Pay, certification and licensing pages shape real decisions: whether to pay for a training program, sit the PTCE, move states or commit to a PharmD. This policy explains where our numbers come from and how we keep them current.
Sources we use
We use primary sources only: BLS OEWS wage and employment estimates and the Occupational Outlook Handbook; O*NET OnLine (U.S. Department of Labor); the certification bodies PTCB and NHA; NABP for pharmacist licensing exams; ACPE, ASHP and AACP for accreditation and pharmacy education data; state boards of pharmacy and statutes; Federal Student Aid for loan rules; and the IRS and Social Security Administration for tax parameters. Salary aggregators, job boards and school marketing pages are never used as sources of fact.
How calculators are checked
Every calculator uses published rules: BLS converts hourly wages to annual pay at 2,080 hours, the take-home calculator applies the IRS 2026 brackets, standard deduction, Social Security wage base and Medicare rate, and the certification calculator starts from PTCB’s published $129 exam and $55 renewal fees. Automated tests check known answers (for example, a single filer earning the $45,750 BLS May 2025 pharmacy technician median keeps about $38,940 after 2026 federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare), and each tool shows its inputs so the result can be checked by hand.
What we will not publish
- Affiliate links, paid school listings or lead forms for training programs.
- Salary figures from job boards, staffing ads or anonymous self-reports presented as fact.
- Pay claims we cannot tie to BLS data or another primary source, including “starting pay”, “certified technician premium” or residency stipend figures that no official survey publishes.
Updates and corrections
Every page shows the date it was last updated, and wage tables name the BLS survey month they come from. BLS publishes new OEWS wage estimates each spring; the IRS sets tax brackets each fall; PTCB, NHA, NABP and the state boards change fees and rules through the year. We refresh the data and re-run the tests when they do, and change page dates only when content changes. If a number, fee or board rule looks wrong, send the page address and your source through the contact page; we check it against the BLS release, the PTCB or NABP page or the board rule and correct the page.