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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.
Other titles employers use
Certified Optician · Contact Lens Technician · Dispensing Optician · Licensed Dispensing Optician (LDO) · Licensed Optician · Ophthalmic Dispenser · Optical Technician · Optician
Inside the work
What you would actually do.
6 responsibilities that define the role, before job titles and workplaces change the details.
- 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.
- Evaluate prescriptions in conjunction with clients' vocational and avocational visual requirements.
- Recommend specific lenses, lens coatings, and frames to suit client needs.
- 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.
Who it suits
Would this work hold your attention?
This career often appeals to people drawn to organizing, practical and persuading work.
- Organizing
- Creating order, checking details, and keeping work accurate
- Practical
- Building, repairing, using tools, or working outdoors
- Persuading
- Leading, selling, starting projects, or making a case
Skills and strengths
What you would get good at.
Compare the skills the work relies on, the subjects behind it, and the abilities that make it easier to learn.
Core skills
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Service Orientation
- Writing
Subjects to know
- Customer and Personal Service
- Sales and Marketing
- Mathematics
- Production and Processing
- Administrative
Useful strengths
- Oral Comprehension
- Oral Expression
- Near Vision
- Written Comprehension
- Speech Recognition
Working day
Picture yourself doing it.
These measures show how much of the day involves people, movement, conversation, and hands-on work.
| Measure | Out of 5 | What that means here |
|---|---|---|
| Close to other people | 4.5 | Arm’s length or closer, most of the day |
| On your feet | 2.9 | Mostly seated |
| Talking face to face | 5.0 | Continuous — the job is conversations |
| Working with your hands | 3.6 | Some of the day |
Preparation
How people prepare for this work.
Employers usually ask for a high school diploma. Other routes may also lead into the field.
- High school or less 46%
- A certificate or some college 29%
- A two-year degree 25%
Tools of the work
Technology you may use.
- Accounting software
- Spreadsheet software
- Office suite software
- Word processing software
- Medical software
- Data base user interface and query software
- Inventory management software
Opportunity near you
See where this work is growing.
Choose a state to compare the size of the field, annual openings, and expected hiring change.
- People doing this work
- 9,000
- Job openings each year
- 810
- Expected hiring change, 2022–2032
- 15.4%
Compare every available state
| State | People doing it | Job openings each year | Expected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 9,000 | 810 | 15.4% |
| Texas | 7,160 | 650 | 16.2% |
| Florida | 4,350 | 390 | 10.7% |
| New York | 4,290 | 30 | 6.2% |
| Michigan | 3,580 | 300 | 2.3% |
| Illinois | 3,210 | 270 | — |
| Pennsylvania | 3,020 | 250 | 1.7% |
| Ohio | 2,810 | 230 | −1.4% |
| Virginia | 2,370 | 200 | 6.3% |
| Washington | 2,310 | 260 | 24.2% |
| North Carolina | 2,220 | 200 | 10.4% |
| Indiana | 2,060 | 170 | 3.0% |
| Arizona | 2,040 | 190 | 20.7% |
| New Jersey | 1,960 | 170 | 5.4% |
| Georgia | 1,840 | 160 | 7.6% |
| Minnesota | 1,820 | 160 | 5.8% |
| Colorado | 1,560 | 140 | 10.6% |
| Missouri | 1,510 | 130 | 7.1% |
| Wisconsin | 1,470 | 130 | 5.0% |
| Maryland | 1,360 | 120 | 4.6% |
| Oregon | 1,260 | 110 | 12.5% |
| Iowa | 1,220 | 110 | 11.9% |
| Tennessee | 1,210 | 100 | 5.2% |
| Puerto Rico | 1,170 | 110 | 12.5% |
| South Carolina | 1,140 | 100 | 16.3% |
| Utah | 1,060 | 110 | 45.2% |
| Kentucky | 980 | 80 | 4.3% |
| Kansas | 960 | 80 | 5.5% |
| Louisiana | 950 | 80 | 2.2% |
| Idaho | 920 | 90 | 22.7% |
| Alabama | 840 | 70 | 7.7% |
| Arkansas | 760 | 70 | 7.0% |
| Nebraska | 730 | 60 | 7.4% |
| Oklahoma | 620 | 50 | 3.3% |
| Nevada | 610 | 50 | 5.2% |
| Connecticut | 550 | 50 | 10.0% |
| Mississippi | 510 | 40 | — |
| New Mexico | 480 | 40 | 20.0% |
| South Dakota | 460 | 40 | 9.5% |
| Massachusetts | 430 | 40 | 4.9% |
| Montana | 390 | 40 | 14.7% |
| North Dakota | 380 | 30 | 8.6% |
| West Virginia | 330 | 30 | — |
| Maine | 320 | 30 | −5.9% |
| New Hampshire | 300 | 30 | 3.4% |
| Delaware | 280 | 20 | 7.7% |
| Wyoming | 190 | 20 | 5.6% |
| Alaska | 150 | 10 | 7.1% |
| District of Columbia | 120 | 10 | 9.1% |
| Vermont | 100 | 10 | — |
| Virgin Islands | 50 | 10 | — |
Career to college
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