Pharmacists and Patients Rely on Pharmacy Technicians

Some people have jobs. Some people have careers. A career is an occupation for which a person needs schooling.

Some careers are well known. Many children want to be a firefighter or a teacher when they grow up. But there are other careers. They are not as well known. The people who choose them can make enough money to support themselves and their families.

One such career is pharmacy ("far-ma-see") technician. If you have been to a drugstore, you have seen pharmacy technician. Pharmacy technicians give medicine and other health care products to people who need them. They count out pills and other kinds of medicine. They make sure the label on a prescription is correct.

Pharmacy technicians help pharmacists ("far-ma-sists"). Pharmacists (druggists) run the pharmacy. Pharmacists spend six years in college to learn their career. They answer questions about what a medication will do and what to do if it is not working.

It helps to like people
Both the pharmacist and pharmacy technician do important jobs. The right drug can cure a sick person. The wrong one can cause a lot of harm. It is the pharmacist's job to make sure that the right person gets exactly the right medication. The pharmacy technician helps make sure that happens.

Pharmacies are busy places. Walgreen's wrote 583 million prescriptions in a single year. Good pharmacy technicians like dealing with people. They need to have at least a GED/HSED or high school diploma before they can get a job. Felons cannot become pharmacy technicians.

Some pharmacy technicians learn their career on the job. But most companies prefer to hire people who have taken professional training courses. In Wisconsin, several technical colleges offer programs in this profession. The programs take one year to complete.

Milwaukee Area Technical College is planning a six or eight week Community Pharmacy Aide program with CVS and Goodwill Industries to get people started in the profession. People who complete this training perform only some of the duties of a pharmacy technician and earn less money. However, it gives them a chance to continue their training to become a certified pharmacy technician.

Certified technicians earn more
Jessica Scheid is a certified pharmacy technician in Wausau. She got her first job in 1997 and became certified in 2000. She took a national certification test to become certified. Every two years she has to take at least 20 hours worth of classes to keep her certification current. She has a very good reason to do so.

"I make $13 per hour and work 40 hours per week," she said. "If I were not certified, I would make $9 to $10 per hour."

The starting salary for certified pharmacy technicians is $21,424. Community pharmacy aides make less. Most pharmacy technicians work in stores such as Walgreen's and CVS. But they also work in hospitals and nursing homes. Some work for mail order or Internet pharmacies. Jessica has worked in drugstores. She has also worked for a health insurance company and a hospital.

Programs located around Wisconsin
Several Wisconsin Technical Colleges offer pharmacy technician training. They are: Milwaukee Area Technical College, Fox Valley Technical College, Moraine Park Technical College, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Gateway Technical College, Waukesha County Technical College, Nicolet Area Technical College, and Mid-State Technical College.

Students take lecture and laboratory classes. Some programs offer internships in a work setting. That way, students get work experience before they graduate. Graduates can also take a national certification examination. In Wisconsin, there is a growing need for pharmacy technicians. That is expected to continue until 2014.

This website: http://wihealthcareers.org/Career_occ_view2.cfm?o_id=51 has a lot of good information for anyone thinking about a career as a pharmacy technician. Contact the Wisconsin Technical College in your area for program information.