In recent years, the demand for healthcare services has skyrocketed. The Baby Boomer generation’s increased need for medical attention and the expansion of health insurance coverage to millions of people, thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), has created a massive demand for healthcare occupations, including pharmacy technicians. In fact, in 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that healthcare occupations are among the fastest-growing economic sectors at 13 percent overall. As part of this ballooning market, openings for pharmacy technicians are also expected to grow 5 percent between 2021 and 2031, as fast as the national average.
Still, due to increased workloads from the Covid-19 pandemic and pharmaceutical regulations, pharmaceutical technicians (also known as “pharmacy techs”) will likely be in high demand in the coming years.
Before the pandemic, one of the biggest public health crises in the United States was the abuse of prescription opioids. Having plagued the United States for more than 20 years, opioid addiction is still running rampant. In 2021, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that 75 percent of the 92,000 drug overdose deaths involved an illicit or prescription opioid. Furthermore, the total spending on pharmaceutical drugs increases yearly, with Americans spending $574 billion on medicines in 2022.
In short, the pharmaceutical industry is poised for growth in the face of multiple public health crises. Therefore, qualified pharmacy technicians will be needed for routine and regulatory tasks in the coming decade.
So what do pharmacy technicians do? The BLS states that these professionals perform a variety of functions under licensed pharmacists, such as measuring medications; labeling and packaging prescriptions; acting as liaisons between customers and healthcare workers; delivering medicine to patients, nursing stations, or surgical rooms; managing and organizing pharmaceutical inventories; and accepting payment for medications. Many of the duties are learned on the job, and these technicians may work in drugstores, grocery stores, nursing homes, hospitals, or other medical settings. Since some pharmacies are open 24 hours per day, some of these professionals work nights and weekends, although, with increased seniority, they may have more control over their schedules.
In May 2022, the BLS showed that 453,630 pharmacy technicians across the country made average annual salaries of $40,260. Although regulations for this profession are constantly evolving, pharmacy technicians generally have at least a high school diploma. According to O*NET—a partner of the US Department of Labor—36 percent of working pharmacy technicians have a high school education as their highest completed degree, and 42 percent hold postsecondary certificates.
That said, pursuing post-secondary education in this field may be advisable. The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) offers its certification exam to candidates who have completed a PTCB-recognized education or training program or have equivalent work experience.
Read on to discover how to become a pharmacy technician and what to know about professional certification and program accreditation.
