Suggested Path
Bachelor
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Scie...
CAREER
Opticians, Dispensing
Overview
Salary Median (2020)
$38,530
Projected Job Growth (2019-2029)
+4% (slower than the average)
Most Common Level of Education
High school diploma or equivalent
Career
Roadtrip Nation Leaders in This Career
What Opticians, Dispensing Do
Design, measure, fit, and adapt lenses and frames for client according to written optical prescription or specification. Assist client with inserting, removing, and caring for contact lenses. Assist client with selecting frames. Measure customer for size of eyeglasses and coordinate frames with facial and eye measurements and optical prescription. Prepare work order for optical laboratory containing instructions for grinding and mounting lenses in frames. Verify exactness of finished lens spectacles. Adjust frame and lens position to fit client. May shape or reshape frames. Includes contact lens opticians.
Other Job Titles Opticians, Dispensing May Have
Certified Optician, Contact Lens Technician, Dispensing Optician, Licensed Dispensing Optician (LDO), Licensed Optician, Ophthalmic Dispenser, Optical Technician, Optician, Optometric Technician
Tasks & Responsibilities May Include
- Evaluate prescriptions in conjunction with clients' vocational and avocational visual requirements.
- Recommend specific lenses, lens coatings, and frames to suit client needs.
- Verify that finished lenses are ground to specifications.
- Measure clients' bridge and eye size, temple length, vertex distance, pupillary distance, and optical centers of eyes, using measuring devices.
- Sell goods such as contact lenses, spectacles, sunglasses, and goods related to eyes, in general.
Education
Level of Education Attained by Opticians, Dispensing
Most common level of education among people in
this career: Some college, no degree (34%)
High school diploma or equivalent
Some college, no degree
Bachelor's degree
Other*
*All other responses combined for clarity.
Majors Related to Career
Educational Paths Suggested by Leaders
This page includes information from theO*NET 26.1 Databaseby the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under theCC BY 4.0license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
