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Opticians, Dispensing

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

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.

Related: Endoscopy Technicians Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians Ophthalmic Medical Technicians Ophthalmic Medical Technologists Optometrists

Industries: Health & Counseling Retail

Summary
Details

Sell goods such as contact lenses, spectacles, sunglasses, and goods related to eyes, in general.
Fabricate lenses to meet prescription specifications.
Perform administrative duties, such as tracking inventory and sales, submitting patient insurance information, and performing simple bookkeeping.
Assemble eyeglasses by cutting and edging lenses, and fitting the lenses into frames.
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.
Show customers how to insert, remove, and care for their contact lenses.
Recommend specific lenses, lens coatings, and frames to suit client needs.
Obtain a customer's previous record, or verify a prescription with the examining optometrist or ophthalmologist.
Supervise the training of student opticians.
Heat, shape, or bend plastic or metal frames to adjust eyeglasses to fit clients, using pliers and hands.
Instruct clients in how to wear and care for eyeglasses.
Assist clients in selecting frames according to style and color, and ensure that frames are coordinated with facial and eye measurements and optical prescriptions.
Determine clients' current lens prescriptions, when necessary, using lensometers or lens analyzers and clients' eyeglasses.
Perform administrative duties, such as tracking inventory and sales, submitting patient insurance information, and performing simple bookkeeping.
Measure clients' bridge and eye size, temple length, vertex distance, pupillary distance, and optical centers of eyes, using measuring devices.
Obtain a customer's previous record, or verify a prescription with the examining optometrist or ophthalmologist.
Grind lens edges, or apply coatings to lenses.
Order and purchase frames and lenses.
Arrange and maintain displays of optical merchandise.
Verify that finished lenses are ground to specifications.
Obtain a customer's previous record, or verify a prescription with the examining optometrist or ophthalmologist.

Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.

Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

More than 1 year on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

48320/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

23.23/hr

Currently Employed

2,310

Yearly Projected Openings

260

Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines. They do well at jobs that need:

Attention to Detail
Cooperation
Self Control
Integrity
Dependability
Analytical Thinking

Calipers
Cash registers
Desktop computers
Eye charts or vision cards
Half round file
Hex keys
Keratometers
Lens measuring equipment
Magnetic stripe readers and encoders
Notebook computers
Ophthalmic lensometers
Opticians tools
Personal computers
Screwdrivers
Tweezers

Accounting software
Data base user interface and query software
Inventory management software
Medical software
Office suite software
Point of sale POS software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Opticians, Dispensing

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