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I'm someone who's been very indecisive about choosing a career, constantly changed paths, and always unsure or wondering if I should change to something different. What I DO know is Pharmacy Tech (and possibly being a Pharmacist one day) IS something I wouldn't mind doing. For someone like myself, and also a person who at least needs a stable job for awhile, would you say attending a tech school for Pharmacy Tech is a decent choice?
I'm someone who's been very indecisive about choosing a career, constantly changed paths, and always unsure or wondering if I should change to something different. What I DO know is Pharmacy Tech (and possibly being a Pharmacist one day) IS something I wouldn't mind doing. For someone like myself, and also a person who at least needs a stable job for awhile, would you say attending a tech school for Pharmacy Tech is a decent choice?
Sure, why not? Most of those tech jobs actually pay quite well and if you're not quite sure what you want to do there's no use paying all of that money for a university at this point.
It depends on how much it costs. Pharmacy techs don't make much more than less skilled jobs, maybe $9-$10 an hour to start. Many of those "technical colleges" charge ridiculous fees, and to me there is no point in going thousands in debt for a job like that. It will not get you any closer to being a pharmacist. That is now about a 6-7-year program for PharmD, which is the minimum now, and you will have to start from basics. The technical school classes won't count towards transfer to a pharmacy program. If you do it, I would only do so if you can do it at CC level, not a private tech college.
As long as you do it at a not for profit Pharmacy Tech program, community college, I say go for it. Don't do the for profit schools because pharmacy tech jobs are not that high paying outside of hospitals.
From the research I did a few years ago, a lot of states don't require schooling. Many people choose to study for the exam on their own. CVS and Walgreens will train you. Pharmacy techs usually don't make a decent wage until they gain experience and move out of retail. Like Scared to Life said, don't attend a for-profit, vo-tech school. Although, even though Penn Foster is for-profit, their correspondence pharmacy tech program is only $432-$595 depending on the payment plan you choose. Books are included in the price.
So I'm going into the Pharmacy Tech program at my local Technical College. There is 2 options, the Diploma (36 credits I believe), or the AAS (60 credits I believe).
Big question is, is it completely necessary to get the AAS versus the Diploma? I've done some research and some say that you don't need to have anything more than a Diploma to be a Pharm Tech, but some say you may get more opportunities with an Associates.
Also, what other types of jobs are available with Pharm Tech degrees? (Other than working in like a Pharmacy or hospital). I have read that it's pretty good to get a job in a major Pharmaceutical company.
Basically, what I'm asking is, what other types of jobs are out there for this major. And what are the best paying jobs with this major?
As long as you do it at a not for profit Pharmacy Tech program, community college, I say go for it. Don't do the for profit schools because pharmacy tech jobs are not that high paying outside of hospitals.
My friend worked as a cashier at CVS and they trained her to be a pharmacy tech. She recently transferred to a hospital and is making 13/hr. Her coworkers make 14/hr. In my opinion, I don't think it's worth going to school for a pharmacy tech degree since the most you can possibly get is probably around 14-15/hr. If you do decide to go back to school, I would do the 60 credits so that you can have your associates degree and can continue onto a bachelor's if you wish, since you have plans of attending pharmacy school in the future. I wouldn't go to a tech college for the degree/certificate. Just my two cents, take it for what it's worth.
My friend worked as a cashier at CVS and they trained her to be a pharmacy tech. She recently transferred to a hospital and is making 13/hr. Her coworkers make 14/hr. In my opinion, I don't think it's worth going to school for a pharmacy tech degree since the most you can possibly get is probably around 14-15/hr. If you do decide to go back to school, I would do the 60 credits so that you can have your associates degree and can continue onto a bachelor's if you wish, since you have plans of attending pharmacy school in the future. I wouldn't go to a tech college for the degree/certificate. Just my two cents, take it for what it's worth.
There are other tech jobs that you can get from a community college that will pay a lot better than that.
I didn't realize pharm tech paid so low. You could get a temp job in a factory for that kind of pay and not have to go through any schooling to do it.
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Pharmacy Techs.. ENTER!!
