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The differences between pharmacist assistants and pharmacist technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a pharmacist assistant has an average salary of $37,719, which is higher than the $36,090 average annual salary of a pharmacist technician.
The top three skills for a pharmacist assistant include patients, customer service and phone calls. The most important skills for a pharmacist technician are patients, math, and direct supervision.
| Pharmacist Assistant | Pharmacist Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $37,719 | $36,090 |
| Hourly rate | $18.13 | $17.35 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 47,082 | 73,800 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 1 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 35% |
| Average age | 39 | 38 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Pharmacist assistants require skills in teamwork, organization, problem-solving, computer literacy, communication, and mathematics. Paid anywhere from $24K to $200K per year, those who choose this career will be expected to work alongside licensed pharmacists and pharmacist technicians to help process prescriptions. They also perform clerical and organizational duties.
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.
Pharmacist assistants and pharmacist technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Pharmacist Assistant | Pharmacist Technician | |
| Average salary | $37,719 | $36,090 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $50,000 | Between $26,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | Carmel, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Sutter Health | Valley Presbyterian Hospital |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a pharmacist assistant and a pharmacist technician in terms of educational background:
| Pharmacist Assistant | Pharmacist Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 42% | Bachelor's Degree, 35% |
| Most common major | Pharmacy | Pharmacy |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between pharmacist assistants' and pharmacist technicians' demographics:
| Pharmacist Assistant | Pharmacist Technician | |
| Average age | 39 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 27.7% Female, 72.3% | Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.7% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.3% Asian, 11.3% White, 48.4% 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 | 9% | 5% |