How Much Does a Pharmacy Technician Earn?

Average earning of a particular profession is perhaps one of the most important parameters that help you decide in favor of or against it. And why shouldn’t it be? Who wouldn’t like to take back home decent wages at the end of a hard day’s work? After all, money plays a vital role in shaping the standard of your life. It is important for securing your family’s and your own future. So, whoever said money should not be a consideration while choosing a career has probably never lived without it.If you are exploring a pharmacy technician career, then this question must be at the top of your head. We’re here to help answer some of your questions regarding how much they earn on an average.However, before we get into details about pharmacy techs pay, it’s important to understand what the job entails. Because just like money is important, so is enjoying what you do for a living!Pharmacy Technician CareerLet’s start with what pharmacy technicians can’t do or rather are not supposed to do. They are absolutely forbidden from giving medical advice to patients who visit their pharmacies. They are not qualified to do so; hence they should resist the urge to not just offer medical advice, but also guide patients on what medication may work better for their condition irrespective of how knowledgeable and experienced they think they are.Although the duties and responsibilities of a them may vary depending on the type of facility they’re employed in, but in general their day-to-day work involves:
Receiving prescriptions and verifying them for accuracy
Filling prescription medications and labeling them correctly
Preparing intravenous mixtures under supervision
Assisting the pharmacist in inventory management
Answering telephone queries from patients
Storing drugs in a safe and secure manner
Maintaining patient records for reference
Preparing and processing insurance claim forms
Interfacing with customers who visit the store
Operating cash register at checkout
Pharmacy Technician TrainingIt’s best to start training for a pharmacy technician career in high school itself by taking courses in math, biology, chemistry, computers, etc.Once you’ve laid the ground by taking appropriate courses in high school, you can choose between a college degree and a vocational pharmacy technician course offered at career schools. A college degree will require a minimum of two years for completion, while a career training course can be completed in a matter of few months.What’s important is to get certified at the end of your academic study or pharmacy technician training program. Although certification is a hundred percent voluntary, having it just enhances your credibility and with it your job prospects. Certifying examinations are held by organizations like the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) and the Institute for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians (ICPT).Pharmacy technician training should ideally include hands-on experience working in a pharmacy. This training could be incorporated in the curriculum of your pharmacy technician program or you may have to request for an intern position at your local pharmacy.Pharmacy Technician PayThe exact earnings of a pharmacy tech depend to a great extent on not just the type of facility he or she is employed in, but also other factors like:
Skill-level
Experience
Certification
Location
The average hourly wages of a pharmacy technician range from $8.03 – $15.56.1 Those who work for a franchise may earn between $7.86 and $13.87 per hour, while pharmacy techs employed in hospitals take home about $9.49 – $19.02. 2When it comes to experience-level, pharmacy techs with less than one year of experience earn $7.68 – $13.36 per hour, while those with 5-9 years of experience make $9.17 – $17.27 per hour.3

S&P 500 Rallies As U.S. Dollar Pulls Back Towards Weekly Lows

Key Insights
The strong pullback in the U.S. dollar provided significant support to stocks.
Treasury yields have pulled back after touching new highs, which served as an additional positive catalyst for S&P 500.
A move above 3730 will push S&P 500 towards the resistance level at 3760.
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Pfizer Rallies After Announcing A Huge Price Hike For Its COVID-19 Vaccines
S&P 500 is currently trying to settle above 3730 as traders’ appetite for risk is growing. The U.S. dollar has recently gained strong downside momentum as the BoJ intervened to stop the rally in USD/JPY. Weaker U.S. dollar is bullish for stocks as it increases profits of multinational companies and makes U.S. equities cheaper for foreign investors.

The leading oil services company Schlumberger is up by 9% after beating analyst estimates on both earnings and revenue. Schlumberger’s peers Baker Hughes and Halliburton have also enjoyed strong support today.

Vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna gained strong upside momentum after Pfizer announced that it will raise the price of its coronavirus vaccine to $110 – $130 per shot.

Biggest losers today include Verizon and Twitter. Verizon is down by 5% despite beating analyst estimates on both earnings and revenue. Subscriber numbers missed estimates, and traders pushed the stock to multi-year lows.

Twitter stock moved towards the $50 level as the U.S. may conduct a security review of Musk’s purchase of the company.

From a big picture point of view, today’s rebound is broad, and most market segments are moving higher. Treasury yields have started to move lower after testing new highs, providing additional support to S&P 500. It looks that some traders are ready to bet that Fed will be less hawkish than previously expected.

S&P 500 Tests Resistance At 3730

S&P 500 has recently managed to get above the 20 EMA and is trying to settle above the resistance at 3730. RSI is in the moderate territory, and there is plenty of room to gain additional upside momentum in case the right catalysts emerge.

If S&P 500 manages to settle above 3730, it will head towards the next resistance level at 3760. A successful test of this level will push S&P 500 towards the next resistance at October highs at 3805. The 50 EMA is located in the nearby, so S&P 500 will likely face strong resistance above the 3800 level.

On the support side, the previous resistance at 3700 will likely serve as the first support level for S&P 500. In case S&P 500 declines below this level, it will move towards the next support level at 3675. A move below 3675 will push S&P 500 towards the support at 3640.

US Markets in green on Friday; Dow 30 up over 345 points, Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500 up nearly 1%

US Markets were trading in the green on Friday with Dow 30 trading at 30,678.80, up by 1.14%. While S&P 500 was trading at 3,701.66, up by 0.98% and Nasdaq Composite 10,690.60 was also up by 0.71 per cent

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US Markets in green on Friday; Dow 30 up over 345 points, Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500 up nearly 1%
Earlier today, Indian stock markets ended the week on a winning note. It was the sixth straight gains for equity markets. Source: Reuters
US Markets were trading in the green on Friday with Dow 30 trading at 30,678.80, up by 345.25 points or1.14 per cent. While S&P 500 was trading at 3,701.66, up by 35.88 points or 0.98 per cent and Nasdaq Composite 10,690.60 was also up 75.75 points or 0.71 per cent. A Reuters report said that today’s strength was on the back of a report which said the Federal Reserve will likely debate on signaling plans for a smaller interest rate hike in December, reversing declines set off by social media firms after Snap Inc’s ad warning.

Source: Comex

Nasdaq Top Gainers and Losers

Source: Nasdaq

Earlier today, Indian stock markets ended the week on a winning note. It was the sixth straight gains for equity markets. The BSE Sensex ended at 59,307.15, up by 104.25 points or 0.18 per cent from the Thursday closing level. Meanwhile, the Nifty50 index closed at 17,590.00, higher by 26.05 points or 0.15 per cent. In the 30-share Sensex, 13 stocks gained while the remaining 17 ended on the losing side. In the 50-stock Nifty50, 21 stocks advanced while 29 declined.