How To Become A Compounding Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a compounding technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a compounding technician. For example, did you know that they make an average of $21.23 an hour? That's $44,162 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 22,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCompounding TechnicianUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $44,162

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.5

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.80%

Asian 10.11%

Black or African American 8.65%

Hispanic or Latino 14.49%

Unknown 5.72%

White 60.23%

Gender

female 50.99%

male 49.01%

Age - 36

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 36

Stress level

8.5

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.0

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a compounding technician

Explore compounding technician education requirements

Most common compounding technician degrees

Bachelor's

35.9 %

Associate

21.0 %

High School Diploma

14.9 %

Start to develop specific compounding technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	18.91%
IV	9.51%
Direct Supervision	7.40%
Quality Standards	6.23%
Customer Satisfaction	5.75%

Complete relevant compounding technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New compounding technicians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a compounding technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real compounding technician resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed compounding technician usually require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed compounding technician in most of states. 38 states require compounding technicians to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License url
Alabama	-	-	Licensed Pharmacist Technician
Alaska	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Pharmacist
Arkansas	Degree required	Both state and third-party exams required	Pharmacist
California	Degree required	Both state and third-party exams required	Pharmacist, Registered
Connecticut	Degree required	State exam required	Pharmacist

Research compounding technician duties and responsibilities

Experience in using syringes and managing other compounding activities in accordance with USP797.
Manage assigned pharmacy workstations and tasks while supporting team members in promptly, safely and accurately filling patient prescriptions.
Ensure compliance with customer requirements including all applicable USP, OSHA, FDA and GMP regulations; respirator train.
Blister packing, filling syringes, preparing daily medications )

Prepare your compounding technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your compounding technician resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a compounding technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable compounding technician resume templates

Build a professional compounding technician resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your compounding technician resume.