UNITED STATES—There are lots of careers in the healthcare industry to choose between, and working as a pharmacy technician is just one option which might provide an interesting route into this industry.
If you are on the fence about training to be a pharmacy tech, here are just a few of the benefits that come with the territory to take into account when making your decision.
Your job will make a difference
If you are looking for a career that gives you purpose in life beyond making money, then becoming a pharmacy tech delivers on this ten-fold.
One of the main pharmacy technician responsibilities is prescription fulfillment and processing, which means preparing the medicines that customers need to stay healthy and happy.
It is much more rewarding and satisfying to know that each day you are at work, you are making a positive contribution to the world.
Demand for pharmacy techs will remain stable
With an aging population to look after, there will always be a need for pharmacy technicians, with the outlook over the next decade showing stable growth in demand for workers to fill this type of role.
This is also one of the careers which, for the time being at least, is relatively insulated from the rise of automation. And with fully-fledged pharmacists expected to have a more hands-on role in patient care, technicians will also see their responsibilities expanding.
The work is varied
We have already touched on the prescription fulfillment side of a pharmacy tech’s job, but it is also worth looking into the other aspects of the job.
A lot of the work is about interacting with customers, finding out what they need and doing your best to fulfill this quickly and efficiently.
Customer service goes hand in hand with admin tasks like data entry, cross-discipline communication and general support.
In short, if you want to keep things interesting over the course of the working day, this is a career with ample variety to engage your brain.
Next steps are ready and waiting
No career is complete without the opportunity to grow and progress in your role, so of course this is something to which pharmacy technicians can look forward.
You can move from more junior positions to senior jobs in the same field, perhaps managing a standalone store or specializing in a particular strand of medicine while working at a hospital’s on-site pharmacy.
Also worth noting is the fact that pharmacy technician is often a launch pad for a career elsewhere in healthcare, as seeking additional training and education after you are certified can bring you to bigger and better things in the future.
You can work almost anywhere
The last positive point about becoming a pharmacy tech that could seal the deal is that every part of the country has openings for this type of role. So rather than being forced to stick in a specific state or region to find work, you can look for employment almost anywhere and find it fairly reliably.
This can be a load off your mind if you want a career that gives you the flexibility to move without it creating too much disruption to your livelihood.
