Certified pharmacist technician vs laboratory assistant

The differences between certified pharmacist technicians and 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 $34,168 average annual salary of a laboratory assistant.

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

Certified pharmacist technician vs laboratory assistant overview

	Certified Pharmacist Technician	Laboratory Assistant
Yearly salary	$37,059	$34,168
Hourly rate	$17.82	$16.43
Growth rate	5%	9%
Number of jobs	113,033	50,853
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
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 laboratory assistant do?

Laboratory assistants work for researchers, scientists, or professors in the laboratory setting. They are expected to have a solid background in the field of study of the laboratory they are assigned to. They do a variety of tasks in the laboratory, such as setting up equipment, observing experiments, analyzing results, creating reports, and recommending improvements to the testing. They may also be assigned to clean and sanitize laboratory equipment as needed. Laboratory assistants should have good research skills, analytical skills, and organizational skills.

Certified pharmacist technician vs laboratory assistant salary

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

	Certified Pharmacist Technician	Laboratory Assistant
Average salary	$37,059	$34,168
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $50,000	Between $26,000 And $44,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Dignity Health	UST Global
Best paying industry	Health Care	Manufacturing

Differences between certified pharmacist technician and laboratory assistant education

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

	Certified Pharmacist Technician	Laboratory Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 39%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Pharmacy	Biology
Most common college	-	New York University

Certified pharmacist technician vs laboratory assistant demographics

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

	Certified Pharmacist Technician	Laboratory Assistant
Average age	38	44
Gender ratio	Male, 20.8% Female, 79.2%	Male, 43.6% Female, 56.4%
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, 9.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 13.9% White, 53.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	5%	8%

Differences between certified pharmacist technician and 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

Laboratory assistant example responsibilities.

Comfort frighten patients and maintain an exceptionally bright professional demeanor to accomplish a procedure that makes most people very uncomfortable.
Maintain and QC check laboratory equipment.
Preform laboratory duties using microscopes, centrifuges and a host of other laboratory equipment.
Provide excellent customer service to patients while accurately updating patient demographics, insurance and billing information in LabCorp LCM program.
Provide continuing education in the form of periodic in-services relating the phlebotomy procedures, tests and proper specimen collection requirements.
Process eyewear to meet national ANSII and OSHA standards.

Certified pharmacist technician vs laboratory assistant skills

Common certified pharmacist technician skills

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

Common laboratory assistant skills

Patients, 15%
Phlebotomy, 12%
Customer Service, 6%
Lab Procedures, 5%
Specimen Collection, 5%
Patient Care, 5%

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Certified Pharmacist Technician
Certified Pharmacist Technician vs Laboratory Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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