Archived Certified vs. Non-certified Pharmacy Technician and Intern Pay

[RedSpotTM]

I am currently a non-certified pharmacy technician. I was told that I would get a $1.00 raise if I become nationally certified. However, I am looking forward to getting into pharmacy school. If I do, I would have to forfeit my pharmacy technician position and become a pharmacy intern; the status of my license would be inactive as long as I am in pharmacy school.

I understand that pharmacy interns are put on their own pay grade. Do you all think that it would be worth it to go through with the national pharmacy technician licensing despite Target paying for it all?

Usually, pharmacy interns start out with approximately $15/hour. If I was nationally certified as a pharmacy technician before and received the raise, would I end up starting at $16/hour?

I am just debating whether or not I should even devote that much time to get a license that would only be active for a few months.

Many thanks,

RedSpotTM

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

I would check with your counter parts & your state requirements. Hey @tgtcpht we need some help, please.

 

[redeye58]

According to our ETL-Rx, every one of our interns were techs while they waited to get into the intern program.

 

[RedSpotTM]

According to our ETL-Rx, every one of our interns were techs while they waited to get into the intern program.

That is where I am at. I'm just curious to know if it is worth it to be certified or not. I know they will give me a $1.00 raise if I pass the certification exam. However, will that $1.00 raise carry over if I become a pharmacy intern since that will be its own pay grade?

 

[3LetterDevil]

I don't believe it would since interns are a different pay grade. It would be similar to getting a pay bump for becoming a TL, then getting a promotion to ETL....you would just jump to the increased pay grade. You don't "automatically" get into the intern program as soon as you are admitted into pharmacy school, though, I believe you still have to apply and be accepted into the intern program, so it would still be worthwhile to get the certification. There's also no guarantee you will be accepted immediately into a PharmD program, either. There is a test you have to take prior to acceptance (similar to the LSAT for law school) and you have to interview at the prospective school. Some have strict prerequisites that you have to have as well, which are science-heavy. Our last P4 student had to go back to school to get additional science credits because his degree was in graphic design and he had the minimum number of science credits, despite having a 3.9 GPA. He had "conditional acceptance," based on his completion of the classes needed for the PharmD program. Once he completed them, he was able to start the program.

 

[CrazyTarget]

Pharmacy inters get a fixed raise every year (in my old store was $1/year), not like TMs, witch is based on performance. And stores gets, kinda an extra hours from the district for interns. In my state, interns have more responsibilities than the technicians, because they are training you to be a pharmacist. If your performance is good, they will interview you for a position before you graduate, and get your state license.

+ than can pay a portion of your school

 

[tgtguy]

How much do pharmacy techs make at spot? ( I know it depends on part of country, cost of living etc) just a rough estimate

 

[RedSpotTM]

How much do pharmacy techs make at spot? ( I know it depends on part of country, cost of living etc) just a rough estimate

Currently making $13.75 an hour, certified.

 

[tgtguy]

Currently making $13.75 an hour, certified.

Thank you

 

[redstripes]

How much do pharmacy techs make at spot? ( I know it depends on part of country, cost of living etc) just a rough estimate

From my personal experience and knowledge pharmacy technicians make PG 13, which varies depending on store, but is usually in the area of +$3.00 from PG 3.

Pharmacy technicians as a whole make dramatically different beginning and average wages from state to state, so being a pharmacy technician in Target can work for or against you as far as hourly wage goes. In my area it would seem established pharmacy technicians at Target make $4.00 - $7.00 less than state average, and start at about $4.00 - $6.00 less than local retail pharmacy competitors. In other states where pharmacy technicians begin and average much lower, I would imagine the numbers would be different.