The state of New Jersey, featuring nearly two thousand hospital and retail pharmacies, employs roughly seven-and-a-half thousand full time pharmacy technicians. Pharmacy technicians are assistants to licensed pharmacists. The tasks of pharmacy technicians often include the preparation, packaging, labeling and transfer of federally controlled substances. Nonetheless, nearly half of New Jersey's pharmacy technicians are technically unlicensed. Pharmacists, of course, prefer licensed assistants, and many local pharmacists will not hire unlicensed technicians, as federal law prohibits them from handling sensitive materials like prescription medications. Regulations pertaining to pharmacy technicians vary from state to state. The New Jersey Board of Pharmacy has its own set of guidelines regarding the employment and licensing of pharmacy technicians.