Starting Salary

• Median starting salary for pharmacy technicians as of 2009 is about $9 hourly, with an increase to about $12 after five years.
  
  

General Range

• As of 2009, most pharmacy technicians were making between $9.36 and $19.31 an hour. To narrow it further, the median hourly wage was $13.49.
  
  

Higher Pay Locations

• Pay for pharmacy technicians is typically higher in large hospitals (about $15.73 per hour on average) and in large metropolitan areas.
  
  

Hours and Benefits

• Positions can be either full time or part time, and the work typically requires evenings and weekends. Full-time positions include health insurance, paid vacations and holidays, and a 401k plan.
  
  

Potential

• Pharmacy technicians in large retail settings can advance to supervisory positions. Those employed in hospitals can advance to specialty work such as nuclear pharmacy or chemotherapy technician. All of these opportunities provide higher pay.