Opticians

Opticians fit customers for eyeglasses and contact lenses and help them select which frames and lenses to buy.

Duties

Opticians typically do the following:

• Receive customers’ prescriptions for eyeglasses or contact lenses
• Measure customers’ eyes and faces, such as the distance between their pupils
• Help customers choose eyeglass frames and lens treatments that best fit their vision needs and lifestyle
• Create work orders for the optical laboratory
• Adjust, repair, and replace eyewear
• Assist customers with inserting and removing contact lenses
• Educate customers about caring for eyewear

Opticians review prescriptions that customers receive from optometrists and ophthalmologists. These prescriptions have information about the eyeglasses and contact lenses customers need. Opticians also help customers select eyewear based on the customer’s prescription, lifestyle, and other factors.

The optician measures the customer’s face and head using a variety of computerized or manual tools, such as a pupillary distance ruler, to ensure the eyewear will fit properly. After finalizing a customer’s selections, the optician creates a work order for an ophthalmic laboratory technician. Work orders provide specifications on how lenses need to be cut and fabricated. Some opticians cut lenses and insert the lenses into frames themselves.

Opticians also assist customers with details related to the finished product, such as adjusting eyeglasses for precise fit and ensuring proper insertion or removal of contact lenses. Other duties may include setting up, organizing, and cleaning product displays.

In addition, opticians often have administrative tasks, such as maintaining sales records, interpreting customers’ prescriptions, preparing invoices, and ordering and maintaining inventory. 

Opticians held about 79,900 jobs in 2024. The largest employers of opticians were as follows:

Many opticians work in office settings, such as those of optometrists and ophthalmologists. Others work in retail stores that sell eyeglasses, contact lenses, visual aids, and related optical goods. These retail stores may be independent businesses or parts of larger retail establishments, such as department stores.

Work Schedules

Most opticians work full time, but part-time work is common. They may work evenings and weekends.

Opticians typically need a high school diploma or the equivalent and receive on-the-job training. Some opticians enter the occupation with an associate’s degree or a certificate in ophthalmic dispensing or a related field. Some states require opticians to be licensed.

The median annual wage for opticians was $46,560 in May 2024.

Employment of opticians is projected to grow 3 percent from 2024 to 2034, about as fast as the average for all occupations.

About 6,800 openings for opticians are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.