If you’re looking to start a career in healthcare, have a look at becoming a pharmacy technician. It is listed in the top 5 growing health care careers in a recent yahoo article, and the demand is pointing upward. While it may not be the highest paying job in out there, you don’t need to spend 6 or 7 years to best online pharmacy become one. Let’s look at the five reasons why you should become one.
Reason 1: It does not cost too much
If you are looking for a health care profession without breaking the bank in tuition costs, look no further. Tuition costs under $4,000 in the top accredited schools in the United States, it will cost less in community colleges and even cheaper if you go through an online program. If you add up the cost of registration and drugstore online certification it will still be under $5000, compared to other health care professions like pharmacists and physicians wherein you can spend as much as $50,000 (and often times more) to enrol in a decent school, this is a bargain! You can even get training for free, if you are fortunate enough to get a job as a pharmacy technician and get training at work.
Two of the top 25 retail pharmacies in the United States offer ASHP-accredited courses for would perfectives technicians were you can get hired after you finish their training program.
Reason 2: It doesn’t take too long
Training takes around 6 months to 2 years, depending on the scope of the program. Add another few months to review for the board exam and / or certification, you’re still looking at spending around 2 years training – and that’s the long end of the training spectrum. Often times you will need less than 2 years training, and sometimes you can get training on the job. Compared to other healthcare professions where you can spend as much as a decade studying before you can practice.
Reason 3: There is a lot of opportunity out there for career advancement
Like in any other profession, if you work hard and get the proper training, you can go far. While basic training will be enough to land you a job, you will go furthest if you get certification and continuing education and get even more specialized training. Experience also is a factor in landing higher paying jobs here but the quality of training is equally important.
Reason 4: It can be a stepping stone towards becoming a pharmacist
There are a lot of pharmacy technicians who’ve successfully moved on and become a pharmacist. Working as a pharm tech is a great way to prepare for a doctor of pharmacy degree, at the same time you earn a pretty good wage.
Reason 5: The opportunity to help people
Technicians play a vital role in provide health care services to people in hospital, retail, long term care and other types of pharmacies across the world. Knowing that you’ve helped a person with their medication needs gives you a sense of satisfaction and high self-worth as a person. There are a lot of opportunities also to work directly with patients face to face in a hospital setting.
There you have it, I hope this list encourages you to consider this career, as the population in the U.S. ages, the demand for pharmacy technicians will continue to increase and it may exceed the numbers posted in . Remember while the starting salary of a pharmacy technician isn’t the highest out there – it is pretty decent, especially if you are single and it goes up significantly as you get more experience under your belt and more training. Certification can also boost your chances of getting hired by larger more stable companies out there.