Medication aide vs pharmacist technician

The differences between medication aides and pharmacist technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a medication aide has an average salary of $40,799, which is higher than the $36,090 average annual salary of a pharmacist technician.

The top three skills for a medication aide include compassion, resident care and state regulations. The most important skills for a pharmacist technician are patients, math, and direct supervision.

Medication aide vs pharmacist technician overview

	Medication Aide	Pharmacist Technician
Yearly salary	$40,799	$36,090
Hourly rate	$19.61	$17.35
Growth rate	9%	5%
Number of jobs	275,582	73,800
Job satisfaction	-	1
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 23%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Average age	42	38
Years of experience	3	-

What does a medication aide do?

A medication aide is a healthcare professional who is responsible for administering medication to patients daily in a hospital or medical facility. As certified nursing assistants, medication aides should possess knowledge of patient care procedures so that they can coordinate with different nurses to deliver them. They follow written or verbal instructions from physicians on how to manage their patients' medications. Medication aides are also required to observe their patients and document changes in their conditions.

What does a pharmacist technician do?

Pharmacist technicians assist pharmacists in their daily activities. They receive prescription medicine order requests of customers, validate the prescription, prepare the medicines, properly label medicine bottles, and hand them off to customers. They also answer customer inquiries and attend to customer concerns. Pharmacist technicians also manage the pharmacy's inventory and ensure that all records are up to date. They are also authorized to create purchase requisition requests for medicines that are running low and need to be refilled, but these requests should still be authorized by a doctor.

Medication aide vs pharmacist technician salary

Medication aides and pharmacist technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medication Aide	Pharmacist Technician
Average salary	$40,799	$36,090
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $50,000	Between $26,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	Madison, WI	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Alaska
Best paying company	Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company	Valley Presbyterian Hospital
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Health Care

Differences between medication aide and pharmacist technician education

There are a few differences between a medication aide and a pharmacist technician in terms of educational background:

	Medication Aide	Pharmacist Technician
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 23%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Most common major	Nursing	Pharmacy
Most common college	-	-

Medication aide vs pharmacist technician demographics

Here are the differences between medication aides' and pharmacist technicians' demographics:

	Medication Aide	Pharmacist Technician
Average age	42	38
Gender ratio	Male, 15.7% Female, 84.3%	Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 63.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	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	7%	5%

Differences between medication aide and pharmacist technician duties and responsibilities

Medication aide example responsibilities.

Manage memory unity within facility.
Provide care for patients in need of long term care and rehabilitation.
Administer medication according to state laws and guidelines as well as facility guidelines and assist residents with ADL's.
preserve patient's dignity while providing such duties as bedpan changes, bathing, diapering, emptying catheter and colostomy bags.
Assist with changing colostomy bags.
learned to be more efficient with time restraints!

Pharmacist technician example responsibilities.

Manage the OPTIFILL (automation) operations and maintenance of equipment, including the PYXIS medication dispensing machine.
Manage assigned pharmacy workstations and tasks while supporting team members in promptly, safely and accurately filling patient prescriptions.
Manage inventory; process physician orders; prepare chemotherapy and intravenous medications; support departments in distribution and preparation of medications.
Consult with patients as an (CPhT) on their medical usages via written prescription by authorize medical personnel.
Compound TPN's (total peripheral nutrition), chemotherapy, iv admixture, antibiotics, and other pharmacy medications.
Record customer information into Rx computer system.

Medication aide vs pharmacist technician skills

Common medication aide skills

Compassion, 11%
Resident Care, 11%
State Regulations, 8%
Infection Control, 7%
Incident Reports, 5%
Vital Signs, 5%

Common pharmacist technician skills

Patients, 32%
Math, 12%
Direct Supervision, 5%
HIPAA, 4%
Collective Bargaining, 4%
Telephone Calls, 4%

Medication Aide vs. similar jobs

Medication Aide related careers

Medication Aide related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Healthcare Support Industry
Medication Aide
Medication Aide vs Pharmacist Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse healthcare support jobs