Certified pharmacist technician vs clinical laboratory assistant

The differences between certified pharmacist technicians and clinical laboratory assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a certified pharmacist technician has an average salary of $37,059, which is higher than the $32,679 average annual salary of a clinical laboratory assistant.

The top three skills for a certified pharmacist technician include patients, direct supervision and math. The most important skills for a clinical laboratory assistant are patients, phlebotomy, and clinical lab.

Certified pharmacist technician vs clinical laboratory assistant overview

	Certified Pharmacist Technician	Clinical Laboratory Assistant
Yearly salary	$37,059	$32,679
Hourly rate	$17.82	$15.71
Growth rate	5%	10%
Number of jobs	113,033	108,124
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Average age	38	44
Years of experience	-	12

What does a certified pharmacist technician do?

A certified pharmacist technician is responsible for assisting patients by providing medicines based on their needs or their physicians' prescriptions. Certified pharmacist technicians must be able to supply the correct medications, including the right dosage to patients. They must also have a broad understanding of the medical industry, providing medicinal information to patients and referring them to the right health professionals as needed. Certified pharmacist technicians also monitor medicine inventories, manage supplies, and create sales reports.

What does a clinical laboratory assistant do?

A clinical laboratory assistant specializes in performing support tasks in a laboratory or similar setting using their in-depth knowledge. They are primarily responsible for assisting researchers, preparing samples and apparatus, conducting experiments and analysis, maintaining extensive documentation of all processes and results, and reporting to management. Moreover, a clinical laboratory assistant is also responsible for gathering necessary information before beginning studies and maintaining the laboratory's cleanliness and sanitation. It is vital to implement all the safety rules and regulations to ensure a safe and productive work environment.

Certified pharmacist technician vs clinical laboratory assistant salary

Certified pharmacist technicians and clinical laboratory assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Certified Pharmacist Technician	Clinical Laboratory Assistant
Average salary	$37,059	$32,679
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $50,000	Between $26,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	Anchorage, AK
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Dignity Health	Roswell Park
Best paying industry	Health Care	Technology

Differences between certified pharmacist technician and clinical laboratory assistant education

There are a few differences between a certified pharmacist technician and a clinical laboratory assistant in terms of educational background:

	Certified Pharmacist Technician	Clinical Laboratory Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Most common major	Pharmacy	Biology
Most common college	-	New York University

Certified pharmacist technician vs clinical laboratory assistant demographics

Here are the differences between certified pharmacist technicians' and clinical laboratory assistants' demographics:

	Certified Pharmacist Technician	Clinical Laboratory Assistant
Average age	38	44
Gender ratio	Male, 20.8% Female, 79.2%	Male, 25.4% Female, 74.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 10.1% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 12.1% White, 54.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	5%	8%

Differences between certified pharmacist technician and clinical laboratory assistant duties and responsibilities

Certified pharmacist technician example responsibilities.

Manage return authorizations of expire and damage drugs to send back to vendor or Walgreens distribution center.
Secure and manage PYXIS systems during facility emergencies.
Manage assigned pharmacy workstations and tasks while supporting team members in promptly, safely and accurately filling patient prescriptions.
Experience in patient intake, data entry, dosage calculations, Rx clarification, billing, adjudicate claims, and dispensing.
Fill prescriptions under guidance a register pharmacist using intercom.
Fill PYXIS machines on every floor of the hospital in a timely and accurate manner

Clinical laboratory assistant example responsibilities.

Achieve PHLEBOTOMY duties utilizing proper infection control techniques and perform a variety of laboratory tests.
Process specimen, recollect and deliver to chemistry, microbiology, molecular or hematology departments for testing.
Receive specimens for microbiology, histology, cytology, anatomic pathology and hematology tests/procedures, checks for proper identification and requisition.
Operate EKG and other equipment to administer routine diagnostic tests.
Transfer of samples from racks to centrifuges and decant station.
Administer EKG's, clean wounds, draw labs, and apply dressings.

Certified pharmacist technician vs clinical laboratory assistant skills

Common certified pharmacist technician skills

Patients, 22%
Direct Supervision, 10%
Math, 8%
Telephone Calls, 7%
Inventory Control, 4%
RX, 4%

Common clinical laboratory assistant skills

Patients, 17%
Phlebotomy, 14%
Clinical Lab, 7%
Customer Service, 6%
Specimen Collection, 4%
Patient Care, 4%

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Certified Pharmacist Technician
Certified Pharmacist Technician vs Clinical Laboratory Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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