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Pharmacy Assistant

Healthcare

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.

You can enter this career straight after SPM. A degree is optional, not required.

PharmacyAllied Health

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Receive written prescription or refill requests and verify that information is complete and accurate.
  2. 2Enter prescription information into computer databases.
  3. 3Establish or maintain patient profiles, including lists of medications taken by individual patients.
  4. 4Compute charges for medication or equipment dispensed to hospital patients and enter data in computer.
  5. 5Maintain proper storage and security conditions for drugs.
  6. 6Prepare and process medical insurance claim forms and records.
  7. 7Receive and store incoming supplies, verify quantities against invoices, check for outdated medications in current inventory, and inform supervisors of stock needs and shortages.
  8. 8Answer telephones, responding to questions or requests.
  9. 9Assist customers by answering simple questions, locating items, or referring them to the pharmacist for medication information.
  10. 10Operate cash registers to accept payment from customers.
  11. 11Transfer medication from vials to the appropriate number of sterile, disposable syringes, using aseptic techniques.
  12. 12Restock 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.
  13. 13Price and file prescriptions that have been filled.
  14. 14Mix pharmaceutical preparations, according to written prescriptions.
  15. 15Order, label, and count stock of medications, chemicals, or supplies and enter inventory data into computer.
  16. 16Supply and monitor robotic machines that dispense medicine into containers and label the containers.
  17. 17Clean and help maintain equipment or work areas and sterilize glassware, according to prescribed methods.
  18. 18Deliver medications or pharmaceutical supplies to patients, nursing stations, or surgery.
  19. 19Prepack bulk medicines, fill bottles with prescribed medications, and type and affix labels.
  20. 20Maintain and merchandise home healthcare products or services.
  21. 21Price stock and mark items for sale.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • CPhT
  • RPhT
  • Pharm Tech
  • Pharmacy Clerk
  • Drug Coordinator
  • OR Pharmacy Tech
  • Pharmacist Assistant
  • Pharmacy Technicians
  • Retail Pharmacy Tech
  • Pharmacist Technician

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. 2

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. Typical entry

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. 5

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationPost-secondary certificate

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

BiologyDraws directly on Medicine and Dentistry — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
ChemistryDraws directly on Medicine and Dentistry — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Additional MathematicsDraws directly on Mathematics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
MathematicsDraws directly on Mathematics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EnglishDraws directly on English Language — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Customer and Personal Service92%
  • Medicine and Dentistry77%

    BiologyChemistry

  • Mathematics76%

    Additional MathematicsMathematics

  • English Language75%

    English

  • Computers and Electronics74%

    Computer Science / ICTElectrical & Electronic Eng. Studies

  • Law and Government70%

    History (Sejarah)

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
  • Leading or coordinating othersVery high
  • Handling conflict situationsEvery day
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
  • Noisy environmentEvery day

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

24%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

0.18%

Of Malaysian Claude conversations, about this kind of work

Measures how much people use Claude for this work, not how many Malaysians do this job — and more AI use can mean people relying on it, not that it's replacing them.

Growing role in the US

US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, not Malaysian. Shown because it's the only forward-looking demand estimate we have for this job.

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post
See pay for a related career: Medical Laboratory Technologist

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Asasi / Foundation

One-year runway into a specific university: public via UPU or private direct entry.

12 months

Diploma

Skill-first qualification. Work after, or enter degree Year 2. Polytechnics keep it affordable.

2.5–3 years

Related careers

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About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Pharmacy Technicians

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org

Programmes that lead here

Programmes from the official UPU (KPT) and MQA catalogues whose field of study typically leads to this career. Matched by field, not a job guarantee.

Public universities (UPU)

Private institutions (MQA-accredited)

Search the programme catalogue