Becoming a pharmacy technician in Pennsylvania offers a rewarding career path in healthcare with strong job security, opportunities for advancement, and the chance to make a real difference in people’s lives.
Here’s why you might consider this career:
- Growing Demand & Job Security: The healthcare industry is expanding, and with it, the need for pharmacy technicians is increasing. The aging population and the rise of chronic diseases are driving this demand for medication management.
- Make a Difference: Pharmacy technicians play a crucial role in ensuring patients receive their medications correctly and efficiently, contributing to their health and well-being.
- Versatile Career Options: You can work in various settings, including retail pharmacies, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and even mail-order pharmacies.
- Relatively Short Training Period: You can become certified in less than a year, allowing you to enter the workforce quickly.
- Potential for Advancement: With experience and further training, you can advance to roles like lead technician or pharmacy operations manager.
- Learn Valuable Skills: You’ll gain skills in medication management, customer service, and computer operations, which are highly transferable.
- Fulfilling Work: Many pharmacy technicians find great satisfaction in helping people manage their health and contributing to the healthcare team.
Sound Good?
If this sounds right for you, check this out:
The Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association (PPA) has partnered with RxTechExam to provide discounted access to RxTechExam’s industry-leading training courses!
RxTechExam has online, self-paced courses that directly translate into an industry-best 91% PTCE passing rate on the Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam (PTCE). More than 1,100 RxTechExam students earned their CPhT (Certified Pharmacy Technician) in 2024!
RxTechExam offers the PPA community a $50 discount on their newest course plus one year of PPA Technician Membership.
To Save $50, use coupon code: PPA50
Questions? Contact:
Preston A. Davis, CPhT-Adv
Learn more about the RxTechExam and PPA Partnership!
Steps to Becoming a Certified Pharmacy Technician in Pennsylvania
Following publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, the Pennsylvania Pharmacy Technician Regulations became effective on June 28, 2025. VIEW REGULATIONS
Through the PA Department of State’s Pennsylvania Licensing System (PALS), individuals can now create an account for state registration as a pharmacy technician or pharmacy trainee. Reminder, the pharmacy technician registration is NOT a state license, but rather a state registration for employees. Pharmacy technicians have one year from the date the final regulations are published to apply for registration.
To become a Pharmacy Technician an applicant must meet all of the following requirements: Be at least 17 years of age, possess a high school diploma (or equivalent), submit to a background check and complete a Board-approved pharmacy technician training program, which RxTechExam is authoring with the Pennsylvania Pharmacy Association.
Please note that while there is no requirement to be certified (only registered) as a Pharmacy Technician, within the State of PA, many employers require certification. CPhT Certification is nationally recognized and offered by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB).
Using RxTechExam, last year over 1100 of students passed the PTCB Exam (PTCE)!
Pharmacy Technician Certification Board Requirements:
- You must have not been convicted of any felonies or drug related misdemeanors
- Study for the Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam
- Complete the application process at PTCB.org and include, as part of the application process, pay the exam fee of $129
PTCB Continuing Education Requirements:
- Obtain 20 hours of Continuing Education (CE) during 2 year re-certification cycle (available with your PPA Technician Membership)
- 1 hour must be in Pharmacy Law, 1 hour must be in Patient Safety
- All Continuing Education must be Tech-Specific
- The PTCB Re-certification Fee is $40 and is payable to the PTCB every 2 years
Pharmacy Technician Average Salary (Pennsylvania): $19.50
