Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · Holland code CRS

Pharmacy Technicians

Prepare medications under the direction of a pharmacist. May measure, mix, count out, label, and record amounts and dosages of medications according to prescription orders.

Also called: Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT), Chemotherapy Pharmacy Technician (Chemo Pharmacy Technician), OR Pharmacy Tech (Operating Room Pharmacy Tech), RPhT (Registered Pharmacy Technician), Accredited Pharmacy Technician, Compounding Technician.

O*NET 29-2052.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $45,750; Middle half earn $37,850 to $49,990. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Post-Secondary Certificate; 42% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +6% · Faster than average; 490,400 jobs in 2024, projected 521,800. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Pharmacy technicians".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Receive written prescription or refill requests and verify that information is complete and accurate.
Enter prescription information into computer databases.
Establish or maintain patient profiles, including lists of medications taken by individual patients.
Compute charges for medication or equipment dispensed to hospital patients and enter data in computer.
Maintain proper storage and security conditions for drugs.
Prepare and process medical insurance claim forms and records.
Receive and store incoming supplies, verify quantities against invoices, check for outdated medications in current inventory, and inform supervisors of stock needs and shortages.
Answer telephones, responding to questions or requests.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening4.0 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.8 / 5
Speaking3.8 / 5
Critical Thinking3.3 / 5
Active Learning3.1 / 5
Monitoring3.1 / 5

Knowledge areas

Customer and Personal Service4.6 / 5
Medicine and Dentistry3.9 / 5
Mathematics3.8 / 5
English Language3.8 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.7 / 5
Law and Government3.5 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic54
Investigative33
Artistic0
Social39
Enterprising25
Conventional100

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

pharmacist · DE Apotheker/Apothekerin · FR pharmacien/pharmacienne
pharmaceutical quality specialist · DE Qualitätsprüfer Arzneimittel/Qualitätsprüferin Arzneimittel · FR pharmacien en pharmacovigilance/pharmacienne en pharmacovigilance
specialist pharmacist · DE Fachapotheker/Fachapothekerin · FR pharmacien spécialiste/pharmacienne spécialiste
hospital pharmacist · DE Krankenhausapotheker/Krankenhausapothekerin · FR pharmacien hospitalier/pharmacienne hospitalière
industrial pharmacist · DE Industrie-Pharmazeut/Industrie-Pharmazeutin · FR pharmacien dans l’industrie/pharmacienne dans l’industrie
pharmacy assistant · DE Pharmazeutisch-kaufmännischer Angestellter/Pharmazeutisch-kaufmännische Angestellte · FR pharmacien assistant/pharmacienne assistante

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Pharmaceutical technicians (3212)23,700 employed
Vehicle and parts salespersons and advisers (7115)37,400 employed
Pharmacists (2251)80,400 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.01. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (29-2052).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test