Opticians, Dispensing
Health ScienceO*NET 29-2081.00United States
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.
- Median annual earnings
- $47,357
- Projected change
- +7%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 75.41K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
45.8% of the workforce
Growing to 80.68K by 2035
Explore this career by location
Compare nationwide estimates with state or county job-market data.
Showing United States
Loading available locations…
Build the skills
ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
Loading related ASU learning
The work
What opticians, dispensing do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the 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.
- Assist clients in selecting frames according to style and color, and ensure that frames are coordinated with facial and eye measurements and optical prescriptions.
- Recommend specific lenses, lens coatings, and frames to suit client needs.
- Evaluate prescriptions in conjunction with clients' vocational and avocational visual requirements.
- 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.
- Prepare work orders and instructions for grinding lenses and fabricating eyeglasses.
- Determine clients' current lens prescriptions, when necessary, using lensometers or lens analyzers and clients' eyeglasses.
- Sell goods such as contact lenses, spectacles, sunglasses, and goods related to eyes, in general.
- Obtain a customer's previous record, or verify a prescription with the examining optometrist or ophthalmologist.
- 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.
- Instruct clients in how to wear and care for eyeglasses.
- Supervise the training of student opticians.
- Order and purchase frames and lenses.
- Grind lens edges, or apply coatings to lenses.
- Repair damaged frames.
- Arrange and maintain displays of optical merchandise.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $35,242
- 25th percentile
- $38,575
- 50th percentile
- $47,357
- 75th percentile
- $62,582
- 90th percentile
- $78,909
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $47,357 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+7%faster than average
202575,414 jobs
2035 projected80,675 jobs
5,261 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 45.8%
- Certificate
- 25%
- Associate degree
- 25%
- Some college
- 4.2%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- 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.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Opticians5,246 postings
- 02Licensed Opticians4,200 postings
- 03Eyecare Advisors1,078 postings
- 04Opticians/Optical Sales Associates605 postings
- 05Apprentice Opticians398 postings
- 06Team Leads398 postings
- 07Opticians/Optometric Assistants183 postings
- 08Dispensing Opticians159 postings
- 09Eyewear Specialists140 postings
- 10Optical Managers/Opticians126 postings
- 11Optical Specialists119 postings
- 12Optician Technicians111 postings
- 13Eye Technicians105 postings
- 14Statistical Consultants105 postings
- 15Licensed Optician Managers101 postings
- 16Optometric Assistants99 postings
- 17Optical Assistants96 postings
- 18Experienced Auditors76 postings
- 19Opticians/Receptionists75 postings
- 20Eyewear Consultants69 postings
Top employers
- 01EssilorLuxottica2,662 postings
- 02Walmart2,027 postings
- 03Costco1,282 postings
- 04Warby Parker817 postings
- 05Lenscrafters604 postings
- 06Sam's Club381 postings
- 07National Vision342 postings
- 08BJ's Wholesale Club224 postings
- 09Visionworks170 postings
- 10Keplr Vision146 postings
- 11Pearle Vision105 postings
- 12Target101 postings
- 13Vision Source94 postings
- 14Pds Consultants90 postings
- 15Svs Vision87 postings
- 16Vision Associates74 postings
- 17MyEyeDr.69 postings
- 18Vsp Vision64 postings
- 19EyeCare Partners59 postings
- 20Kaiser Permanente54 postings
Keep looking