What does a pharmaceutical technician do?
Pharmaceutical technician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real pharmaceutical technician resumes:
- Attain certification on electric pallet jack.
- Complete and achieve HIPPA training certification in patient confidentiality.
- Manage assigned pharmacy workstations and tasks while supporting team members in promptly, safely and accurately filling patient prescriptions.
- Open and run reclaim on the line.
- Cross-Train in other QA areas as required.
- Skil in reviewing complete batch records for QA approval.
- Follow HIPPA privacy policies and an awareness of legality issues.
- Ensure processes run safely and in accordance to company standards.
- Perform quality control inspections of production operations (QC).
- Load and unload freeze dryers in a numerical systematic order.
- Complete daily break-down, set-up, operation and maintenance of all machinery involve in the extrusion process.
- Perform equipment set-up, operate, troubleshoot, dismantle and clean equipment; and accurately document all work perform as required.
- Identify and troubleshoot equipment malfunctions.
- Prepare side-by-side comparisons of labeling for FDA submissions.
- Enforce regulations and policies regarding confidential information and HIPAA laws.
Pharmaceutical technician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 30% of Pharmaceutical Technicians are proficient in Patients, GMP, and FDA. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Listening skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Pharmaceutical Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 30%
Worked closely with pharmacists to assemble, and distribute medications and medical supplies either directly to patients or other pharmaceutical establishments.
- GMP, 12%
Performed Environmental monitoring using agar plates in GMP controlled areas.
- FDA, 11%
Manufactured various pharmaceuticals through fluid bed technology, under FDA guidelines.
- Pallets, 8%
Received licenses to safely operate forklift, scissor lift and powered walk-behind pallet jacks.
- DEA, 7%
Removed C2 and non C2 drugs from both Walmart and Sams Club Pharmacies along the east coast according to DEA regulations.
- Pharmacy Inventory, 5%
Maintained pharmacy inventory* Assisted pharmacist by receiving and filling prescriptions* Entered data into computer systems
"patients," "gmp," and "fda" are among the most common skills that pharmaceutical technicians use at work. You can find even more pharmaceutical technician responsibilities below, including:
Customer-service skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a pharmaceutical technician to have is customer-service skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "pharmacy technicians spend much of their time interacting with customers, so being helpful and polite is required of pharmacy technicians in a retail setting." Pharmaceutical technicians often use customer-service skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "managed insurance claims and handled issues pertaining to insurance companies to ensure customer satisfaction. "
Listening skills. Many pharmaceutical technician duties rely on listening skills. "pharmacy technicians must communicate clearly with pharmacists and doctors when taking prescription orders," so a pharmaceutical technician will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways pharmaceutical technician responsibilities rely on listening skills: "communicated with insurance companies via phone conversations daily while troubleshooting technological errors in computer systems. "
Math skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of pharmaceutical technicians is math skills. This skill is critical to many everyday pharmaceutical technician duties, as "pharmacy technicians need to have an understanding of the math concepts used in pharmacies when counting pills and compounding medications." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "performed mathematical calculations to determine accuracy of filling and production equipment runs. "
Organizational skills. pharmaceutical technician responsibilities often require "organizational skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "working as a pharmacy technician involves balancing a variety of responsibilities." This resume example shows what pharmaceutical technicians do with organizational skills on a typical day: "showcased ability to multi-task and keep organizational spreadsheets for multiple patients on several medications. "
Detail oriented. A commonly-found skill in pharmaceutical technician job descriptions, "detail oriented" is essential to what pharmaceutical technicians do. Pharmaceutical technician responsibilities rely on this skill because "serious health problems can result from mistakes in filling prescriptions." You can also see how pharmaceutical technician duties rely on detail oriented in this resume example: "provide detailed record keeping of inventory, controlled substance dispensing and insurance claims. "
The three companies that hire the most pharmaceutical technicians are:
- Catalent Pharma Solutions3 pharmaceutical technicians jobs
- Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc3 pharmaceutical technicians jobs
- Katalyst Surgical3 pharmaceutical technicians jobs
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Compare different pharmaceutical technicians
Pharmaceutical technician vs. Technician, inventory specialist
Technicians are skilled professionals who primarily work with technology in different industries. They are knowledgeable about the technical aspects of the various items they work with. They are usually working with electricity or with technological advancements. Technicians may be assigned to do the construction of equipment or materials related to their field of study. They may also be assigned to conduct diagnostics and other maintenance activities to ensure that the equipment works properly. Technicians may also be required to conduct basic repairs in case of problems. It is important that technicians have good analytical skills and decision-making skills.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between pharmaceutical technicians and technician, inventory specialist. For instance, pharmaceutical technician responsibilities require skills such as "gmp," "fda," "pallets," and "dea." Whereas a technician, inventory specialist is skilled in "customer service," "data entry," "patient care," and "physical inventory." This is part of what separates the two careers.
The education levels that technicians, inventory specialist earn slightly differ from pharmaceutical technicians. In particular, technicians, inventory specialist are 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a pharmaceutical technician. Additionally, they're 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Pharmaceutical technician vs. Assistant lead technician
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that pharmaceutical technician responsibilities requires skills like "patients," "gmp," "fda," and "pallets." But an assistant lead technician might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "pet," "technical support," "hvac," and "windows."
Assistant lead technicians earn similar levels of education than pharmaceutical technicians in general. They're 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Pharmaceutical technician vs. Pharmacist associate
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from pharmaceutical technician resumes include skills like "gmp," "fda," "pallets," and "dea," whereas a pharmacist associate is more likely to list skills in "customer service," "telephone calls," "pos," and "medication orders. "
Pharmacist associates earn the best pay in the health care industry, where they command an average salary of $43,408. Pharmaceutical technicians earn the highest pay from the pharmaceutical industry, with an average salary of $48,193.pharmacist associates typically earn similar educational levels compared to pharmaceutical technicians. Specifically, they're 0.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Pharmaceutical technician vs. Technician
Even though a few skill sets overlap between pharmaceutical technicians and technicians, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a pharmaceutical technician might have more use for skills like "gmp," "pallets," "dea," and "pharmacy inventory." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of technicians require skills like "customer service," "patient care," "hand tools," and "diagnosis. "
The telecommunication industry tends to pay the highest salaries for technicians, with average annual pay of $46,660. Comparatively, the highest pharmaceutical technician annual salary comes from the pharmaceutical industry.technicians reach similar levels of education compared to pharmaceutical technicians, in general. The difference is that they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of pharmaceutical technician
Updated January 8, 2025
