Pharmacy Technicians: What They Do and How to Become One

Pharmacy technicians assist pharmacists, fill prescription medications, and complete other tasks in a pharmaceutical environment. As health care workers, technicians provide customer service, process insurance claims, communicate with physicians, and even perform simple medical procedures like administering vaccines in some states.

Though the profession has relatively low barriers to entry compared to other health care jobs, pharmacy technicians are essential in ensuring customers receive their medication safely and efficiently.

In this article, you'll learn more about what pharmacy technicians do and how to become one, and you'll explore online educational courses to help you get started.

What does a pharmacy technician do?

A pharmacy technician performs various tasks, such as helping pharmacists fill prescriptions, maintaining pharmacies, assisting with administrative work, and offering customer service. They can work in independent pharmacies, hospitals, pharmaceutical departments, and clinics. Specific duties may include:  

• Counting and packaging medications into bottles 

• Creating and applying labels for medications 

• Seeking health care providers' authorisation for prescription refills 

• Contacting insurance providers to correct coverage issues 

• Taking inventory of medications available in the pharmacy

• Running a cash register and ringing up customers' purchases

• Handling customers' questions and concerns 

• Keeping the pharmacy clean, organised, and well-stocked 

• Maintaining customers' prescription records 

• Assisting the pharmacist with other tasks as needed 

How much do pharmacy technicians make? 

According to Payscale, the average annual base salary for a pharmacy technician in India is ₹3,60,000 as of March 2024 [1]. Your exact pay will likely vary depending on your work experience and geographic location. 

How to become a pharmacy technician 

Technicians assist pharmacists in their daily duties and help customers receive the proper medication to stay healthy. If joining this career sounds like your path, these steps can help prepare you for the job.

1. Get a secondary school education.

You'll need a secondary school diploma or the equivalent to qualify to become a pharmacy technician. During secondary school, you'll need to make sure you study biology. You must complete the senior secondary examination and include biology as one of the subjects.   

2. Complete a diploma course in pharmacy 

If you have completed your senior secondary education, including taking biology, and passed your exam, you can apply to complete a diploma course in pharmacy. These are typically two-year programmes. They are offered at colleges in India and may also be available online. Once you complete the programme, you can begin applying for pharmacy technician vacancies.

If you have a bachelor of science degree and have taken courses like biology, physics, chemistry, and maths, you can also take the college pharmacy technician diploma programme. 

3. Build your workplace skills. 

While you'll need an education and understanding of science to qualify as a pharmacy technician, employers will also look for people with good workplace skills, like time management. Here are some other skills you should consider developing:

• Attention to detail: There is no room for error when you fill prescription bottles or print labels. A customer receiving the wrong medication could have devastating consequences. 

• Customer service: You'll interact with customers throughout the day in most pharmacy settings. As a result, you should expect to practice active listening, provide empathetic customer service, and use clear communication to answer questions. 

• Problem-solving: Patients and customers will come to you with questions, and it will often be up to you to come up with a solution. 

• Organisation: When working around so many life-saving medications, organisational skills are necessary to ensure accuracy. 

• Collaboration: Technicians work with pharmacists, physicians, and nurses daily, so collaboration is necessary.

• Integrity: You may have access to medical information, potentially dangerous medications, and cash every day. Make sure you’re prepared to work ethically and responsibly. 

4. Prepare your answers to interview questions. 

When you interview to become a technician within a pharmacy, you’ll likely have to answer questions related to the job. This will help the employer determine if you're a good fit to work at that particular pharmacy. Think about how you might answer questions like: 

• Why do you want to be a pharmacy technician?

• How would you handle a customer who is upset? 

• What would you do to handle stress on the job? 

• Do you see yourself as a pharmacy technician in five or ten years? 

• What qualities should a good technician possess? 

• What is the difference between a generic and a brand-name prescription? 

• What would you do if you saw a coworker stealing medication? 

• What would you do if you ran across a prescription with a mistake on the label? 

5. Keep learning. 

Once you get the job, put yourself in a position to keep learning. Taking courses, either online or in-person, can help you be a better technician and prepare you for more advanced roles. 

With some experience and extra training, technicians can move into managerial roles, or choose to specialise in a field to become chemotherapy, nuclear pharmacy, or other specialised technicians Pharmacy techs can also go on to work in pharmaceutical sales, while others may go back to school to become pharmacists themselves.  

Next steps

If you want to become a pharmacy technician, online courses can help you become more knowledgeable about your job and the patients you serve. Consider taking your knowledge to the next level with courses like The University of Copenhagen's Understanding Patient Perspectives on Medications, which teaches the patient perspective on medicine use and how to explore and apply it in health care and health policy.  

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