What You Need to Know About Dispensing Optician
Example of Dispensing Optician Job 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.
Life As a Dispensing Optician
- Determine clients' current lens prescriptions, when necessary, using lensometers or lens analyzers and clients' eyeglasses.
- Evaluate prescriptions in conjunction with clients' vocational and avocational visual requirements.
- Instruct clients in how to wear and care for eyeglasses.
- Perform administrative duties such as tracking inventory and sales, submitting patient insurance information, and performing simple bookkeeping.
- Supervise the training of student opticians.
- Maintain records of customer prescriptions, work orders, and payments.
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Things a Dispensing Optician Should Know How to Do
When polled, Dispensing Opticians say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Other Dispensing Optician Job Titles
- Optician
- Optical Assistant
- Contact Lens Technician
- Optical Dispenser
- Optician Apprentice
Is There Going to be Demand for Dispensing Opticians?
There were about 77,600 jobs for Dispensing Optician in 2016 (in the United States). New jobs are being produced at a rate of 15.1% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 11,700 new jobs for Dispensing Optician by 2026. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 7,000 job openings in this field each year.
The states with the most job growth for Dispensing Optician are Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. Watch out if you plan on working in Maine, Kansas, or Rhode Island. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Average Dispensing Opticians Salary
Dispensing Opticians make between $24,670 and $60,030 a year.
Dispensing Opticians who work in New Jersey, Massachusetts, or New York, make the highest salaries.
How much do Dispensing Opticians make in each U.S. state?
| State | Annual Mean Salary |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $32,660 |
| Alaska | $45,500 |
| Arizona | $37,990 |
| Arkansas | $36,940 |
| California | $42,760 |
| Colorado | $39,510 |
| Connecticut | $52,980 |
| Delaware | $36,770 |
| District of Columbia | $46,230 |
| Florida | $40,290 |
| Georgia | $36,330 |
| Hawaii | $44,780 |
| Idaho | $32,130 |
| Illinois | $37,360 |
| Indiana | $30,720 |
| Iowa | $33,560 |
| Kansas | $30,770 |
| Kentucky | $40,340 |
| Louisiana | $32,310 |
| Maine | $37,690 |
| Maryland | $44,290 |
| Massachusetts | $60,240 |
| Michigan | $35,910 |
| Minnesota | $39,510 |
| Mississippi | $31,990 |
| Missouri | $39,170 |
| Montana | $33,050 |
| Nebraska | $35,290 |
| Nevada | $40,520 |
| New Hampshire | $41,540 |
| New Jersey | $56,780 |
| New Mexico | $32,160 |
| New York | $54,730 |
| North Carolina | $42,200 |
| North Dakota | $33,900 |
| Ohio | $40,480 |
| Oklahoma | $31,770 |
| Oregon | $42,660 |
| Pennsylvania | $36,300 |
| Rhode Island | $46,660 |
| South Carolina | $37,910 |
| South Dakota | $30,490 |
| Tennessee | $37,720 |
| Texas | $34,690 |
| Utah | $30,750 |
| Vermont | $46,360 |
| Virginia | $46,700 |
| Washington | $44,750 |
| West Virginia | $32,640 |
| Wisconsin | $35,460 |
| Wyoming | $30,840 |
What Tools & Technology do Dispensing Opticians Use?
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Dispensing Opticians may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Intuit QuickBooks
- Point of sale POS software
- First Insight MaximEyes
- HealthLine Systems Eyecom
- Insight Software My Vision Express
- OfficeMate Software Solutions OfficeMate
How to Become a Dispensing Optician
What education or degrees do I need to become a Dispensing Optician?
How many years of work experience do I need?
Where do Dispensing Opticians Work?
The table below shows the approximate number of Dispensing Opticians employed by various industries.
You May Also Be Interested In…
Those who work as a Dispensing Optician sometimes switch careers to one of these choices:
References:
Image Credit: Robert Barnett via public domain
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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