How to Get Certified as a Pharmacy Technician

The job of a pharmacy technician has become even more competitive when it comes to talking about salary figures. In addition, if you are a certified professional technician, the career opportunities have shot up significantly in the last few years, and this has resulted in a considerable increase in the salaries of certified technicians.

What's more, we're going to be discussing the required educational qualifications, so that your certifying body is assured that you are clear with the basics of pharmacy. With that said, take a look at the entire procedure of fetching a certification.

Pharmacy offers career options which removes the need to work in hospitals or nursing homes. Instead, you could establish your own drugstore, or even collaborate with a pharmaceutical company to expand your horizons. However, if you want to take it to a large level, a certification helps you.

Even though there are no high-level educational qualifications required for becoming a technician, a recognized diploma or degree in pharmacy always adds up to the advantage.

To start with, a certified technician in this field is always expected to be good with mathematics, science, and English, for it is only then that you'd be able to grasp higher education with ease. As professionals, they are supposed to assist pharmacists in hospitals by measuring medications, maintaining medical records, and preparing prescriptions.

An aspirant is required to take up a certified training program at an accredited medical college, which could be a 1-year or a 2-year educational program. These programs prepare aspirants for the exams that grant certification.

Topics such as Pharmacology, Pharmaceutical Mathematics, Pharmacy Law, and Pharmacy Practicum are required to be studied by candidates who take up the graduation course in any of the medical schools. Later you can apply for internship in any of the medical institutions that offer you practical knowledge and experience of your job.

The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) and the Institute for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians (ICPT) offers certification to aspiring candidates. Hence, after completing your undergraduate program, you need to pass the certification exams conducted by PTCB and ICPT.

Certification will increase your chances of a better salary, and hence, with respect to your state's laws and regulations, make sure you meet their requirements. Once you pass the exams conducted by them, you're awarded a certification in the program. Note that you need to go for certification every two years for renewal.

Pharmacy technicians have a number of sources of income in comparison to a technician who isn't a certified one. Once you are a certified PT, you can easily establish a drugstore in your name, or apply for collaboration with a pharmaceutical firm. Moreover, if you wish to work in a hospital, the salary range is way higher.

There is a difference between the educational requirements for a pharmacist and pharmacy technician. While a pharmacist is required to gain a Doctorate in (Pharm.D), there is no such hard-and-fast rule for a technician to have the same. As a result, salary figures are bound to differ.

Since technicians in the field of pharmacy assist experienced pharmacists, their salary range is a bit lower than that of the professionals they work under. Well, ab initio, he/she can earn as good as $35,000 per year. With increasing experience and career opportunities, the average salary of a pharmacy technician reaches up to $50,000 on an annual basis.