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The differences between specimen technicians and pharmacist technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a specimen technician has an average salary of $39,267, which is higher than the $36,090 average annual salary of a pharmacist technician.
The top three skills for a specimen technician include patients, data entry and medical terminology. The most important skills for a pharmacist technician are patients, math, and direct supervision.
| Specimen Technician | Pharmacist Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $39,267 | $36,090 |
| Hourly rate | $18.88 | $17.35 |
| Growth rate | 1% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 79,207 | 73,800 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 1 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 36% | Bachelor's Degree, 35% |
| Average age | 44 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | - |
A specimen technician is responsible for processing a human's medical sample and specimen in a laboratory setting to diagnose medical conditions and identify treatment plans. Specimen technicians operate various laboratory tools and equipment, requiring them to strictly adhere to safety guidelines and protocols to avoid potential hazards and potential disease contamination. They also record laboratory findings accurately and write comprehensive reports for the patients' and doctors' reference. A specimen technician may refer test results to other institutions for second opinions as needed for further investigation before the release of findings.
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.
Specimen technicians and pharmacist technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Specimen Technician | Pharmacist Technician | |
| Average salary | $39,267 | $36,090 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $53,000 | Between $26,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sacramento, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Integrated Resources | Valley Presbyterian Hospital |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a specimen technician and a pharmacist technician in terms of educational background:
| Specimen Technician | Pharmacist Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 36% | Bachelor's Degree, 35% |
| Most common major | Biology | Pharmacy |
| Most common college | New York University | - |
Here are the differences between specimen technicians' and pharmacist technicians' demographics:
| Specimen Technician | Pharmacist Technician | |
| Average age | 44 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.6% Female, 69.4% | Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 12.0% White, 54.1% 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 | 8% | 5% |