Healthcare
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 salary
$46,560
Typical range
$34k – $73k
Job outlook
+3% (about average)
AI exposure
Plan a path to Opticians, Dispensing
Education
Typical entry: Associate degree
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Junior Opticians, Dispensing
Entry / Junior
$34,470
~2 yrs to advance
Opticians, Dispensing
Established
$46,560
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Opticians, Dispensing
Senior
$59,900
Key skills
A typical day
- •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.
Fields of study
Any field
Top colleges for Healthcare
Explore all- Johns Hopkins University7% admit · $93,000 grad pay
- Harvard University4% admit · $119,000 grad pay
- University of Michigan18% admit · $87,000 grad pay
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- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill19% admit · $73,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.