What is a Pharmacy Aide?
Occupation Description Record drugs delivered to the pharmacy, store incoming merchandise, and inform the supervisor of stock needs. May operate cash register and accept prescriptions for filling.
Life As a Pharmacy Aide
- Provide customers with information about the uses, effects, or interactions of drugs.
- Perform clerical tasks, such as filing, compiling and maintaining prescription records, or composing letters.
- Calculate anticipated drug usage for a prescribed period.
- Maintain and clean equipment, work areas, or shelves.
- Greet customers and help them locate merchandise.
- Operate capsule or tablet counting machine that automatically distributes a certain number of capsules or tablets into smaller containers.
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What Every Pharmacy Aide Should Know
These are the skills Pharmacy Aides say are the most useful in their careers:
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.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Other Pharmacy Aide Job Titles
- Certified Pharmacist Assistant
- Pharmacist Assistant
- Drug Purchaser
- Front Counter Clerk
- Pharmacy Ancillary
Is There Going to be Demand for Pharmacy Aides?
In 2016, there was an estimated number of 36,900 jobs in the United States for Pharmacy Aide. There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Pharmacy Aide. There will be an estimated 4,700 positions for Pharmacy Aide per year.

The states with the most job growth for Pharmacy Aide are Alaska, Arizona, and Colorado. Watch out if you plan on working in Vermont, Oklahoma, or Wisconsin. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Salary for a Pharmacy Aide
The typical yearly salary for Pharmacy Aides is somewhere between $19,370 and $44,450.

Pharmacy Aides who work in Alaska, Colorado, or Arizona, make the highest salaries.
How much do Pharmacy Aides make in each U.S. state?
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $21,700 |
Alaska | $45,850 |
Arizona | $38,500 |
Arkansas | $25,330 |
California | $33,730 |
Colorado | $39,840 |
Connecticut | $31,460 |
Delaware | $29,990 |
Florida | $29,420 |
Georgia | $28,000 |
Hawaii | $34,180 |
Idaho | $29,780 |
Illinois | $29,760 |
Indiana | $24,470 |
Iowa | $26,260 |
Kansas | $23,630 |
Kentucky | $23,740 |
Louisiana | $24,400 |
Maine | $26,800 |
Maryland | $30,130 |
Massachusetts | $35,630 |
Michigan | $27,690 |
Minnesota | $28,190 |
Mississippi | $27,060 |
Missouri | $27,260 |
Montana | $29,580 |
Nebraska | $27,950 |
Nevada | $27,980 |
New Hampshire | $27,180 |
New Jersey | $25,490 |
New Mexico | $29,970 |
New York | $31,450 |
North Carolina | $24,760 |
North Dakota | $30,940 |
Ohio | $28,090 |
Oklahoma | $24,400 |
Oregon | $32,990 |
Pennsylvania | $24,660 |
Rhode Island | $31,150 |
South Carolina | $24,940 |
South Dakota | $24,390 |
Tennessee | $25,200 |
Texas | $25,910 |
Utah | $36,120 |
Vermont | $24,320 |
Virginia | $24,020 |
Washington | $32,990 |
West Virginia | $23,360 |
Wisconsin | $24,140 |
What Tools do Pharmacy Aides Use?
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Pharmacy Aides may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Outlook
- Word processing software
- Microsoft Windows
- Spreadsheet software
- Database software
How to Become a Pharmacy Aide
What kind of Pharmacy Aide requirements are there?

How Long Does it Take to Become a Pharmacy Aide?

Where Pharmacy Aides Are Employed

Below are examples of industries where Pharmacy Aides work:

You May Also Be Interested In…
Career changers with experience as a Pharmacy Aide sometimes find work in one of the following fields:
References:
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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