Pharmacy Technician/Assistant

Types of Degrees Pharmacy Technician/Assistant Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many pharmacy technician/assistant graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Undergraduate Certificate	3,756
Basic Certificate	2,501
Associate Degree	1,136

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

This major prepares you for careers in which these 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

A major in pharmacy technician/assistant prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• 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

Pharmacy Technician/Assistant majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• 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?

People with a pharmacy technician/assistant degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Health Specialties Professors	25.9%	$97,370
Pharmacy Technicians	11.8%	$32,700

How Much Do Pharmacy Technician/Assistant Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Pharmacy Technician/Assistant majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $34,020 to $122,320 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

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 careers associated with pharmacy technician/assistant require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. 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

In 2020-2021, 498 schools offered a pharmacy technician/assistant program of some type. 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)	348	10
Certificate (2-4 Years)	5	0
Associate’s Degree	155	11
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.

Majors 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	56,466
Physical Therapy Assistant	7,420
Occupational Therapist Assistant	4,848
Other Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services	3,493
Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance)	3,031
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Assistant	709
Respiratory Therapy Technician/Assistant	365
Anesthesiologist Assistant	327
Speech-Language Pathology Assistant	189
Radiologist Assistant	109
Pathology/Pathologist Assistant	97
Lactation Consultant	45

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.