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Healthcare

Optician, Dispensing

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.

Annual openings

142

Median wage

$47,310

Typical education

High school (GED), plus on-the-job training

Growth 2026–2032

+9%

Median wage source: Colorado BLS OEWS (2025).

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Career requirements

What does this career require?

Explore education, required qualifications, voluntary credentials and employer preferences for this role. Check the details to see which apply.

Typical education

High school (GED), plus on-the-job training

Credential requirement

Credential requirements not reported

Work experience

Entry-level

Experience detail

This is an entry-level role so no experience in a Healthcare environment is required. However, full or part-time work experience of any kind developing the listed knowledge and abilities is preferred, with previous Healthcare and Customer Service experience being valued.

Is this work a fit?

What the work actually feels like

How people in this career tend to spend their time, the interests it draws on, and a look at a typical day.

Automation exposure

Moderate exposure

Some routine tasks may shift as tools improve, but the role is likely to adapt.

A typical day

  1. Measure clients' bridge and eye size, temple length, vertex distance, pupillary distance, and optical centers of eyes, using measuring devices.
  2. Verify that finished lenses are ground to specifications.
  3. Recommend specific lenses, lens coatings, and frames to suit client needs.
  4. Assist clients in selecting frames according to style and color, and ensure that frames are coordinated with facial and eye measurements and optical prescriptions.
  5. Maintain records of customer prescriptions, work orders, and payments.
  6. Heat, shape, or bend plastic or metal frames to adjust eyeglasses to fit clients, using pliers and hands.

Also includes

Specializations that share this occupation’s labor-market data.

  • Optician, Dispensing
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