Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between pharmacist technician trainees and certified pharmacist technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a pharmacist technician trainee has an average salary of $50,647, which is higher than the $37,059 average annual salary of a certified pharmacist technician.
The top three skills for a pharmacist technician trainee include patients, HIPAA and phone calls. The most important skills for a certified pharmacist technician are patients, direct supervision, and math.
| Pharmacist Technician Trainee | Certified Pharmacist Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $50,647 | $37,059 |
| Hourly rate | $24.35 | $17.82 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 97,227 | 113,033 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 29% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A pharmacist technician trainee is responsible for supporting the staff on pharmacy operations, assisting patients on their medications, and providing other needs according to prescriptions. Pharmacist technician trainees maintain the cleanliness and orderliness of the facility, including the adequacy of medicine storage and creating purchase requests. They also respond to patients' inquiries and concerns, as well as reiterating the instructions and dosage of medicines to take. A pharmacist technician trainee verifies order forms and processes payment accurately, escalating discrepancies to the supervisor immediately.
A certified pharmacist technician is responsible for assisting patients by providing medicines based on their needs or their physicians' prescriptions. Certified pharmacist technicians must be able to supply the correct medications, including the right dosage to patients. They must also have a broad understanding of the medical industry, providing medicinal information to patients and referring them to the right health professionals as needed. Certified pharmacist technicians also monitor medicine inventories, manage supplies, and create sales reports.
Pharmacist technician trainees and certified pharmacist technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Pharmacist Technician Trainee | Certified Pharmacist Technician | |
| Average salary | $50,647 | $37,059 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $105,000 | Between $27,000 And $50,000 |
| Highest paying City | Milford, CT | Vancouver, WA |
| Highest paying state | California | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Amazon | Dignity Health |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a pharmacist technician trainee and a certified pharmacist technician in terms of educational background:
| Pharmacist Technician Trainee | Certified Pharmacist Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 29% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Most common major | Pharmacy | Pharmacy |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between pharmacist technician trainees' and certified pharmacist technicians' demographics:
| Pharmacist Technician Trainee | Certified Pharmacist Technician | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 21.5% Female, 78.5% | Male, 20.8% Female, 79.2% |
| 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, 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 | 5% | 5% |