Keep a human in the loop
Task areas where a human was still judged necessary in a large share of observed conversations — not a safety ruling, an observed-need signal.
- Answer telephones, responding to questions or requests. · 99.3% need a human
Pharmacy Technicians
Occupation · SOC 29-2052.00
Prepare medications under the direction of a pharmacist. May measure, mix, count out, label, and record amounts and dosages of medications according to prescription orders.
Also called: Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) · Chemotherapy Pharmacy Technician (Chemo Pharmacy Technician) · OR Pharmacy Tech (Operating Room Pharmacy Tech) · RPhT (Registered Pharmacy Technician) · Accredited Pharmacy Technician · Compounding Technician · Compounding Pharmacy Tech (Compounding Pharmacy Technician) · Drug Coordinator · Hospital Pharmacy Tech (Hospital Pharmacy Technician) · Inpatient Pharmacy Tech (Inpatient Pharmacy Technician) · Pharmacist Assistant · Pharmacist Technician
Job family: Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-29-2052-00/context.md directly.
AI work map
A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.
Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- About average employment outlook (+6.4% by 2034)
- 49,000 openings/yr
- Moderate AI exposure
- Median pay $43,460/yr
- Work is mostly on-site (not teleworkable)
- Both the 2013 computerization estimate and today's AI exposure rank this high
52nd-percentile task overlap — yet about 49,000 openings a year (+6.4% projected, BLS) . What exposure means →
AI & job outlook
What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.
Exposure to current AI
Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Moderate | 48th | 0.0 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Moderate | 47th | 0.6 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Moderate | 65th | 0.2 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.3), with simple added tooling (β 0.4), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.6). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.
Mixed signals. Today's AI/LLM studies show relatively low exposure for this job, but the older (2013) Frey–Osborne work rated it higher for computerization and robotics. Different eras, different technologies — the AI measures above reflect the current state.
Historical automation estimate (2013)
A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.
Frey–Osborne probability 0.9 · 82nd percentile among occupations · High
How AI is actually used in this job
Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.
| Answer telephones, responding to questions or requests. | 0.9% | |
| Maintain proper storage and security conditions for drugs. | 0.6% | |
| Prepare and process medical insurance claim forms and records. | 0.2% |
Job outlook
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | About average · +6.4% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 49,000 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 490,400 → 521,800 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient
The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.
Pharmacy Technicians sits at the 57th percentile of 427
occupations on the global GenAI task-exposure gradient
— exposure eased from 2023 to 2025. Each dot is one occupation; the
ringed one is this work. Exposure is task overlap, not automation or jobs lost.
30% mean task exposure (2025)
57th percentile of 427 placed occupations
−8 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Pharmaceutical Technicians and Assistants · 3213 | 30% | Minimal |
Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.
Working with AI in this job
How people actually apply AI to this occupation's tasks, from Claude.ai (Free and Pro) conversations in the Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15. This is one AI assistant's consumer sample — not all AI, not the whole workforce. Autonomy and the collaboration mix are model-rated estimates; figures below the sample floor are hidden.
| Most common way people use AI here | none · |
| Typical AI autonomy | 3.0 / 5 · higher = AI acts more independently |
What people delegate to AI
The role's most common tasks in AI conversations, each tagged with how people work with the AI on it. “Usage” is the share of observed conversations, not of the job.
| Task | How | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Answer telephones, responding to questions or requests. | none | 1.4% |
Where a human is still needed
Tasks where the model most often judged that a person remained necessary — a useful read on the current boundary, not a guarantee.
| Answer telephones, responding to questions or requests. | 99.3% |
What people most often hand AI here
Example prompts phrased from the tasks people most often delegate to AI in this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index). Each shows the underlying measured task and its share of observed AI use. They are suggested phrasings of real tasks — starting points, not endorsed instructions.
-
Help me answer telephones, responding to questions or requests.From: Answer telephones, responding to questions or requests. · 1.4% of measured AI use · none
Tasks
All 21 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Receive written prescription or refill requests and verify that information is complete and accurate. Core · importance 4.9
- Enter prescription information into computer databases. Core · importance 4.8
- Compute charges for medication or equipment dispensed to hospital patients and enter data in computer. Supplemental · importance 4.7
- Establish or maintain patient profiles, including lists of medications taken by individual patients. Core · importance 4.7
- Maintain proper storage and security conditions for drugs. Core · importance 4.7
- Prepare and process medical insurance claim forms and records. Supplemental · importance 4.7
- Receive and store incoming supplies, verify quantities against invoices, check for outdated medications in current inventory, and inform supervisors of stock needs and shortages. Core · importance 4.6
- Answer telephones, responding to questions or requests. Core · importance 4.6
- Assist customers by answering simple questions, locating items, or referring them to the pharmacist for medication information. Core · importance 4.5
- Operate cash registers to accept payment from customers. Core · importance 4.5
- Transfer medication from vials to the appropriate number of sterile, disposable syringes, using aseptic techniques. Supplemental · importance 4.5
- Mix pharmaceutical preparations, according to written prescriptions. Core · importance 4.4
- Price and file prescriptions that have been filled. Core · importance 4.4
- Restock intravenous (IV) supplies and add measured drugs or nutrients to IV solutions under sterile conditions to prepare IV packs for various uses, such as chemotherapy medication. Supplemental · importance 4.4
- Order, label, and count stock of medications, chemicals, or supplies and enter inventory data into computer. Core · importance 4.4
- Supply and monitor robotic machines that dispense medicine into containers and label the containers. Supplemental · importance 4.4
- Clean and help maintain equipment or work areas and sterilize glassware, according to prescribed methods. Core · importance 4.4
- Deliver medications or pharmaceutical supplies to patients, nursing stations, or surgery. Supplemental · importance 4.4
- Prepack bulk medicines, fill bottles with prescribed medications, and type and affix labels. Core · importance 4.3
- Maintain and merchandise home healthcare products or services. Supplemental · importance 3.6
- Price stock and mark items for sale. Supplemental · importance 3.6
Work activities
- Prepare medications or medical solutions.
- Maintain inventory of medical supplies or equipment.
- Verify accuracy of patient information.
- Perform clerical work in medical settings.
- Provide information to the general public.
- Provide customers with general information or assistance.
- Sterilize medical equipment or instruments.
- Clean medical equipment or facilities.
- Maintain medical equipment or instruments.
- Record patient medical histories.
- Enter patient or treatment data into computers.
- Maintain supply or equipment inventories.
- Monitor availability of equipment or supplies.
- Process medical billing information.
- Operate cash registers.
- Process sales or other transactions.
- Deliver items.
- Arrange delivery of goods or services.
- Merchandise healthcare products or services.
- Enter information into databases or software programs.
- Enter codes or other information into computers.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Knowledge
| Customer and Personal Service | 4.6 | |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 3.9 | |
| Mathematics | 3.8 | |
| English Language | 3.8 | |
| Computers and Electronics | 3.7 | |
| Law and Government | 3.5 | |
| Administrative | 3.3 | |
| Production and Processing | 3.2 |
Essential skills
| Active Listening | 4.0 | |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.8 | |
| Speaking | 3.8 | |
| Critical Thinking | 3.3 | |
| Active Learning | 3.1 | |
| Monitoring | 3.1 | |
| Writing | 3.0 | |
| Mathematics | 3.0 |
Abilities
| Oral Comprehension | 4.0 | |
| Written Comprehension | 4.0 | |
| Oral Expression | 4.0 | |
| Near Vision | 4.0 | |
| Speech Recognition | 3.9 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.8 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.8 | |
| Category Flexibility | 3.6 | |
| Speech Clarity | 3.4 | |
| Written Expression | 3.1 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.1 | |
| Number Facility | 3.1 | |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.1 | |
| Finger Dexterity | 3.1 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.0 | |
| Selective Attention | 3.0 | |
| Time Sharing | 3.0 | |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.0 |
Transferable skills
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.1 | |
| Service Orientation | 3.1 | |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.1 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.1 | |
| Coordination | 3.0 | |
| Time Management | 3.0 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Tools & technology
Work context
How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 3 — Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Education
- Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
- Typical entry-level education
- High school diploma or equivalent · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
- Preparation level
- SVP (6.0 to < 7.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
What to study: Health Professions and Related Programs . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.
Education of current workers
Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 42.0% | |
| High School Diploma | 35.7% | |
| Some College Courses | 14.6% | |
| Bachelor's Degree | 3.8% | |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 3.8% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Conventional | 7.0 | |
| Realistic | 4.2 | |
| Social | 3.3 | |
| Investigative | 3.0 | |
| Enterprising | 2.5 |
Interest areas
| Health Care Service | 4.6 | |
| Office Work | 4.0 | |
| Personal Service | 2.5 | |
| Medical Science | 2.4 | |
| Accounting | 2.3 | |
| Physical/Manual Labor | 2.2 | |
| Information Technology | 2.0 |
Work styles
| Dependability | 4.0 | |
| Attention to Detail | 3.0 | |
| Cautiousness | 2.5 | |
| Integrity | 2.4 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $35,100 |
| 25th percentile | $36,920 |
| Median (50th) | $43,460 |
| 75th percentile | $48,580 |
| 90th percentile | $59,450 |
| People employed | 487,920 |
Industries that employ this occupation
Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.
| Industry | Workers | National median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Trade · Sector | 345,940 | $38,630 |
| Pharmacies and Drug Retailers · National industry | 256,330 | $37,900 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector | 103,460 | $49,340 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 10,060 | $44,120 |
| Finance and Insurance · Sector | 6,390 | $45,700 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 4,370 | $46,080 |
| Temporary Help Services · National industry | 3,560 | $45,610 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises · Sector | 2,520 | $53,530 |
| Manufacturing · Sector | 2,290 | $46,850 |
| Direct Health and Medical Insurance Carriers · National industry | 2,040 | $48,060 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 1,350 | $44,890 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 1,050 | $52,050 |
Where this work is most concentrated
Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Pharmacies and Drug Retailers · National industry | 114.32× | 256,330 |
| Retail Trade · Sector | 7.01× | 345,940 |
| Direct Health and Medical Insurance Carriers · National industry | 1.44× | 2,040 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector | 1.42× | 103,460 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 0.53× | 10,060 |
| Temporary Help Services · National industry | 0.42× | 3,560 |
| Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers · National industry | 0.41× | 400 |
| Finance and Insurance · Sector | 0.32× | 6,390 |
Related occupations
Part of the Healthcare & Human Services career cluster.
- Pharmacists · 29-1051.00 Compare →
- Pharmacy Aides · 31-9095.00 Compare →
- Medical Assistants · 31-9092.00 Compare →
- Veterinary Technologists and Technicians · 29-2056.00 Compare →
- Phlebotomists · 31-9097.00 Compare →
- Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses · 29-2061.00 Compare →
- Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians · 29-2012.00 Compare →
- Nursing Assistants · 31-1131.00 Compare →
- Surgical Technologists · 29-2055.00 Compare →
- Opticians, Dispensing · 29-2081.00 Compare →
- Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants · 43-6013.00 Compare →
- Medical Records Specialists · 29-2072.00 Compare →
Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.
What you can do with this
Options the data surfaces for Pharmacy Technicians — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Skills that travel
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- High school diploma or equivalent · typical entry level
- Job zone 3 — Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- Health Professions and Related Programs · field of study
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 57th percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Pharmacy Technicians show 52nd-percentile AI task overlap — and about 49,000 annual U.S. openings
- Pharmacy Technicians rank in the 52nd percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
- The occupation is projected to see about 49,000 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- BLS projects employment to be about average (+6.4%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $43,460, across about 487,920 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Pharmacy Technicians show 52nd-percentile AI task overlap — and about 49,000 annual U.S. openings • Pharmacy Technicians rank in the 52nd percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE) • The occupation is projected to see about 49,000 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • BLS projects employment to be about average (+6.4%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $43,460, across about 487,920 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Pharmacy Technicians". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-2052-00 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Plain
Singulariki. "Pharmacy Technicians." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-2052-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Pharmacy Technicians. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-2052-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-29-2052-00,
title = {Pharmacy Technicians},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-2052-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.