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The differences between pharmacist technicians and pharmacist clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a pharmacist technician has an average salary of $36,090, which is higher than the $32,705 average annual salary of a pharmacist clerk.
The top three skills for a pharmacist technician include patients, math and direct supervision. The most important skills for a pharmacist clerk are patients, HIPAA, and basic math.
| Pharmacist Technician | Pharmacist Clerk | |
| Yearly salary | $36,090 | $32,705 |
| Hourly rate | $17.35 | $15.72 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 73,800 | 112,499 |
| Job satisfaction | 1 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | Bachelor's Degree, 30% |
| Average age | 38 | 39 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
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.
A pharmacist clerk is responsible for performing clerical duties in the pharmacy setting, processing prescription orders, and accepting payments for the medications. Pharmacist clerks provide the best customer service by responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns regarding their medications, instructing them on the correct intake, including the dosage, time, and safe storage based on the physician's prescriptions. They also monitor inventories, create request reports, and updating stock information on the database. A pharmacist clerk must have excellent communication and organizational skills, analyzing customer information, as well as evaluating the daily sales transactions.
Pharmacist technicians and pharmacist clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Pharmacist Technician | Pharmacist Clerk | |
| Average salary | $36,090 | $32,705 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $48,000 | Between $25,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Woburn, MA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Maine |
| Best paying company | Valley Presbyterian Hospital | SSM Health |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a pharmacist technician and a pharmacist clerk in terms of educational background:
| Pharmacist Technician | Pharmacist Clerk | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | Bachelor's Degree, 30% |
| Most common major | Pharmacy | Pharmacy |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between pharmacist technicians' and pharmacist clerks' demographics:
| Pharmacist Technician | Pharmacist Clerk | |
| Average age | 38 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1% | Male, 21.1% Female, 78.9% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 24.4% Asian, 10.2% White, 46.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 9% |