How Much are Non-Certified Pharmacy Technicians Paid?
Working in a pharmacy as a non-certified pharmacy technician is possible straight out of high school. You can use your work experience as a time to learn for the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board exam. Otherwise, you can continue to work without a certification.
What Are the Duties of A Non-Certified Pharmacy Technician?
A non-certified pharmacy technician fulfills many small jobs in the pharmacy, from filling and labeling prescriptions to managing stock levels. They work underneath the Pharmacist in any pharmaceutical establishment.
Other duties include mixing pharmaceutical preparations for customers and stocking shelves. Pharmacy techs also show customers where off-the-shelf medicines and supplements are. They also receive any deliveries and assist with other administration tasks.
A non-certified pharmacy technician is expected to provide exceptional customer service and must ensure that the pharmacy remains a safe and clean environment at all times. Often first-class customer service ensures a customer’s return visit in the future, so it is important to value this aspect of the job highly.
What Are Total Pay Estimates for A Non-Certified Pharmacy Technician at Different Companies?
Non-certified pharmacy technician pay can vary drastically from company to company and state to state. The rates are sourced from salary data collected from non-certified pharmacy technician jobs across the country.
When choosing which state is the best place to work as a non-certified pharmacy technician, all sorts of costs need to be considered. These include medical care premium costs, actual housing sales data, property taxes, and effective income tax rates. This will determine which state gives the best pay compared to the cost of living.
A non-certified pharmacy technician in the US is paid $37,688 a year and $18 an hour on average. The yearly salary range is between $28,077 and $44,472.
- Avella Specialty Pharmacy $28.24 per hour
- US Department of Veterans Affairs $26.34 per hour
- Express Scripts $24.63 per hour
- Catalent Pharma Solutions $21.69 per hour
- Option Care Health $21.42 per hour
- Costco Wholesale $20.82 per hour
- Cleveland Clinic $20.77 per hour
- Pharmedium $20.75 per hour
- AlixaRx $19.95 per hour
- Humana $19.81 per hour
Hourly Pay
The hourly pay for non-certified pharmacy technician jobs can be anything from $18 to $26+, depending on the state, company, and how much experience you have. This has been determined by analyzing the salary database of various companies and the ERI’s compensation data.
When looking for work, make sure to have an idea of the average hourly rate for a person of your experience level in the state where you’re applying. This will ensure that you don’t short-change yourself.
Average Pay Rate Per State
The hourly rate your receive as a non-certified pharmacy technician varies from state to state, so it is worth browsing the list to see where it is best to work as a non-certified pharmacy technician.
It is also important to remember that some top-paying states also have the highest living expenses, so you won’t necessarily be making more money. It is better to look for a job from a company with a higher hourly rate than the state average, as this will help you to make more money.
Finding a job in a state with lower living expenses is a better option in the long term, as it allows you to gain good experience while saving some money. You’ll also have lower school fees if you choose to study while you work, which you may wish to do to become a certified pharmacy technician.
Here are the different hourly salaries for each state, as taken from each state’s salary database:
- Alabama $15.68
- Alaska $22.19
- Arizona $18.86
- Arkansas $15.72
- California $24.04
- Colorado $19.50
- Connecticut $18.29
- Delaware $16.81
- District of Columbia $21.65
- Florida $17.33
- Georgia $16.45
- Hawaii $19.57
- Idaho $18.37
- Illinois $17.83
- Indiana $16.93
- Iowa $17.15
- Kansas $17.50
- Kentucky $16.05
- Louisiana $16.75
- Maine $16.93
- Maryland $18.19
- Massachusetts $19.42
- Michigan $17.16
- Minnesota $20.30
- Mississippi $16.57
- Missouri $16.31
- Montana $18.62
- Nebraska $17.36
- Nevada $19.16
- New Hampshire $17.89
- New Jersey $17.87
- New Mexico $18.12
- New York $18.71
- New York $18.71
- Ohio $16.53
- Oklahoma $16.71
- Oregon $21.75
- Pennsylvania $16.71
- Rhode Island $18.47
- South Carolina $17.26
- South Dakota $17.90
- Tennessee $16.76
- Texas $18.43
- Utah $19.28
- Vermont $17.55
- Virginia $17.47
- Washington $22.52
- West Virginia $15.49
- Wisconsin $17.83
- Wyoming $19.27
Can You Expect Career Growth?
There is some career growth that can happen for a non-certified pharmacy technician. However, if you want to improve your career growth, it is recommended that you take the PTCB exam to become certified and gain access to certified pharmacy technician jobs.
The career growth for a non-certified pharmacy technician is relatively slow and is mainly experience focussed. This means your pay will increase with more experience, but there is only a ladder to climb with adding extra training.
Alternatively, you could consider training toward a full Pharmacist degree, which will allow you to have a lot of career growth in different directions and drastically increase your earning potential.
FAQs
Who pays the most for pharmacy technicians?
The west coast states such as Washington, California, and Alaska are some of the highest paying states for non-certified pharmacy technician jobs in the USA. However, it is essential to remember that some of these states also have the highest living costs so the higher pay may be more of an illusion than anything else.
Is being a pharmacy technician hard?
Yes, being a pharmacy technician can be a challenging job. Many responsibilities come with the job, including filling prescriptions, making labels, and checking scripts.
You need to pay attention to detail as you’ll need to fill in customer information and dosage instructions carefully. You’ll need to be bright and cheery even under challenging circumstances, which can take a lot of resilience.
You’ll also spend your days managing stock levels, compounding medicines, advising patients on over-the-counter medications, and many other important tasks!
How can you improve your pay as a non-certified pharmacy technician?
Becoming certified is easy to improve your pay as a non-certified pharmacy technician, which will immediately make an entirely new salary bracket available.
All this requires is completing the necessary work experience or training through pharmacy department employment. After which, you must pass the PTCB exam to become a certified pharmacy technician.
Another way to increase your pay is to work at an in-hospital pharmacy rather than an off-site pharmacy. Working at an in-hospital facility will allow you to take on more responsibilities and make it possible for you to get more training opportunities.
For example, you might get an IV tech certificate, which will allow you to administer IV medications to patients in the hospital.
If you want to avoid additional training, you’ll need to prove your worth as an employee. Provide first-class customer service, perform all the duties in your job description well, keep the pharmacy clean and well-run, and you’ll build a good name for yourself. This will help you to improve your salary over time.
https://www.pharmacytechnicianguide.com/Salary/
https://www.indeed.com/career/pharmacy-technician/salaries
https://www.erieri.com/salary/job/non-certified-pharmacy-technician/united-states
https://www.salaryexpert.com/salary/job/non-certified-pharmacy-technician/united-states/colorado
https://www.indeed.com/m/jobs?q=Non+Certified+Pharmacy+Technician