Everything you need to know about becoming a Pharmacy Tech

by Sophia Stone

So you want to become a pharmacy tech? So do the 400,000 pharmacy technicians already practicing! Let’s face it: pharmacy is a popular career choice, and job prospects only keep improving as prescription medication use climbs.

The process for becoming a pharmacy tech can seem complicated, but it doesn’t have to be if you know the regulations in your state. Before we outline exactly where to begin, here are a few reasons to consider working as a pharmacy tech, in case you’re not already convinced:

Good For Your Pharmacy Application

First and foremost, working as a pharmacy technician is arguably the best kind of pharmacy experience you can gain before applying to pharmacy school. Not only will this wow admissions committees, but your work experience will help you get a sense of the day in the life of a pharmacist and (hopefully) affirm your passion for the career. Plus, you’ll have plenty of patient encounters to draw from as talking points during interviews!

A Little Extra Cash

You may want to sit down for this, but pharmacy technicians are paid – in fact, a median salary of $30,920 nationwide, or just under $15 per hour. The mean salary varies by state and can be as high as $20.28 per hour in the state of Washington or $19.21 per hour in California.

Open Positions

Job prospects are good. Pharmacy tech positions are projected to grow a whopping 12% between 2016 and 2026, compared to 7% growth across all occupations.

Pharmacy Experience

If your goal is to become a pharmacist, working as a pharmacy technician before going to pharmacy school is the next best thing. Under a pharmacist supervisor, pharmacy techs are responsible for measuring out medications, labeling prescriptions, organizing inventory, processing payments and insurance claims, speaking with customers, and in some states, even mixing or compounding medications. Cool, right?

Without further ado, here are the 5 steps to becoming a pharmacy tech:

1.   Determine the regulations for where you want to practice

Forty-five states require pharmacy techs to be registered or certified, and the exact regulations differ. The regulations for the state in which you plan to practice will help determine many of your next steps, which is why we put this step first.

The ultimate authority on the state regulations is the Board of Pharmacy within each state, whose contact information is listed on the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy website. The regulations for each state can be found in Tables 2a and 2b at the end of this article.

Many states require pharmacy technicians to be nationally certified, meaning that completing the national certification process makes you eligible to work as a pharmacy technician in any state. Even when not required, most pharmacies will either only hire applicants who are nationally certified, or at least give preference to those applicants, so that’s why we’re going to discuss the national certification process next.

3.   If required, find the training program that’s right for you

Completion of an approved pharmacy tech training program is required by many State Boards of Pharmacy. In some states, national certification can replace the training program requirement, but NHA certification already requires the completion of a training program, and PTCB certification will also require this training beginning in 2020. Keep in mind that you must complete an accredited training program before sitting for the ExCPT exam required for NHA certification.

It’s important to confirm that the training program you select is accredited and approved by your State Board of Pharmacy. A list of approved programs can typically be found on each State Board of Pharmacy website.

Training programs usually take a year or less to complete and can cost $500–$11,000. (Yes, it’s definitely an investment, but these costs are significantly lower than the cost of obtaining an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree!) These programs, some of which are online, often have both a class and a lab component, covering pharmacy law, pharmacology, pharmacy ethics, anatomy, healthcare systems, physiology, medical terminology, and pharmaceutical calculations. Try to find programs that offer hands-on training in the form of externships or partnerships with pharmacies, especially when a certain number of on-the-job hours are required by your state.

4.   Schedule, study for, and ace your exam!

Your next order of business is to demonstrate your know-how when it comes to all things pharmacy. To qualify for PTCB certification, you must take the Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam (PTCE), while to qualify for NHA certification, you must take the Exam for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians (ExCPT).

First, you’ll need to register online either with the PTCB or NHA and pay a testing fee ($129 for PTCE and $115 for ExCPT), unless these fees were already bundled into your training program, as is often the case. In some cases, a pharmacy may sponsor your certification and cover your exam fee.

Once you have registered and scheduled your exam, make sure to study the PTCE content areas and take advantage of the practice test and mobile app tools available to help with your PTCE prep, or study the ExCPT content areas and prepare with online learning tools for the ExCPT. Take your studying seriously because the pass rate for the PTCE is just around 58%!

The exams themselves each take about 2 hours to complete (90 questions on the PTCE and 110 questions on the ExCPT). You can expect to receive your results online within 2–3 weeks and receive your certificate in the mail in 4–6 weeks.

In some states, such as Kansas, you may be required to pass a certification exam approved by the State Board of Pharmacy, or a particular exam at the culmination of your training program. Remember to check out Tables 2a and 2b at the end of the article to know the regulations in your state!

5.   Stay a pharmacy tech (and a good one at that)!

In order to maintain certification, you’ll need to keep apace with all the exciting new developments in the pharmacy world that will affect your patients – and how you practice. PTCB certificate holders must complete 20 hours of continuing education (CE) credits every two years to renew their certification while NHA certificate holders are expected to complete 10 hours of CE every two years.

There are also opportunities to gain additional certification in some really interesting areas, including sterile products (IV), chemotherapy, compounding medications, and nuclear pharmacy. This is a great way to challenge yourself as a pharmacy tech, helping you specialize further and expand your technician skill set.

So do you still want to become a pharmacy tech?

This article may be somewhat overwhelming to digest if you’re first considering a pharmacy career. But if you’re excited about the opportunities ahead of you as an aspiring pharmacy tech, then start by studying Tables 2a and 2b below to determine exactly what you need to do to become a pharmacy tech in your state.

After that, visit your State Board of Pharmacy website to confirm your next steps. There you should be able to find instructions on how to register, as well as a list of approved training programs (if required). If instead you decide to become nationally certified, by following the above steps you will become eligible to work as a pharmacy technician in any state – and you’ll be that much closer to a fulfilling career in pharmacy!

Table 2a. Summary of pharmacy technician regulations by state.*

Table 2b. Detailed pharmacy technician regulations by state.*