tech..why? because pharmacy techs are a dime a dozen...

If this nation would close the loop hole and require everyone to go to a 2 year school before allowing certification, then you will see pay go up because of shortage, right now there is no shortage for a tech, as they are not required to be educated. If techs were required to be educated, then it would be a completely different story.

I am sorry to disagree with you vRose, I don't know what is required to be a Technician in Florida, but here in Maryland (and in a lot of states now) you can't hire someone and train them to be a pharmacy tech. To be a Pharm Tech in maryland you either were grandfathered into the position, or completed a national certification course or taken the test (not an easy task.) You must already be registered as a pharmacy technician just to even be behind the pharmacy counter, which makes it impossible to train someone on the job and then have them take the test. As for education, my hospital requires an additional 10 Continuing education credits on top of the 20 CE credits the maryland board of pharmacy requires per year, and there are limitations to the type of CE we can use. Each Tech in maryland carries his/her own license, and is usually responsible out of pocket for the fees for such a license. Personally, I've met (and worked with) pharmacists that just got out of 6 year's in pharmacy school and quite frankly, it scares me to see the lack of respect they have for the patients, and lack of knowledge they have in the trade that they just spent 6 years learning about.

(continued from above)

You can keep some of these PharmD's I would much rather work with an older RPh, who knows what the hell they are doing. A Tech shouldn't have to check behind his/her Pharmacist. The Pharmacist should be checking the tech. Just food for thought.

Wendy in Claremont, New Hampshire said: Every pharmacist knows that their techs are underpaid. So why not pay pharmacists a measily $5.00 less and give techs $5.00 more? Hmmm- also, why isn't this position unionized? Now there's something to think about!
PS- I am a lowly pharmacy tech

yeahh... that dosent mean you know anything though.. at pharm school you actually learn how any where and why and im a certified tech and ill tell you i dont know squat.. can you say 7-9 years of really hard school and competitive gradschool.. yeah theyve earned their position and earn their pay

yeah you can't just pull anyone off the street. i've worked with a lot
of people off the street because the turnover is so high. you have to
know a lot to be able to deal with everything independently that comes
up throughout a shift. pharmacists know more about medications and their
side effects, interactions, etc, but techs know more about the practical
side of things. i've worked with pharmacists fresh out of school who
don't know how to mix an IV or make a PCA, load something into a Pyxis,
use a prepacking machine, find a medication in stock, place an order...
there is nothing wrong with that, but someone off the street can't just
walk in and do it all.

eve2 in New Hampshire said: yeah you can't just pull anyone off the street. i've worked with a lot
of people off the street because the turnover is so high. you have to
know a lot to be able to deal with everything independently that comes
up throughout a shift. pharmacists know more about medications and their
side effects, interactions, etc, but techs know more about the practical
side of things. i've worked with pharmacists fresh out of school who
don't know how to mix an IV or make a PCA, load something into a Pyxis,
use a prepacking machine, find a medication in stock, place an order...
there is nothing wrong with that, but someone off the street can't just
walk in and do it all.

Thank you, absolutely right.

Mikey D in Atlanta, Georgia said: yeahh... that dosent mean you know anything though.. at pharm school you actually learn how any where and why and im a certified tech and ill tell you i dont know squat.. can you say 7-9 years of really hard school and competitive gradschool.. yeah theyve earned their position and earn their pay

not really. You do not earn a position just because you went to school for several years, and how they earn respect depends on how they work in a pharmacy. if they can not make it in the pharmacy then they have nothing, and will be looking for more work soon. We had a float one that just refuses to learn anything about the computer or even get on it..how long do you think he will be able to fake his way through??? Does the pharmacist earn his pay for going through 6 years of school? hell yes, but until he proves himself, he has earned nothing else...

James in Baltimore, Maryland said: (continued from above)

You can keep some of these PharmD's I would much rather work with an older RPh, who knows what the hell they are doing. A Tech shouldn't have to check behind his/her Pharmacist. The Pharmacist should be checking the tech. Just food for thought.

my pic got onto me the other day because I did not follow up on what our float was supposed to do, and a customer got pissed...Are you kidding me...your damn pharmacist should have been properly trained, its not my job to take his is slack..besides, I did not know what he was supposed to do, but I was supposed to...I am not a pharmacist babysitter...
when I am paid $100k/year, then ill think about it.

James in Baltimore, Maryland said: I am sorry to disagree with you vRose, I don't know what is required to be a Technician in Florida, but here in Maryland (and in a lot of states now) you can't hire someone and train them to be a pharmacy tech. To be a Pharm Tech in maryland you either were grandfathered into the position, or completed a national certification course or taken the test (not an easy task.) You must already be registered as a pharmacy technician just to even be behind the pharmacy counter, which makes it impossible to train someone on the job and then have them take the test. As for education, my hospital requires an additional 10 Continuing education credits on top of the 20 CE credits the maryland board of pharmacy requires per year, and there are limitations to the type of CE we can use. Each Tech in maryland carries his/her own license, and is usually responsible out of pocket for the fees for such a license. Personally, I've met (and worked with) pharmacists that just got out of 6 year's in pharmacy school and quite frankly, it scares me to see the lack of respect they have for the patients, and lack of knowledge they have in the trade that they just spent 6 years learning about.

so exactly what is the certification requirement? Do they have to attend a 2 year school? if not, then no education is required, thus far, most states allow you to take the certification freely with no schooling.

I can understand people going to school for 6 years, coming out with nothing more then what they learned last month...it is very fast paced, jumping from one subject to another, and I would be surprised that very many could tell about every brand/generic out there. This just shows they made it through school, now comes there future experiance, how they learn, what they apply, how they treat people. after spending 6+ years in school, id be pissed also, im not sure I would be very nice to people... :)

WOW...i'm so happy to read so many diff opinion from everyone
i was thinking of doing Ph-T program and get a job right away.but after searching here and there have just found out that , it's not fair...for example some people study medical lab assistant and get $20 sharp...just cuz of poking someone , and as a Ph-T , we do alot more that that end up with MAX $18 or $20??
here in vancouver , u can be a ph-T with just a 6 months course and start working next to a pharmacist.
is it possible to get to a hospital??
does it really worth it to go and study for this and do this job for the rest of ur life???
what should i do??

VRose in Belle Glade, Florida said: so exactly what is the certification requirement? Do they have to attend a 2 year school? if not, then no education is required, thus far, most states allow you to take the certification freely with no schooling.

I can understand people going to school for 6 years, coming out with nothing more then what they learned last month...it is very fast paced, jumping from one subject to another, and I would be surprised that very many could tell about every brand/generic out there. This just shows they made it through school, now comes there future experiance, how they learn, what they apply, how they treat people. after spending 6+ years in school, id be pissed also, im not sure I would be very nice to people... :)

You may attend school for it, but it is not required. One may take the test without having completed the course, but lets face facts, how would a guy (or girl) off the street who has never worked as a tech or been "educated" in pharmacy pass the exam? Take in mind that you can not work as a tech here without being registered with the board, and you can't register with the board without certification, and in order to get certified one must be able to pass the exam (which is no easy task).

Latifa in Vancouver, British Columbia said: WOW...i'm so happy to read so many diff opinion from everyone
i was thinking of doing Ph-T program and get a job right away.but after searching here and there have just found out that , it's not fair...for example some people study medical lab assistant and get $20 sharp...just cuz of poking someone , and as a Ph-T , we do alot more that that end up with MAX $18 or $20??
here in vancouver , u can be a ph-T with just a 6 months course and start working next to a pharmacist.
is it possible to get to a hospital??
does it really worth it to go and study for this and do this job for the rest of ur life???
what should i do??

The highest paid pharmacy tech I have ever heard of Was my mother, who was a pharmacy tech for over 30 yrs. She was the day manager of a retail Pharmacy and made anywhere from $42,000 - $55,000 (with bonuses and overtime) If anyone knows of someone who made/makes more as a tech tell me, they deserve an award. Tech's don't usually receive more than $30,000 for their efforts.

James in Baltimore, Maryland said: The highest paid pharmacy tech I have ever heard of Was my mother, who was a pharmacy tech for over 30 yrs. She was the day manager of a retail Pharmacy and made anywhere from $42,000 - $55,000 (with bonuses and overtime) If anyone knows of someone who made/makes more as a tech tell me, they deserve an award. Tech's don't usually receive more than $30,000 for their efforts.

there is no such thing as a pharmacy tech being the manager of the pharmacy...the pharmacy manager is a pharmacist, nobody less then a pharmacist can manage a pharmacy.

James in Baltimore, Maryland said: You may attend school for it, but it is not required. One may take the test without having completed the course, but lets face facts, how would a guy (or girl) off the street who has never worked as a tech or been "educated" in pharmacy pass the exam? Take in mind that you can not work as a tech here without being registered with the board, and you can't register with the board without certification, and in order to get certified one must be able to pass the exam (which is no easy task).

then your state has no real requirements...people pass the exam all the time without ever stepping into a class room, and since your exam is national, then it is pretty much the same extra that everyone else takes in america...

until every state requires a 2 year degree before you are allowed certification, then pharmacy techs will always be in rough shape.

when someone finishes 2 years in a radiology tech program, they can start out at like $20+ an hour, and a pharmacy tech starts out between $8-10/hr...why do you think that is? We do a hell of a lot more then a radiology tech does, but they make double and even triple of what a pharmacy tech makes, and for one, it is the requirements...You are required to attend a 2 year program for becoming a rad tech, so there is a shortage, whereas pharmacy techs can be created overnight right off the street with no degree as there are no degree requirements...

If you want to see better benefits and pay, or whatever, then all states need to require a 2 year education for pharmacy techs before they can get certified, so you would not be able to get certified until you attend a 2 year school.