Average Pharmacy Lab Technician Salary
Pharmacy lab technicians are pharmacists’ right-hand assistants. They work in hospitals, retail pharmacies and mail-order pharmacies. The technicians help pharmacists get prescriptions ready, and also deal with customers, paperwork and phone calls. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for pharmacy lab technicians will grow by nearly a third between 2010 and 2016.
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General Salary
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Pharmacy lab technician salaries range from $19,270 to $39,480 a year, with an average salary of $27,710, according to the 2008 Occupational Employment Statistics Survey Program. Individual salaries vary by location, experience and the type of workplace. Hospitals tend to pay higher salaries than grocery store pharmacies, which pay more than drug store pharmacies.
Top Employers
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According to the PayScale website, the most popular employers for pharmacy lab technicians in October 2010 were retail drugstore and pharmacy chains. These included CVS, Wal-Mart, Walgreen Co., CVS Caremark Corp. and Rite Aid Pharmacy. Wal-Mart had the highest reported salary range, paying technicians from $9.25 to $12.07 an hour.
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Top Industries
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In addition to retail drugstore and pharmacy chains, popular industries for pharmacy lab technicians included other retail establishments, pharmaceutical companies, grocery stores and hospitals. Among these industries, hospitals paid the most for their pharmacy technicians, with salaries ranging from $9.80 to $13.53 an hour in October 2010. Retail stores and groceries stores paid the least, with their low-end wage at $9.05 an hour.
Increasing Pay Through Education
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One way to increase your pay as a pharmacy lab technician is to get a better degree or certification in the field. This indicates to employers that you have a higher level of training. The average hourly rate for a certified pharmacy technician was $10.27 to $15.58 in 2010, according to PayScale. Those with a bachelor's degree in biology reported an hourly salary range of $8.49 to $11.97. That amounts to a pay difference of more than $7,500 a year on the high end of the ranges, assuming full-time employment.
Increasing Pay Through Longevity
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Another way to increase your pay is to gain seniority with your company in your position. According to PayScale, 18 percent of pharmacy technicians have less than a year of experience while only 2 percent have 20 years or more experience. The bulk of technicians (56 percent) have between one and four years of experience.
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References
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