Career Atlas USA

Pharmacy Aides

Median salary
$37,680
Average salary
$40,450
Employment
39,530
Projected growth
0.1% decline
Annual openings
6,100
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent

What Pharmacy Aides Do

Record drugs delivered to the pharmacy, store incoming merchandise, and inform the supervisor of stock needs. May operate cash register and accept prescriptions for filling.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 20242034.

Related work experience
None
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training
Self-employed
Not available

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 2 of 5

Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed

Experience
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
Education
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Job training
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

  • Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.8/5
  • English Languageimportance 3.4/5
  • Administrativeimportance 3.1/5
  • Sales and Marketingimportance 3.0/5
  • Law and Governmentimportance 2.9/5
  • Administration and Managementimportance 2.9/5
  • Mathematicsimportance 2.9/5
  • Medicine and Dentistryimportance 2.6/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

  • Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.9/5
  • Telephone Conversations4.9/5
  • Spend Time Standing4.9/5
  • Contact With Others4.8/5
  • Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.7/5
  • Deal With External Customers or the Public in General4.5/5

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

  • Service Orientationimportance 3.4/5
  • Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.3/5
  • Coordinationimportance 3.0/5
  • Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.0/5
  • Complex Problem Solvingimportance 2.8/5
  • Time Managementimportance 2.6/5
  • Persuasionimportance 2.3/5
  • Systems Analysisimportance 2.1/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Other Software Used

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

  • Dependability
  • Attention to Detail
  • Integrity
  • Cautiousness
  • Cooperation
  • Social Orientation
  • Sincerity

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

  • ConventionalHigh
  • EnterprisingMedium
  • RealisticMedium
  • SocialMedium
  • InvestigativeLow
  • ArtisticLow

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where pharmacy aides make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

  1. 1Mayaguez, PR8.44× national avg
  2. 2Arecibo, PR8.04× national avg
  3. 3Aguadilla, PR6.91× national avg
  4. 4Iowa City, IA4.38× national avg
  5. 5San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR3.99× national avg

Possible Career Moves

A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.

See the full career path from Pharmacy Aides

Full salary data & percentiles →Best states for this career →Highest-paying states →