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The differences between certified pharmacist technicians and senior pharmacist technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior pharmacist technician has an average salary of $68,845, which is higher than the $37,059 average annual salary of a certified pharmacist technician.
The top three skills for a certified pharmacist technician include patients, direct supervision and math. The most important skills for a senior pharmacist technician are patients, customer service, and math.
| Certified Pharmacist Technician | Senior Pharmacist Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $37,059 | $68,845 |
| Hourly rate | $17.82 | $33.10 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 113,033 | 72,832 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 1 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
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.
A senior pharmacy technician is an individual who assures that pharmacists have access to appropriate pharmaceuticals and supplies as well as provide convenient access to customers on over-the-counter items. Senior pharmacist technicians must assist the pharmacist on duty in filling prescriptions by verifying the correct product and entering the patient's insurance and personal information into the pharmacy software application. They must provide good customer service by coordinating with physicians to obtain refill authorizations and accepting refill requests from customers over the phone. Senior pharmacist technicians must also assist with the annual inventory of prescription drugs and over-the-counter products.
Certified pharmacist technicians and senior pharmacist technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Certified Pharmacist Technician | Senior Pharmacist Technician | |
| Average salary | $37,059 | $68,845 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $50,000 | Between $37,000 And $126,000 |
| Highest paying City | Vancouver, WA | Draper, UT |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Dignity Health | Allergan plc |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a certified pharmacist technician and a senior pharmacist technician in terms of educational background:
| Certified Pharmacist Technician | Senior Pharmacist Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Most common major | Pharmacy | Pharmacy |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between certified pharmacist technicians' and senior pharmacist technicians' demographics:
| Certified Pharmacist Technician | Senior Pharmacist Technician | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 20.8% Female, 79.2% | Male, 29.6% Female, 70.4% |
| 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, 8.6% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 10.1% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |