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Career overview · SOC 29-2081

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.

Also called: Certified Optician · Contact Lens Technician · Dispensing Optician · Licensed Dispensing Optician (LDO) · Licensed Optician · Ophthalmic Dispenser

Median pay (national)
$46,560
$34,470–$73,240 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
79,690
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+2.9%
~6,800 openings/yr
Typical entry
High school diploma or equivalent

What the numbers say

Refit analysis ·Pay for opticians, dispensing shows a broad range: the top 10% earn $73,240 versus $34,470 at the bottom 10% — 2.1x. The median of $46,560 leaves roughly 57% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +2.9% from 2024 to 2034 — about as fast as the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 6,800 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 52 states with released data, New Jersey pays the most for this role (median $66,250, +42% vs the national median), while Puerto Rico sits lowest at $28,690 — a 131% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Speaking, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list.

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Top skills employers ask for

Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.

  • Speaking
  • Active Listening
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Critical Thinking
  • Writing
  • Active Learning
  • Monitoring
  • Mathematics
  • Learning Strategies
  • Science

What they actually do

Core O*NET tasks for this role.

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Heat, shape, or bend plastic or metal frames to adjust eyeglasses to fit clients, using pliers and hands.
  • Show customers how to insert, remove, and care for their contact lenses.
  • Determine clients' current lens prescriptions, when necessary, using lensometers or lens analyzers and clients' eyeglasses.
  • Prepare work orders and instructions for grinding lenses and fabricating eyeglasses.
  • Obtain a customer's previous record, or verify a prescription with the examining optometrist or ophthalmologist.

Tools & technology

  • Intuit QuickBooks
  • Compulink Eyecare Advantage
  • Cygnet Infotech Optifocus
  • Database software
  • Diversified Ophthalmics Practice Maximus
  • EMRlogic Systems ENTERPRISE Visions
  • EZ-Zone Optizone Enterprise
  • First Insight MaximEyes
  • HealthLine Systems Eyecom
  • Insight Software My Vision Express
  • Inventory management systems
  • OfficeMate Software Solutions OfficeMate
  • Specialist Data Solutions OctoPlus
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Word

Knowledge areas

  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Sales and Marketing
  • Mathematics
  • Production and Processing
  • Administrative
  • English Language
  • Administration and Management
  • Education and Training