Careers / Opticians, Dispensing
Opticians, Dispensing — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$47,260
United States, 2025
Employment
73,530
United States, 2025
Typical education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
Job Zone 3
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
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.
- O*NET code
- 29-2081.00
- Job zone
- 3
- Experience required
- None
Typical tasks
- 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.
- Instruct clients in how to wear and care for eyeglasses.
- 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.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$35,610
25th percentile
$38,820
75th percentile
$61,700
90th percentile
$76,750
Most important skills
- Speaking4.0
- Active Listening3.9
- Reading Comprehension3.8
- Service Orientation3.5
- Critical Thinking3.5
- Persuasion3.3
- Coordination3.3
- Writing3.3
- Social Perceptiveness3.3
- Time Management3.0
- Judgment and Decision Making3.0
- Active Learning3.0
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 14 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
14
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speaking | 4.0 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Active Listening | 3.9 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.8 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.5 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Service Orientation | 3.5 | 3.5 | Not selected | 3.5 |
| Writing | 3.3 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Coordination | 3.3 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Persuasion | 3.3 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.3 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Active Learning | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Monitoring | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Time Management | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
Related careers
Supplemental
National median $80,110
Compare with Opticians, DispensingSupplemental
National median $300,080
Compare with Opticians, DispensingHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vallejo, CA | $78,830 | 90 | 2025 |
| Bridgeport, CT | $78,600 | 130 | 2025 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $77,460 | 120 | 2025 |
| Waterbury, CT | $76,820 | 70 | 2025 |
| Norwich, CT | $76,170 | 60 | 2025 |
| HI | $75,300 | 110 | 2025 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI | $75,300 | 90 | 2025 |
| CT | $75,300 | 610 | 2025 |
| NJ | $72,460 | 2,010 | 2025 |
| New Haven, CT | $72,410 | 100 | 2025 |
| Atlantic City, NJ | $72,290 | 70 | 2025 |
| Hartford, CT | $71,440 | 220 | 2025 |
| New York, NY | $71,050 | 3,460 | 2025 |
| Springfield, MA | $71,000 | 70 | 2025 |
| Barnstable Town, MA | $69,530 | 60 | 2025 |
| Syracuse, NY | $68,880 | 180 | 2025 |
| Worcester, MA | $67,630 | 160 | 2025 |
| MA | $67,210 | 1,360 | 2025 |
| Trenton, NJ | $67,110 | 100 | 2025 |
| Watertown, NY | $65,870 | 30 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Opticians, Dispensing to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.