Ophthalmic laboratory technicians learn on the job to bring life into focus

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March 6, 2009

Ophthalmic laboratory technicians learn on the job to bring life into focus

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Pay: The 510 such workers in Washington state earned a median wage of $32,120 a year in 2007, with the middle 50 percent earning between $25,820 and $44,720.

The job: These technicians make prescription eyeglass or contact lenses. (Some make lenses for other instruments, such as telescopes and binoculars.) Using sophisticated machines, they cut, grind, edge and finish lenses according to specifications, and may insert lenses into eyeglass frames. About 29 percent of jobs are in manufacturing laboratories and about 29 percent in retail stores. In larger labs, in which virtually every phase of the work is automated, technicians may use computerized equipment.

Demand: Employment growth is expected to be about average, but opportunities should be favorable because few people seek these positions.

Training: Most technicians learn on the job, though a few learn their trade in the armed forces or in the few programs in optical technology offered by vocational-technical institutes or trade schools.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: www.stats.bls.gov/oco