What do they do?

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.

Also known as:

Accredited Pharmacy Technician, Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT), Chemotherapy Pharmacy Technician (Chemo Pharmacy Technician), Compounding Technician, OR Pharmacy Tech (Operating Room Pharmacy Tech), Pharmacy Technician (Pharm Tech), RPhT (Registered Pharmacy Technician)

Typical Wages

Projected Growth Rate

Employment of Pharmacy Technicians is projected to grow 2 percent from 2020 to 2030, more slowly than average compared to all occupations.

Projected Employment in OH

No Data Available
  • 2.5%

    Change

    Ranks #58 in job growth rate
    1,260

    Job Openings

    Ranks #9 in net job growth
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Education Level

Percent of workers in this field with these degrees:

  • Doctorate or Professional Degree  (1%)
  • Master's degree  (2%)
  • Bachelor's degree  (16%)
  • Associate's degree  (16%)
  • Some college, no degree  (37%)
  • High school diploma equivalent  (26%)
  • Less than high school diploma  (2%)

Typical College Majors

Most Popular Majors that prepare Pharmacy Technicians

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People in this career often have these skills:

  • 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.

People in this career often know a lot about:

  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
  • Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  • Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

People in this career often have talent in:

  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

People in this career often do these activities:

  • Verify accuracy of patient information.
  • Perform clerical work in medical settings.
  • Enter information into databases or software programs.
  • Enter codes or other information into computers.
  • Record patient medical histories.
  • Enter patient or treatment data into computers.
  • Process medical billing information.
  • Maintain inventory of medical supplies or equipment.
  • Prepare medications or medical solutions.
  • Sterilize medical equipment or instruments.
  • Clean medical equipment or facilities.
  • Maintain medical equipment or instruments.
  • Merchandise healthcare products or services.

This page includes data from:

O*NET OnLine Career data: O*NET 28.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (“USDOL/ETA”). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Logo Occupation statistics: USDOL U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics

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