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The differences between pharmacists and senior pharmacist technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a pharmacist has an average salary of $118,968, which is higher than the $68,845 average annual salary of a senior pharmacist technician.
The top three skills for a pharmacist include patients, customer service and employee development. The most important skills for a senior pharmacist technician are patients, customer service, and math.
| Pharmacist | Senior Pharmacist Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $118,968 | $68,845 |
| Hourly rate | $57.20 | $33.10 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 50,943 | 72,832 |
| Job satisfaction | 3.67 | 1 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Average age | 42 | 38 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Pharmacists are medical experts who distribute prescribed medications and immunizations to individuals. They are responsible for ensuring the quality of medicines supplied to patients, which should be within the law and prescribing only what is suitable to the condition of the user and provide proper knowledge on how to take them and possible reactions or side effects that may occur. Pharmacists could work in all environments where medications are used, or medication therapy is appraised as part of patients' care plan but most commonly in hospitals, community-based setting, and health systems.
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.
Pharmacists and senior pharmacist technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Pharmacist | Senior Pharmacist Technician | |
| Average salary | $118,968 | $68,845 |
| Salary range | Between $93,000 And $151,000 | Between $37,000 And $126,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sacramento, CA | Draper, UT |
| Highest paying state | California | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Safeway | Allergan plc |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a pharmacist and a senior pharmacist technician in terms of educational background:
| Pharmacist | Senior Pharmacist Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Most common major | Pharmacy | Pharmacy |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | - |
Here are the differences between pharmacists' and senior pharmacist technicians' demographics:
| Pharmacist | Senior Pharmacist Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 43.2% Female, 56.8% | Male, 29.6% Female, 70.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 5.6% Asian, 20.9% White, 62.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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 | 11% | 5% |