What Does it Take to Become an Optician?

Opticians are licensed professionals who provide eyeglasses and contact lenses for patients, helping them make aesthetic choices and providing proper fit. Optician training takes about two years, after which opticians may work at eyeglass shops or optometry or ophthalmology practices.

Good eyesight is a key factor in making the most out of life. For those with vision issues such as myopia or hyperopia, glasses, and other corrective lenses are necessary. An optician provides and fits those lenses.

Becoming an optician can be a fulfilling career for those who wish to help others see more clearly.

What is an Optician?

An optician is a licensed medical technician who provides and fits eyeglasses and other corrective lenses for patients. While opticians cannot write prescriptions for eyewear or diagnose conditions involving the eye, they work with the prescriptions that ophthalmologists and optometrists issue.

Opticians have a great deal of knowledge about the workings of the human eye. Because they often have the most in-person contact with patients, they may be able to spot problems and refer patients to optometrists or ophthalmologists for diagnosis.

What Does an Optician Do?

Opticians sell, fit, adjust and repair eyeglasses. They might also:

• Fit contact lenses.
• Work with patients who need low-vision aids.?
• Ensure each patient’s lens prescription is correct.?
• Help people choose glasses frames, suggesting and arranging for features that include tinting, anti-glare coating and bifocals or progressive lenses.
• Run vision care centers, tracking prescriptions and managing eyeglass frames and contact lenses inventory.

To fit eyeglass lenses, opticians take eye measurements to ensure the focal point of each corrective lens sits at the right place on the patient’s eye.?

Opticians are especially important to patients who wear contact lenses. The optician must help each patient understand how to wear, care for and dispose of contacts. This can involve helping the patient know which disinfecting, cleaning and wetting solutions to use and how to store their contact lenses.?

Fitting a contact lens is a highly specialized task. The optician must consider the shape of the patient’s eye, the size of the iris and the patient’s everyday environment. The optician also must know how much the patient blinks or tears and any allergies or medications that could affect the contacts.

How Long Does it Take to Become an Optician?

Those wondering how to become an optician should plan on a two-year training period. Opticians generally earn an optician certificate, which takes about a year, or a two-year associate degree from a technical school or community college.?

Training covers everything from how the eye works to managing a business. Many opticians also undergo an apprenticeship or internship program, which can take two years.

What Skills Do You Need to Be an Optician?

Opticians need technical, administrative and people skills to run a successful business.?

Technical Knowledge

Technical skills, which opticians learn in their training program, include the ability to fit lenses and frames and contact lenses on a patient. Learning to use various equipment is vital to an optician’s career, as is the capability to interface with the laboratory that actually makes the lenses.

Business Acumen

Because many opticians run their vision centers, administrative skills may include the ability to manage a business successfully. Opticians often have to work as part of a team and keep track of a significant amount of information.

Customer Service

Opticians spend much of their workday with patients and customers, so excellent customer service skills are a big plus. Opticians may need to explain technical issues to customers and be a sounding board as customers try to choose the right pair of eyeglass frames.?

Other Helpful Traits

A good aesthetic sense is also helpful, along with the physical dexterity needed to fit lenses into frames, tint lenses and adjust and shape frames.

5 Steps to Become an Optician

The path to becoming an optician follows several clear steps, which may vary slightly by state.

1. Attend College

Most states require an associate degree in ophthalmic dispensing or a certification from a technical school to practice as an optician. Some states allow people to become opticians after a two-year apprenticeship, but even in those states, employers want to see a degree or certificate.

During college training, prospective opticians learn how to run an optical store, how to work with the technical equipment that opticians use and all about optics and the human eye.

2. Review State Requirements

The requirements for licensing and continuing education vary by state.?

• States that require the American Board of Opticianry (ABO) and National Contact Lens Examiners (NCLE) licensing include Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii and Ohio.?
• Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia require opticians to pass the ABO and NCLE exams plus a proprietary state exam.?
• New Hampshire just requires opticians to register with the state.
• Vermont requires the ABO only.
• Rhode Island requires the ABO plus a state exam.
• Alabama requires only a business license.
• Arkansas, New Jersey, North Carolina and Washington use their state exams rather than the ABO and NCLE licensing exams.?
• There are no state licensing requirements in other U.S. states.

3. Gain Experience Through Internships or Apprenticeships

Some states require an apprenticeship with a working optician in place of the college training that most opticians receive. An apprenticeship provides on-the-job training under an optician’s supervision, typically for two years. Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Carolina and Tennessee require or accept apprenticeships as suitable training.

4. Consider Different Optician Career Paths

While most opticians work in vision care centers, helping customers and patients with fitting their eyeglasses and contact lenses, some work in other environments. Some ophthalmologists and optometrists like to have opticians on staff in their practices to provide a one-stop shopping venue for their patients.?

There’s also a need for opticians working in health maintenance organization (HMO) clinics and for the U.S. military. Some more experienced opticians may move into teaching roles to train up-and-coming opticians.

5. Apply for a Practicing License

Depending on their state, opticians may have to become licensed to practice. Those in states that don’t require licensure can obtain national certification by taking the ABO or NCLE certification exams.

Why Become an Optician?

The employment outlook for opticians is positive, especially with the aging baby boomer generation, who will need more eye care as they age.?

Many people appreciate the lifestyle of being an optician because they’re not working behind a desk and have a chance to work in close contact with many people.?

Opticians typically make a decent salary — the median annual pay is $37,570 — and can begin their careers without years of education.?

Those with an entrepreneurial bent may enjoy running their optical shops, and many opticians enjoy the aesthetics of the job since they’re dealing with fashion and medical issues.

Is Optometry a Good Career for Me?

For many, becoming an optician leads to a fulfilling career with a good work-life balance and a reliable salary. Those who love working with their hands, enjoy science and like to work with people may enjoy this low-stress career.

Top Takeaways

• Opticians dispense eyeglasses and contact lenses, working with patients and customers to fit their prescriptions precisely.
• It takes about two years to become an optician, either through earning a certificate or associate degree or working in an apprenticeship.
• Opticians may work in commercial vision care shops or optometrists' or ophthalmologists' clinics. They might also work for the U.S. military, in HMO clinics or as teachers.

(Reporting by NPD)