Pharmacy Technician/Assistant

 

Types of Degrees Pharmacy Technician/Assistant Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many pharmacy technician/assistant graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Undergraduate Certificate	3,912
Basic Certificate	2,239
Associate Degree	1,176

What Pharmacy Technician/Assistant Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, pharmacy technician/assistant majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Pharmacy Technician/Assistant Majors

Pharmacy Technician/Assistant majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• 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.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

Skills for Pharmacy Technician/Assistant Majors

pharmacy technician/assistant majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• 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.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Pharmacy Technician/Assistant Majors

A major in pharmacy technician/assistant will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• 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.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Pharmacy Technician/Assistant Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with pharmacy technician/assistant:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Pharmacy Technicians	11.8%	$32,700

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant?

This major is dominated by women with about 84% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of pharmacy technician/assistant majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	63
Black or African American	226
Hispanic or Latino	611
White	225
International Students	10
Other Races/Ethnicities	41

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant, too. About 0.9% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Pharmacy Technician/Assistant Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $34,020 to $122,320 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to pharmacy technician/assistant. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Pharmacy Technician/Assistant

Some degrees associated with pharmacy technician/assistant may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to pharmacy technician/assistant have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	3.1%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	40.2%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	10.2%
Some College Courses	8.6%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	5.0%
Bachelor’s Degree	4.2%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	2.8%
Master’s Degree	12.1%
Doctoral Degree	8.4%
Post-Doctoral Training	6.5%

Online Pharmacy Technician/Assistant Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	318	9
Certificate (2-4 Years)	4	0
Associate’s Degree	141	8
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant Worth It?

The median salary for a pharmacy technician/assistant grad is $34,020 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

Trades Related to Pharmacy Technician/Assistant

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to pharmacy technician/assistant.

Major	Number of Grads
Medical/Clinical Assistant	54,553
Physical Therapy Assistant	6,499
Occupational Therapist Assistant	4,508
Other Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services	4,145
Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance)	3,373
Radiologist Assistant	1,360
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Assistant	571
Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant	375
Anesthesiologist Assistant	371
Speech-Language Pathology Assistant	299
Pathology/Pathologist Assistant	157
Lactation Consultant	49

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.