Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician | explorehealthcareers.org (2024)

FAQs

What is the role of an optical technician? ›

If you're an optical technician, your primary duty is manufacturing eyeglasses and contact lenses. As an optical technician, you'll fill prescriptions given to you by ophthalmologists and optometrists, ensuring that the lenses refract light at the proper angle to allow the wearer to see more clearly.

During the day you will put lenses into the machine that cuts the lenses to the right shape, insert the lenses into the frames, and package them for the customer. You will also be responsible for ordering in of new stock lenses and also ordering in more specialised lenses to fulfil orders.

Ophthalmic laboratory technicians—also known as manufacturing opticians, optical mechanics or optical goods workers—make prescription eyeglass and contact lenses. Prescription lenses are curved in such a way that light is correctly focused onto the retina of the patient's eye, improving vision.

51-9083 Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians

Cut, grind, and polish eyeglasses, contact lenses, or other precision optical elements. Assemble and mount lenses into frames or process other optical elements.

The average Optician Technician salary in the United States is $46,228 as of March 26, 2024, but the salary range typically falls between $40,695 and $52,755.

A licensed optician as an independent practitioner can fit eyeglasses, contact lenses and any low vision device. As a ophthalmic technician you are an allied health professional and you actually do not practice anything but perform important preliminary tasks.

Optical technicians are different from opticians, but some offices use the terms interchangeably. A technician usually works closely with an optometrist, or eye doctor, to ensure that each set of lenses is created correctly.

There are two types of opticians. An ophthalmic dispenser prepares and dispenses both eyeglasses and contact lenses. An ophthalmic dispenser can duplicate or replace existing lenses, spectacles, eyeglasses or contact lenses. An ophthalmic technician fabricates eyeglass lenses and mounts the lenses into eyeglass frames.

Community colleges and technical schools also may offer programs in medical appliance technology fields, such as orthotics and prosthetics technology. Most dental and ophthalmic laboratory technicians and medical appliance technicians learn their skills through on-the-job training.

Which optical instrument is used in laboratory? ›

An optical instrument is a device that processes light waves (or photons), either to enhance an image for viewing or to analyze and determine their characteristic properties. Common examples include periscopes, microscopes, telescopes, and cameras.

Opticians help patients get fitted for glasses or contact lenses, while optical technicians work in laboratories to make the lenses for patients.

Your glasses or contacts lenses. Your smartphone. Microscopes. Telescopes.

Optical engineers apply the concepts of optics to research, design, and develop applications in a broad range of areas. Optics, which involves the properties of light and how it interacts with matter, is a branch of physics and engineering.