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Pharmacy Technician/Assistant

Types of Degrees Pharmacy Technician/Assistant Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	3,682
Associate’s Degree	1,189
Master’s Degree	2,581

What Pharmacy Technician/Assistant Majors Need to Know

Studies in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Pharmacy Technician/Assistant graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Pharmacy Technician/Assistant emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Medicine and Dentistry — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a Pharmacy Technician/Assistant program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Active Learning — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Pharmacy Technician/Assistant careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Near Vision — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Speech Recognition — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Pharmacy Technician/Assistant graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.3 / 7
Working with Computers	4.3 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.1 / 7
Processing Information	4.0 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.0 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.0 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.0 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	3.9 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	3.9 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	3.9 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Pharmacy Technician/Assistant professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Medical condition coding software	Medical software	—
Compounder software	Medical software	—
Apple Safari	Internet browser software	—
Database software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Patient record maintenance software	Medical software	—
Label-making software	Label making software	—
Drug compatibility software	Data base user interface and query software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Pharmacy Technician/Assistant graduates include:

• Retail Pharmacy Tech (Retail Pharmacy Technician)
• Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT)
• Pharmacist Technician
• Pharmacy Laboratory Technician
• OR Pharmacy Tech (Operating Room Pharmacy Tech)
• Compounding Technician
• Pharmacy Clerk
• RPhT (Registered Pharmacy Technician)
• Compounding Pharmacy Tech (Compounding Pharmacy Technician)
• Pharmacy Technologist
• Pharmacist Assistant
• Inpatient Pharmacy Tech (Inpatient Pharmacy Technician)
• Pharmacy Service Associate
• Chemotherapy Pharmacy Technician (Chemo Pharmacy Technician)
• Hospital Pharmacy Tech (Hospital Pharmacy Technician)

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Pharmacy Technician/Assistant graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Postsecondary certificate	29.3%
High school diploma or equivalent	24.1%
Master’s degree	11.7%
Some college courses	9.9%
Doctoral degree	8.1%
Bachelor’s degree	6.7%
Post-doctoral training	6.2%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	4.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 81.6% of Pharmacy Technician/Assistant degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	6,156	81.6%
Men	1,385	18.4%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Pharmacy Technician/Assistant graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,714	22.7%
Asian	432	5.7%
Hispanic or Latino	3,098	41.1%
Black or African American	1,375	18.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native	88	1.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	38	0.5%
Two or More Races	250	3.3%
Race Unknown	514	6.8%
International Students	32	0.4%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Pharmacy Technician/Assistant Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Pharmacy Technician/Assistant graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$27,434
4 years	$29,082
5 years	$32,352

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $32,352 — roughly 18% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Pharmacy Technician/Assistant Programs

Fully online options are documented by IPEDS for Pharmacy Technician/Assistant. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	9	7

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Pharmacy Technician/Assistant Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Pharmacy Technician/Assistant graduates earn a median of $29,082 four years after completion — about 23% below the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000). On earnings alone, this program does not show an income premium over the baseline; non-financial outcomes (career interests, certification requirements, advancement potential) are typically the stronger argument for fields in this range.

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services	51.08
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services, Other	51.0899
Anesthesiologist Assistant	51.0809
Chiropractic Technician/Assistant	51.0813
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Assistant	51.0802
Emergency Care Attendant (EMT Ambulance)	51.0810
Lactation Consultant	51.0815
Medical/Clinical Assistant	51.0801
Occupational Therapist Assistant	51.0803
Pathology/Pathologist Assistant	51.0811
Physical Therapy Assistant	51.0806
Radiologist Assistant	51.0814

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.