<p>The reason I signed up for the three month course is because I would like to be able to get a well-paying job throughout my college years, particularly during the summertime. </p>
<p>Is there anyone on CC who has gotten certification? How are the hours, and is it possible to be part-time/summer?</p>
<p>Thanks for any info. :)</p>
<p>Are you in a state that requires a course/licensure prior to being hired? Are you over 18? It can be tough to find tech positions for summers only, as the pharmacies are also flooded with PharmD candidates doing their internships. If you’re near a pharmacy school, you’ll also be competing with those who work as techs during school too.</p>
<p>As far as hours go, it depends who you work for…like everything else, it can be great or not good at all. Some techs are having trouble getting enough hours now as retail chains have cut payrolls. If you want stability, you might try a hospital pharmacy or an independent. If you can’t find a tech position within a reasonable time, I would apply as a clerk and wait for a slot to open up.</p>
<p>^^ totally agree with sk8trmom re: summer hire challenge. My s did a self-study with a training disk (I dont know all the details… sorry) but took the exam and passed, no problem. But, as sk8trmom said, summer hire was a challenge as the stores either had hiring freezes or they hired students from the nearby pharm programs. Plus, he took the exam in May and while he had a document saying he passed, he didnt get his Pharm tech certificate # til a few weeks later, and many of the on-line job applications wanted that number on the application when he first filled it out. That said-- he will be starting an unpaid internship at a local pediatric hospital helping the pharmacy dept with a cystic fibrosis study. He would have started sooner but had gotten another summer job that finishes this Friday.</p>
<p>He probably wont work at a pharmacy during the school year, but it is a great job if you do decide to do it. What he was told, though, is that the techs dont typically work in the evenings. I <em>think</em> he said it was because there had to be a pharmacist on duty then too, but don’t quote me on that.</p>
<p>His certification is good for 2 years. Not sure what he plans to do with it, but at least with the summer internship he’ll be able to say he has experience, which was an issue for a lit of the jobs. </p>
<p>Good luck</p>
<p>It’ll be rough to find a summer only position as a pharm tech. Most managers won’t hire them. They’ll hire summer only pharmacy interns (pharmacy students).</p>
<p>Taking a formal course is really a waste of time and money. You won’t get a higher salary. I know of plenty who passed the test with a combination of self study and on the work training. The average starting salary for a tech with certification is about $10-$11 per hour at a retail pharmacy. It’s a dollar less without the certification. To keep the certification active, you’ll need 20 hours of CEs over two years. The CEs have to be accredited by the ACPE for techs or be in house educational programs. The in-house educational programs can give you a max of 10 hours. I believe 1 hour or so of the CEs must be law based.</p>
<p>Pharmacies cannot operate without a pharmacist being present.</p>
<p>My son recently took and passed the pharmacy tech certification. He got a full time job at a chain about a month or two later. He’s planning on going to pharmacy school and the HR person told him that they support pharmacy students and would work with him with scheduling and possibly transferring him to a store closer to the school he gets into. Who know if they’ll be able to follow through on it. So it’s possible to have things work out.</p>
<p>Similarly, what about getting an EMT certification? I’m told that’s a plus for med school. My friend’s son got a community college certification and is now employed as a dispatcher. Is this common? A good idea for summer employment or did he just get lucky?</p>
<p>I’m over 18, and as far as I know there aren’t any pharmacy schools nearby. I live in North Carolina and the closest university to me is Appalachian State University. It is about 45 minutes away. Though this may seem like a complete waste of time to some of you, I plan on taking the classes for three months, and then take the exam at my community college. There are a lot of drug stores/pharmacies/hospitals in my area, and I do hear hospitals are better to try to get hired.</p>
<p>I figure if I’m working on an associate’s transfer degree, it will only be good at the point I actually transfer to start working on my bachelor’s. I’m thinking a certification in a certain skill would be more marketable over the short-run than an associate’s in arts. I could get the certification quicker than the associate’s, so I’m thinking it might give me a leg to stand on if I’m having financial trouble, or there is a problem so I can save up for my bachelor’s. Anyway, just what I’m thinking. I could be making a bad choice, but I figure it is better than not having the certification at all because at least I would have something if I desperately needed a job.</p>