Retail pharmacy technician

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Does anyone here work as a retail pharm tech? I need a day job in the medical field and I think this one is well suited for me, but I'm not sure. I currently work as a home care cna at night and it's amazing, but I will be going to school full time and need a day job. Working as a day cna is far too social for me and too stressful. I am a social, but I'm awkward and being with someone one on one for hours on end really tolls on you when you can't relate to that person and it's required to relate to them.

I figured as a pharm tech you usually just greet the customer, they pick up their meds, then they leave when it comes to social interaction which seems good. What I plan to do is work part time during the weekday as a pharm tech and on weekends work as a overnight cna so I make decent money while I'm in college.

I would like to hear about how other people liked retail or liked retail pharm tech as a job.

I haven't worked as a retail pharm tech but I have worked other forms of retail. Personally I found those jobs exceedingly stressful, but that might not apply to your specific position, as mine were more involved being a shopfloor assistant, such as having to help customers choose products, checking them out at the register, ordering stock, being chatty with a chatty customer...

A retail pharm tech probably does have less interaction with each customer as it's a more straightforward task -- but I would guess that there might be some regular, repeat customers who do want to chat with you. When I've had prescriptions filled at my local pharmacy, which isn't often as I don't regularly need anything, I've noticed that the techs seem to know many of the elderly customers by first name basis and the customers do the same to them, and they seem to have a chatty "So did you find your cat, Irene?" situation with them!

So....you might have to be prepared for a certain degree of that, I'm not sure...

You can but go for it and take that job anyway, as it's always worth trying and seeing if something works out.

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I'm fine with small talk so that doesn't worry me. I guess I can try it and if I don't like it at least I still have my cna job to fall back on.

Thanks for your input

You're welcome! I'm sure it will be easier to handle than my customer involvement -- I might have been able to stay in retail if I could have had a position more like the one you will have.

I'm not familiar with the "pharmacy tech" job role, but I come from a family of retail pharmacists, at least two of whom showed signs of Asperger's, and I'm very familiar with day-to-day pharmacy life.

I'd say pharmacy is a very Aspie friendly profession / environment, as long as you're of the "organised and methodical" type. (I'm not, so I didn't join the family business). The social interaction with customers can be fairly "scripted".. As long as you're always nice, polite, friendly and smile a lot, you should be fine.

There's also a chance they'll be happy to change the role slightly so there is less customer interaction. The other staff will generally prefer more customer interaction and less of the back-room / dispensary work, so if you prefer that kind of work, you could end up improving everyone's work day

I'd suggest you pop into a few pharmacies an have a chat with them if it's quiet. If you are the reliable, methodical, organised type, and make a point of telling them that, it will pique their interest.

If you then ask for their advice on how to get a job as a pharmacy tech, what skills you'll need to develop etc, you'll either get some good advice, or potentially even a work-trial /part time job to prove yourself and see if the job is right for you. Good luck!

I've been a pharm tech for over 3 years now (was a mechanical engineer for 23+ years but those jobs are long gone from the US.) and it is a very Aspie freindly job. I did 6 months retail and now work in a very large hospital. I sometimes work per diem for a retail compounding pharmacy. Most of the people interaction is scripted. Occasionally there are idiots to deal with. Techs who are experts with insurance are highly valued. It doesn't take great deal of school (1 to 2 semesters depending on the school) to be a pharm tech and I was employed shortly after I started pharm tech school. There are so many options as a pharm tech. From 100% working with people to working in almost complete isolation.