Latest articles

Although the District of Columbia is home to the Technician Certification Board, registration, certification, and training are not required to become a pharmacy technician in The Nation’s Capital. However, most top companies prefer to hire applicants with a diploma or a degree, experience, and/or national certification. Recognized certification exams include the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) (PTCE) and the Institute for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians (ICPT) (ExCPT).

If you’ve ever walked into a large chain pharmacy such as CVS or Target and noticed a large collection of professionals buzzing about behind the counter (white coats starched and conspicuous nametags a’ shining), you probably thought, “Wow—they have a lot of pharmacists at this store.” But if you paused to take a closer look, you may have noticed that not all of the official looking folks behind the counter were pharmacists. Most establishments have one pharmacist (or pharmacist in charge) per shift, and the rest of the workers are usually assistants or, you guessed it—pharmacy technicians! 

Overview

New Hampshire is home to 1,500 salaried pharmacy technicians. This means, less than one percent of the nation’s 334,400 salaried technicians live in The Granite State. The pharmacy technician population may be small here, but the state has seen ample increases employment and salary growth in this field. Besides employment and salary growth, aspiring pharmacy technicians choose New Hampshire for:

• The opportunity to work at renowned facilities such as Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Concord Hospital, and Portsmouth Regional Hospital (all high performing and/or nationally ranked in multiple specialties)
• Access to more than a dozen other outstanding hospitals
• Access to dozens of competitive health care and pharmacy technician training programs

Overview

Maine is home to more than 2,000 salaried pharmacy technicians. This means, less than one percent of the nation’s 334,400 salaried technicians live in The Pine Tree State. Although Maine has one of the smallest populations of pharmacy technicians, it’s still large relative to Maine’s small resident population. Aspiring pharmacy technicians choose Maine for:

• The opportunity to work at renowned medical facilities such as Maine Medical Center, Mercy Hospital of Portland, and Maine General Medical Center (all high performing in multiple specialties)
• Access to more than 20 other outstanding hospitals and dozens of other top rated medical facilities
• Access to dozens of quality health care and pharmacy technician training programs
• Employment: Maine has the nation’s fourth highest concentration of jobs and location quotients for pharmacy technicians