Pharmacy Technician Jobs in Austin, TX
Pharmacy technicians in Austin earn a median of about $22.60 an hour, and the state is hiring right now at Austin State Hospital on Guadalupe Street. Here are the current openings, followed by who is hiring, what it pays, and how to register with the Texas State Board of Pharmacy.
Current pharmacy technician Openings in Austin, TX
Listings marked External are sponsored openings provided by the Jobs2Careers network.
Pharmacy Technician Work in Austin
Austin's pharmacy technicians work in three very different settings. Retail counters fill prescriptions for a fast-growing metro. Safety-net clinics run their own in-house pharmacies: CommUnityCare, the Travis County health center network, staffs pharmacy techs at its North Central clinic on Braker Lane, its Hancock clinic on East 41st Street and its Del Valle clinic on Elroy Road. And state facilities keep institutional pharmacies, where techs pre-pack unit doses and fill medication carts for patients and residents.
That last group is a distinctly Austin option. Texas Health and Human Services is hiring Pharmacy Technician II staff at Austin State Hospital in the Triangle area and at the Austin State Supported Living Center on West 35th Street, both with state benefits. Specialty work is another route: Texas Oncology hires admixture techs in Round Rock who prepare IV medications for cancer patients.
Top Austin Employers Hiring Pharmacy Technicians
These Austin employers have posted pharmacy technician roles on their own career sites:
- CommUnityCare Health Centers - the Central Health clinic network has pharmacy technician openings at North Central, Hancock and Del Valle.
- Texas Health and Human Services - the state agency is hiring Pharmacy Technician II staff at Austin State Hospital and the Austin State Supported Living Center.
- Texas Oncology - the cancer practice hires retail and admixture pharmacy techs at its Round Rock location to mix and dispense oncology medications.
Pharmacy Technician Salaries in Austin
- Entry level: about $18 to $20 per hour for trainees and newly certified technicians.
- Experienced: roughly $22 to $24 per hour for registered technicians with a few years behind the counter.
- Senior and specialty: about $25 to $28 per hour for lead, IV admixture and hospital technicians.
These are estimates built from BLS 2025 wage data for the Austin metro, where the median runs slightly above the Texas median of about $22.07. State jobs at Austin State Hospital post $3,095 to $4,595 a month, roughly $18 to $26.50 an hour, plus state benefits. Certification, sterile compounding skills, hospital or oncology experience, and night or weekend shifts move pay up.
How to Become a Pharmacy Technician in Austin
Texas requires registration with the Texas State Board of Pharmacy. Most people start as a Pharmacy Technician Trainee: you apply online, complete a fingerprint session, and receive a registration that lasts two years and cannot be renewed. Before it expires, you must pass a Board-approved certification exam, either the PTCB's PTCE or the NHA's ExCPT, and upgrade to a registered pharmacy technician. Austin Community College runs an ASHP-accredited Pharmacy Technician program at its Eastview Campus on Webberville Road, with lecture, lab and clinical training for retail and hospital work; ACC reports a 90 percent first-time pass rate on the PTCB exam for its traditional students.
What the Job Involves
Pharmacy technicians take in prescriptions, enter them into the pharmacy system, count, measure and label medications, and handle insurance questions, all under a pharmacist's supervision. In clinic and hospital pharmacies the work shifts toward unit-dose packaging, restocking medication carts, inventory, and in some roles mixing IV medications in a clean room. Accuracy is the whole job, since every order is checked against a patient's safety.
Skills Employers Look For
- Active Texas State Board of Pharmacy registration
- PTCB or NHA certification
- Accurate data entry and prescription processing
- Knowledge of drug names, dosages and pharmacy math
- Insurance and prior authorization basics
- Sterile compounding for IV and admixture roles
Career Path and Advancement
Many Austin techs start as trainees at a retail counter, earn certification inside the two-year trainee window, and move into clinic or state facility pharmacies for different hours and benefits. From there the path runs to senior or lead technician, IV admixture work at oncology practices such as Texas Oncology in Round Rock, inventory and purchasing roles, or pharmacy school. Texas state facilities class the job in levels, such as Pharmacy Technician I and II, so experience moves you up a pay group.
Related Careers in Austin
If pharmacy work interests you, these related Austin roles are close matches:
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a license to be a pharmacy technician in Texas?
Yes. Texas requires registration with the Texas State Board of Pharmacy. You can start as a registered trainee, but you must pass the PTCB or NHA certification exam and upgrade to a registered pharmacy technician before the two-year trainee registration runs out.
How much do pharmacy technicians make in Austin?
BLS 2025 data puts the Austin median at about $22.60 an hour, with most techs between roughly $18 and $28. Hospital, IV admixture and lead roles sit at the top of that range.
Can I work as a pharmacy technician while I am still a trainee?
Yes, once your trainee registration is active and you have a number from the Board. Trainees work inside a pharmacy's training program, and the registration cannot be renewed, so plan to pass a certification exam within two years.
Where can I train to be a pharmacy technician in Austin?
Austin Community College's Pharmacy Technician program at the Eastview Campus is ASHP-accredited and includes clinical training. Many retail employers also train technicians on the job while they work toward certification.
Do state jobs require certification?
Austin's state facility postings require Texas State Board of Pharmacy registration and two years of experience, and the Austin State Supported Living Center also asks for PTCB certification. Expect a fingerprint background check and drug screen.
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