Pharmacy Technicians
Health ScienceO*NET 29-2052.00United States
Prepare medications under the direction of a pharmacist. May measure, mix, count out, label, and record amounts and dosages of medications according to prescription orders.
- Median annual earnings
- $45,694
- Projected change
- +7.9%
- Typical education
- Certificate
- Employment
- 472.89K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
42% of the workforce
Growing to 510.07K by 2035
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These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What pharmacy technicians do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Receive written prescription or refill requests and verify that information is complete and accurate.
- Enter prescription information into computer databases.
- Establish or maintain patient profiles, including lists of medications taken by individual patients.
- Maintain proper storage and security conditions for drugs.
- Receive and store incoming supplies, verify quantities against invoices, check for outdated medications in current inventory, and inform supervisors of stock needs and shortages.
- Answer telephones, responding to questions or requests.
- Assist customers by answering simple questions, locating items, or referring them to the pharmacist for medication information.
- Operate cash registers to accept payment from customers.
- Price and file prescriptions that have been filled.
- Mix pharmaceutical preparations, according to written prescriptions.
- Order, label, and count stock of medications, chemicals, or supplies and enter inventory data into computer.
- Prepack bulk medicines, fill bottles with prescribed medications, and type and affix labels.
- Clean and help maintain equipment or work areas and sterilize glassware, according to prescribed methods.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $35,839
- 25th percentile
- $37,757
- 50th percentile
- $45,694
- 75th percentile
- $50,051
- 90th percentile
- $61,633
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $45,694 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+7.9%faster than average
2025472,888 jobs
2035 projected510,065 jobs
37,177 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Certificate
- 42%
- High school diploma or less
- 35.7%
- Some college
- 14.6%
- Bachelor's degree
- 3.8%
- Associate degree
- 3.8%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Pharmacy Technicians67,676 postings
- 02Certified Pharmacy Technicians21,132 postings
- 03Pharmacy Interns14,221 postings
- 04Pharmacy Service Associates7,457 postings
- 05Pharmacy Technicians-in-Training3,503 postings
- 06Pharmacy Grad Interns2,792 postings
- 07Inpatient Pharmacy Technicians2,460 postings
- 08Pharmacy Clerks1,618 postings
- 09Outpatient Pharmacy Technicians1,043 postings
- 10Compounding Pharmacy Technicians920 postings
- 11Lead Pharmacy Technicians860 postings
- 12Specialty Pharmacy Technicians811 postings
- 13Fulfillment Pharmacy Technicians778 postings
- 14Infusion Pharmacy Technicians716 postings
- 15Retail Pharmacy Technicians687 postings
- 16Pharmacy Graduate Interns667 postings
- 17Sterile Compounding Pharmacy Technicians658 postings
- 18Clinical Pharmacy Technicians644 postings
- 19Prior Authorization Pharmacy Technicians639 postings
- 20Data Entry Pharmacy Technicians561 postings
Top employers
- 01Walgreens Boots Alliance28,686 postings
- 02CVS Health21,910 postings
- 03Walmart10,629 postings
- 04Kroger4,346 postings
- 05Costco2,961 postings
- 06Soliant Health2,907 postings
- 07Kroger Health1,872 postings
- 08Actalent1,790 postings
- 09Albertsons1,428 postings
- 10Intermountain Health1,074 postings
- 11Optum931 postings
- 12UnitedHealth Group854 postings
- 13Alliance For Pharmacy Compounding797 postings
- 14Hy-Vee780 postings
- 15Safeway717 postings
- 16Meijer632 postings
- 17Sam's Club532 postings
- 18HCA Healthcare510 postings
- 19Hannaford Brothers Company500 postings
- 20PharMerica441 postings
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