Online Pharmacy Technician Courses: 3 Ways to Choose the Best
It seems that there are more and more online pharmacy technician courses popping up each week. And, as they do the questions I get seem to increase accordingly.
Obviously, some of the first questions that come to mind are: are they worth it? Do I recommend any courses in particular?
Before I start answering those let’s address a few issues first. And remember, I’ve written about these before but it bares repeating. Too often prospective pharmacy technicians assume that they have to go to to school or some technician program.
Not always true.
Many states (mine included) allow prospective pharmacy technicians to be trained on the job and then take the pharmacy certification exam.
So, don’t always assume that you have to go to school.
While I’m of the opinion that you don’t need any real specialized courses, you should base the decision on your personal situation and needs. If you decide that taking a course is a must, here is what I would recommend you look for in an online pharmacy technician program.
(1) Compare Costs of Online Pharmacy Technician Courses
You were probably already thinking of this before I even wrote it, but it certainly is the top of mind with almost any prospective technician is “how much will this cost me?”
And before you get the monetary amount you also need to think about a time cost.
How long do the courses take and how much free time of yours will be taken up with the courses? Secondly, how much free time are you willing to give up to make this a reality? Because it will likely take, in the end, months of your time.
With that being said some of the online programs I’ve looked at have been a little evasive about what they charge participants.
My first rule is it should be very clear about what it’s going to cost you before you ever sign on the dotted line.
What is a reasonable amount? Obviously, that is going to vary but I have seen costs online range from $2,000 to $4,000+ for most courses.
If the course is truly 100% online than there should be a significant discount from the schools regular tuition rate.
(2) Expected Timeline
Different schools use different forms of timelines. For example; one school may list you expected time as semesters. Another may list it as total hours to completion.
Frankly, total hours to completion is the best way to go because you can work at your own pace. And isn’t that one of the advantages of working with an online program? Most courses I’ve looked at assume 200 to 300 hours to complete your course work.
I wouldn’t recommend any course that requires you to take over 300 to 350 hours to complete your coursework. This is hard to explain in someways, but my basic premise behind this recommendation is that becoming a pharmacy technician should be kept as uncomplicated as possible. A total course time of 250 hours or so seems very reasonable. But beyond that it seems like the school may be adding hours just to make more money.
(3) What is your return on investment from your courses?
Unless you are required by your state laws to be taking any sort of pharmacy technician course you’ll want to ask yourself a very basic question: what will your return on investment be after taking a pharmacy technician course?
Simply stated try to get the most bang for your buck. I’ve seen various sites online who try to rate various online schools – or at least claim to. But, when you go to their sites it is basically just a depository of links to various schools.
I think it would be a lot more helpful to give you general guidelines in regard to helping you decide if pharmacy technician training is right for you personally. After the basics, maybe some reviews of various schools in future posts will help give you a better idea of whether or not a particular school is worth pursuing.
But, because there is a fair amount of money to be made in the online school arena a lot of sites simply gloss over whether a school is right for you or not and instead simply try to sell you on the idea of going.
My recommendation
Before you make any educational decision first find out what your state requires. I know I harp on this a lot but while book education is valuable I don’t know if it’s valuable if it’s not required by state law because you can get a lot of great education simply by learning on the job. Which is what my state allows.
If you do decide to attend an online, or even brick and mortar school, make sure you have the money to go and the time to put into the training. If you feel like that’s something you can commit to I would then approach some prospective employers and point blank ask them if there are any incentives once hired to having a formal pharmacy technician education. As someone who has hired pharmacy technicians in the past I can tell you that one advantage education brings to the table is that it gives you the feeling that the technician will be around longer than someone who wants to be trained on the job.
Why? Simple really. You’ve put in extra time and money that a lot of technicians simply aren’t willing to do. That alone can set you apart and put you on a faster track to a higher salary and quicker advancement.
A tough decision
The decision on whether or not to attend one of the many online pharmacy technician schools is a personal one and depends a great deal on your finances, time and the requirements of your state. Not to mention the return on investment you might get once you are in the work force.