Considering a career as a pharmacy technician; advice, please?
LiNZ asked the question:
I’ve always considered being a pharmacy technician, but I never really thought I was intelligent enough to do it. The community college by my house is offering a five-month course, but in my research, I have seen that some people say that most “entry-level” pharmacy tech jobs train you, even if you have absolutely no experience, so it’s a bit of a financial waste. I’m not the most intelligent person when it comes to math and conversions, so I know I need to study up on those, but what other things should I study? Are there any moderately priced math refresher books that would be good to study, and also, what are some other good books concerning pharmaceuticals to read up on? Should I take the class? Any advice, experience stories, etc., at all would be extremely appreciated. Thank you very much! 
Also, I live in a small military town, with not a whole lot of opportunity. We’re going to be here for at least another two years, and the closest college is two hours from here, which is not an option for me.
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Filed Under Other - Careers & Employment |
Tagged With Conversions, Intelligent Person, Military Town
Comments
5 Responses to “Considering a career as a pharmacy technician; advice, please?”
you sure thats what you want to do with your life? The pharmacy people i see when i visit don’t seem to happy. My friends who did it didn’t seem happy, you might want to go to a regular college and see what other careers are out there.
Look into large chain drug stores like Walgreens Osco CVS and others. They are the most willing to train, although you might have to start as a cashier and have some time in before they start training you.
I think you could probably get financial aid to take the courses at the community college. You might need them since you said you’re not good with certain aspects of the job.
no personal experience but my mom is one she started out in eckards?? with no experience and wasn’t realy all that great at math and she didn’t go to any schools untill her job paid for her to go and now shes is working at the hospital as a pharmacy tech and makes lots of money doing it she said that most all places will teach you as you go as long as your easy to pick up on new thing but if not I’d do a few classes so you got a better chance of getting hired
Education will never, never hurt. I would take the class even if you can get a pharmacy to train you, more experience and training on your resume` the better. Gives you a bargaining tool for a better salary also.
Good luck!
Most chain pharmacies will train you. We do consider it to be a waste of money for people to take courses because they won’t intrinsically increase your starting income. You will get a raise when you pass the certification exam. 6 months working as a pharm tech should be adequate enough for you to learn enough to pass the exam. Techs don’t determine any dosing because it is illegal. You’ll have to determine how many pills are in a bottle and what bottle of suspension to use. Most prescribers write the prescription in metric, and so, no need for conversion. However, you’ll have to convert for the patient. As long as you remember 5mL=1 teaspoon and 15 mL= 1 tablespoon, you’ll be fine.
Average salary of a Tech is a little less than $13 per hour. There is very little room for advancement. Maybe with a lot of experience and working in a hospital, you’ll make more than $20 per hour. Most of the higher level jobs require you to be a pharmacist.
You cannot give any advice about a medication. You can only say what class of drug it is. Anything else, you have to refer to the pharmacist. Most people pick up the drug classes fairly quickly. Don’t be afraid to ask if you don’t know.