Becoming a pharmacy technician may sound like a good way to get into the medical field, but you need to figure out how to get trained first. Do you hunt for jobs that will train you from scratch, or do you go through a training course and use that advantage to find work? These are things you have to consider.

A training course through a good pharmacy training school may be a very good idea. It can’t hurt to have an advantage over the completely untrained applicants. From there, you have to make sure you’re choosing a good course. Here are some factors to consider.

Online or Local?

There are a variety of online schools that offer pharmacy technician training, as well as local schools. There are advantages to each.

Online programs have the advantage of flexibility. You can usually work more or less at your own speed, all though there may be time limits. You don’t want to work too fast, or you might not really get the material down. You also don’t want to go so slowly that you forget the early stuff by the time you’re done.

Still, it’s great not having to worry about time off work or care for any children you may have. Online courses fit around your schedule for the most part.

Local courses are better if you aren’t so good at studying on your own. Some people really need the classroom interaction. If that’s you, skip the online course and see what’s offered in your area.

Program Length

Most pharmacy technician courses aren’t all that long, maybe a few months to a year. Length only matters in terms of how soon you’d like to work and whether or not the program is really complete enough for you to find work after graduation. You’re probably not getting enough information if the course says it only takes two weeks for most students to finish.

Cost

Education doesn’t come all that cheap, but it’s not all that expensive either. You’ll probably pay something in the $1000-2000 range, give or take a few hundred. If you get a career out of it, that’s not bad at all. Some programs will cost more, and there may be added costs for books and such.

Curriculum

You want your training course to be complete. A pharmacy technician should know medical terminology, pharmacology, relevant law, the business side of working in a pharmacy, and more.

It’s also helpful if you can get an externship to gain experience. Classroom or online work is great, but hands on does so much more and looks great on your resume.

Certification

Not all states require that pharmacy technicians be certified, but some do. It’s important that any training class you take prepare you for that. Even if your state doesn’t require it, certification is a nice addition to any resume.

Get free information from Career Step about how to train for a career as a pharmacy technician.

Online education is appealing to people to people who can’t fit attending school in person into their schedule or who would just rather study at home for one reason or another. But can that really work if you want to learn to be a pharmacy technician? Is it possible to get good training for such a hands on job online?

It’s possible, although there are disadvantages. You have to decide how much you need hands on practice before you sign up for any training online.

Much of the training a pharmacy technician needs can be done online. You don’t absolutely have to have any training at all in order to become a pharmacy technician in many states, but it’s always an advantage when looking for a job. This means that even if you haven’t handled a lot of prescriptions, the knowledge you gained while studying online is a major advantage.

Another advantage of an online program is that it may be recognized by potential employers nationally. Local programs will usually just be known in their area, but an online program has more of a chance to have graduates work for employers all over the place, and this builds their reputation with potential employers if the program is any good.

One concern with any online training program is whether or not you’ll have any interaction with your instructor. It’s important that you have someone you can talk to from the school when you have problems. May sure any online school you choose offers that much to you at least.

The ability to go on your own time is both an advantage and a disadvantage. It’s wonderful that you don’t have to wait for a new semester to start with most online programs. It’s wonderful that you can decide when you can study. That’s also the problem.

Not everyone is motivated enough as a student to do well in a self paced program, as most online pharmacy technician training is. It takes drive. On the plus side, if you’ve got that drive, that’s something potential employers will like to see. No employer likes having employees who can’t get themselves going. If you aren’t self motivated, you will probably be better of getting trained elsewhere. But if you have that drive, you may love the flexibility.

Get free information from Career Step about how to train for a career as a pharmacy technician.