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A Pharmacy Technician helps pharmacists dispense prescription medicine and other products to patients. Pharmacy technicians generally handle routine tasks and are closely supervised by pharmacists who must check all prescriptions and handle all questions about medications. Pharmacy technicians must be detail-oriented, precise, and able to communicate clearly with others.

Most pharmacy technicians work in retail pharmacies. They also work in hospitals and other healthcare facilities such as nursing homes.

Some of the responsibilities of a pharmacy technician are:

• Verifying prescription information
• Labeling prescription containers
• Counting, measuring, and weighing medication
• Maintaining inventories
• Pricing prescriptions
• Creating and maintaining patient files
• Communicating with health insurance carriers

Training and certification for pharmacy technicians are not standardized in most states. However, employers often prefer job applicants who have completed pharmacy technician education programs. Employers usually provide some on-the-job training as well.

Passing the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Examination is a way of demonstrating your skills and knowledge to employers. To be eligible to take this exam, you must have a high school diploma (or GED) and no felony convictions.

Based on 2004 data, as a pharmacy technician you can expect to earn at least between $7.96/Hr and up to more than $16.61/Hr, with a median earning potential of $11.37/Hr.

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