What is the career path for a pharmacy technician?

The career path for a pharmacy technician involves jobs as a pharmacy technician, a pharmacist, and a lead pharmacist. However, pharmacy technicians that are seeking to become pharmacists must go back to school to achieve this.

The pharmacy technician career path is generally straightforward, however, there can be variance in terms of where a pharmacist will work. There is essential knowledge and skills needed for this field and for advancement along this career path. Here are some of the key areas of a pharmacy technician's career path:

• Education

Pharmacy technicians attend training schools to become skilled and qualified in the field. This training normally takes between one to two years. For those looking to advance on this career path to becoming pharmacists, pre-pharmacy courses in college are required, and there are many more educational requirements:

There are two college tracks you can take to become a pharmacist

The first involves completing an undergraduate degree before moving into a pharmacological graduate program, while the second option is a combined one that incorporates all of the relevant coursework into one program. Pre-pharmacy courses are offered as either two or four-year degrees. You need to determine what type of graduate program you want to get into.

Recommended courses and majors for the first pharmacist educational track include:

• Biology

• Chemistry

• Microbiology

• Human physiology

• Biochemistry

• Calculus

• Organic chemistry

Those who wish to remain on the pharmacy technician career path will find that it is somewhat limited in terms of career advancement, and if they want to achieve higher titles with better pay, they need to go back to pharmacy school to become a pharmacist.

• Training

On-the-job pharmacy technician training consists of a wide range of pharmacy-related tasks. In broad terms, you shadow a professional pharmacist to gain knowledge, skills, and professional experience. Many pharmacists start out as pharmacy technicians to gain the proper level of experience before receiving the superior title of a pharmacist.

Some of the main tasks and responsibilities include:

• Helping pharmacists fill prescriptions

• Assisting with administrative duties

• Entering customer information into databases

• Offering customer service to shoppers

Depending on the pharmacy, the on-the-job training may vary to different degrees. However, there are some standards that are universal.

• Places of work for this career path

• Retail drugstores

• Health care facilities

• Hospitals

• Nursing homes

• Mental health institutions

• Health clinics

Some pharmacists also work for pharmaceutical corporations that develop new medications, drugs, and vaccines. These pharmacists tend to have the highest paying salaries as an incentive for their innovations in the field. However, most pharmacists are very well-paid.