Maryland's pharmacy technicians must be licensed by the Maryland Board of Pharmacy.
Although there are many medical concerns when running a pharmacy, dozens of administrative-level duties must also be performed. Rather than using a pharmacist's training on tasks such as counting pills and basic customer service issues, most pharmacies in Maryland employ pharmacy technicians to handle routine tasks. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 5,850 pharmacy technicians work in Maryland's healthcare system.
Average Salary
Maryland's pharmacy technicians earn a median annual salary of $29,070 as of May 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those in the middle 50 percent of all pharmacy technicians in the state earn between $23,610 and $36,640 each year, although a slim minority, 10 percent, receive salaries that exceed $45,240 annually. Because of the nature of the work, many pharmacy technicians aren't salaried and instead receive an hourly wage, which is $14.72 on average in Maryland.
Salaries Around the State
Pharmacy technicians who work in some of Maryland's larger urban areas may expect salaries that exceed the norm for their position in the state. Pharmacy technicians in Baltimore are among the state's best paid, and receive an average annual salary of $47,000 as of February 2011, according to indeed.com. Those at work in Towson earn almost as much, with average wages of $46,000. In Hagerstown in western Maryland, salaries aren't quite as high, though still above the state average, with pharmacy technicians receiving average annual salaries of $38,000.
Comparison to National Average Salaries
Except for the high-earning technicians in Maryland's urban centers, most pharmacy technicians in Maryland earn less than the national average salary for their profession. Nationwide, pharmacy technicians earn a median annual salary of $32,466 as of February 2011, according to Salary.com. The average statewide salary as reported by the BLS, $29,070, is 90 percent of the national average. Nationwide, 75 percent of all pharmacy technicians earn more than $29,296, placing Maryland's salary range close to the bottom of salaries across the country.
Pharmacy Technician Licensing
The Maryland Board of Pharmacy requires all pharmacy technicians to receive a license before working in a pharmacy. To qualify for registration, a pharmacy technician must be a graduate of a pharmacy training program approved by the board or hold a permit for practicing students. By order of the state board, pharmacy technician training programs cannot take more than six months to complete.
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