Opticians, Dispensing
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.
- Median pay
- $47,260
- Doing it now
- 74,300
- By 2035
- Up 4.2%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
a year
across the country
5,600 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Measure clients' bridge and eye size, temple length, vertex distance, pupillary distance, and optical centers of eyes, using measuring devices.
- Verify that finished lenses are ground to specifications.
- Prepare work orders and instructions for grinding lenses and fabricating eyeglasses.
- Assist clients in selecting frames according to style and color, and ensure that frames are coordinated with facial and eye measurements and optical prescriptions.
- Maintain records of customer prescriptions, work orders, and payments.
- Perform administrative duties, such as tracking inventory and sales, submitting patient insurance information, and performing simple bookkeeping.
- Recommend specific lenses, lens coatings, and frames to suit client needs.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Ophthalmic and Optometric Support Services and Allied ProfessionsSee 4 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Organised and precise
Hands-on and practical
Leading and persuading
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $47,260 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.