The Average Salary of a Pharmacy Tech in Georgia
While customers in Georgia's pharmacies made up just 3.2 percent of the country's total in 2009, those 119,238,095 prescriptions kept pharmacists busy behind the counter, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Assisting pharmacists are pharmacy technicians, who perform tasks such as labeling prescription bottles, counting pills, running customer insurance, ordering supplies and fielding orders. For Georgia's pharmacy technicians, average salaries fell below the national mean for the profession.
Other People Are Reading
-
Facts
-
After conducting a survey on the wages of pharmacy technicians throughout the country, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) established the average salary for the field as $28,940 per year in 2009. The salaries for Georgia's pharmacy technicians that year fell below the country's average, with a statewide average wage of $27,150 per year, a difference of $1,790.
Range
-
Some of Georgia's 9,770 pharmacy technicians did earn salaries significantly higher than their behind-the-counter colleagues in the nation. In Georgia's highest 90th percentile of earners, salaries averaged $37,150 per year. At the opposite end of the scale, pharmacy technicians in Georgia's lowest-paying 10th percentile earned salaries of $19,080 per year.
-
Considerations
-
Georgia residents interested in earning salaries as pharmacy technicians will find no singular educational or experience requirement to enter the field. A high school diploma or GED may be required by some employers. Most training is conducted on the job by other pharmacy technicians, pharmacists or training personnel. Prospective pharmacy technicians may also gain education by enrolling in a short-term certificate, two-year associate degree, or diploma program at a local community college or technical school, though this is not required.
Outlook
-
The BLS anticipates a 31 percent increase in employment of pharmacy technicians countrywide, adding 99,800 jobs between 2008 and 2018. An aging population's demands for medication contributes to the increase in need for pharmacy technicians, along with the general public's heightened access to medical insurance coverage.
-
References
- Photo Credit santé pharmacie image by Gabriel-Ciscardi from Fotolia.com
