Optician job description

A pupillary distance ruler, a lensometer, and a pair of frame pliers do most of the measuring and fitting in this job. An optician takes a prescription from an optometrist or ophthalmologist, helps the customer choose frames and lenses, writes the order for the lab, and adjusts the finished glasses until they fit. BLS counted 73,530 dispensing opticians in May 2025, with a median of $47,260. Ten percent earned less than $35,610, and ten percent earned more than $76,750. The Handbook finds 43 percent of opticians in offices of optometrists, with most of the rest in general merchandise and health and personal care retailers.

Core Duties and Responsibilities

Measurement comes first in O*NET's ranking: bridge and eye size, temple length, vertex distance, pupillary distance, and optical centers. Close behind is checking that finished lenses were ground to the prescription. Opticians weigh a prescription against how the customer works and spends free time, then recommend lenses, coatings, and frames that fit both. They heat and bend plastic or metal frames by hand, read an old pair's power on a lensometer, and verify prescriptions with the examining doctor when something looks off. Teaching a new wearer to insert, remove, and care for contact lenses is core work. So are sales, inventory, insurance paperwork, and simple bookkeeping.

Common Skills and Technologies

Speaking and active listening lead the skills list, with service orientation and critical thinking close behind. Postings name Intuit QuickBooks, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office, and Microsoft Word, and the software categories add point of sale and inventory management, the signs of a job that runs a sales floor as well as a fitting table.

Education, Training, and Career Path

O*NET places the job in Job Zone Three. A high school diploma was the requirement named by about 46 percent of O*NET respondents, with a postsecondary certificate and an associate's degree at 25 percent each. The Handbook describes one-year certificates and two-year associate's programs at community colleges and technical schools, plus apprenticeship and on-the-job training for those who skip school. Some states license opticians. The American Board of Opticianry and National Contact Lens Examiners certify eyeglass and contact lens dispensing, and many state boards use those exams. Employment is projected to grow 4 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 5,600 openings a year.

Sources: O*NET 30.0, 29-2081.00 Opticians, Dispensing, https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-2081.00. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, 29-2081, https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Opticians, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/opticians-dispensing.htm.