When you want to work in the medical field and prefer to get an Associate degree or certification rather than a Bachelor’s degree, the pharmacy technician career may be right for you. However, earning your certification in this line of work can be challenging and a little confusing, especially if you aren’t sure where to begin.

Check out the information below to learn more about how to earn a pharmacy technician certification. From there, you should be ready to choose your school and start signing up for classes as you work toward your goal.

Prepare to Spend Time in School

Understand first and foremost that you will need to spend some time taking college classes before you can gain this certification. The certification requires more than just one or two classes or seminars, and you will need to devote a chunk of your time toward this program.

Although conventional classes may be difficult to fit into your schedule, many pharmacy technician programs are offered either fully or partially online. When you choose a good quality online pharmacy technician certification program, you can enjoy the convenience of working at your own speed and on your own schedule, and you can complete your program in as little as 18 months.

Choose the Best Program

Finding the right program is more than just a matter of picking one that fits into your schedule, however. You should take time to research any schools you’re considering working with to find the one that meets your needs the best. You should also pick a school that offers classes and programs specific to pharmacy technician work.

Ideally, you should choose a school that is accredited by a professional organization in the medical field. This way, you will know that your degree or certification will hold up when compared to others, especially by potential future employers.

Take General Education Classes First

To begin with, you will need to take some general education courses. These courses will not take you as long to complete in a pharmacy technician program as they might in Bachelor’s degree programs, but they will still last a little while. They will cover basic topics you need to understand before building on them in future classes.

Most general education courses involve topics such as written communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, biology, math skills, and sociology. There may be other topics and subjects covered, but these are the basics you will be looking at taking when you want to become a pharmacy technician.

Take Core Classes and Specialization Classes Next

After you complete your general education classes—or sometimes alongside them—you will take your core and specialization classes. Core classes are the main portion of the pharmacy technician path of study, and they will be made up of the information you need to do your job right. These classes include topics such as dosage calculations, drug interactions, anatomy, pharmacology, and much more.

You will also be able to choose some elective courses to help you specialize in a certain field. For example, if you are interested in ethics or laws surrounding pharmacy work, then you might take some ethics or pharmacology law classes as electives to specialize in these areas.

Take an Internship

After you finish your classes, it will be time for you to take an internship (or an externship, depending on the school you choose). You will work with your school and your one-on-one advisor to choose a good location for you to job shadow and learn with hands-on, real-life experience.

Your internship is a crucial part of your pharmacy technician program. This step will ensure you understand how to put everything you have learned into practice, and it will prepare you to work on your own after you graduate.

Study for and Pass the Exam

Last but not least, you will need to study for your certification exam and pass it with a qualifying grade. Depending on the exam you take and the location where you plan to work, this grade may vary. If you do not pass the exam the first time, you will need to wait a little while, study more, and try again.

Passing your certification exam is the final step in the process of becoming a pharmacy technician. After you do this, you will be certified and you will be ready to look for a job in this field.

Final Thoughts

By working with the best possible school and taking some time to plan your course of study, you will be well on your way to earning your pharmacy technician certification and finding employment in this fast-growing medical field. Pharmacy technician work is always needed, and if you have the right education and experience, you can easily find your place in this career.