How To Become A Dispensing Optician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a dispensing optician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a dispensing optician. For example, did you know that they make an average of $21.96 an hour? That's $45,679 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 2,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreDispensing OpticianUS Average

Salary

3.6

Avg. Salary $45,679

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.4

Growth Rate 4%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.35%

Asian 9.20%

Black or African American 5.61%

Hispanic or Latino 19.15%

Unknown 3.84%

White 61.85%

Gender

female 66.62%

male 33.38%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress Level

6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.7

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

7.4

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a dispensing optician

Explore dispensing optician education requirements

Most common dispensing optician degrees

Associate

32.0 %

Bachelor's

32.0 %

High School Diploma

18.9 %

Start to develop specific dispensing optician skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	43.92%
Patient Care	15.24%
Customer Service	7.76%
Insurance Eligibility	3.37%
Appointment Scheduling	2.65%

Complete relevant dispensing optician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 2-4 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New dispensing opticians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a dispensing optician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real dispensing optician resumes.

Research dispensing optician duties and responsibilities

Communicate information and provide customer service to patients, families and visitors.
Fax Rx to proper lab.
Scan documents and abide by all HIPAA regulations.
Read and understand the different refractive errors as well as the Rx.

Prepare your dispensing optician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your dispensing optician resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a dispensing optician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Dispensing Optician Resume templates

Build a professional Dispensing Optician resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Dispensing Optician resume.

Apply for dispensing optician jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a dispensing optician job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do dispensing opticians rate their job?

5/5

Based On 1 Ratings

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Dispensing Optician reviews

5.0

A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2020

Pros

an optician: Working with patients. I enjoy helping them choose the right eyewear for their needs. And I enjoy the response they have when they put on their new pair of glasses and smile.

Cons

Very little. The only thing I would dislike is another employee disrespecting a patient. Other than that, I enjoy my job very much.

A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2019