Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician

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• Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
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Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician

• Overview
• Ophthalmic laboratory technicians -- also known
  as manufacturing opticians, optical mechanics, or
  optical goods workers -- make prescription
  eyeglass or contact lenses. Prescription lenses
  are curved in such a way that light is correctly
  focused onto the retina of the patient's eye,
  improving his or her vision.
• Some ophthalmic laboratory technicians
  manufacture lenses for other optical instruments,
  such as telescopes and binoculars.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
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Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician

• Preparation
• Most ophthalmic laboratory technicians learn
  their craft on the job however, many employers
  prefer to hire those with formal training.
• A few ophthalmic laboratory technicians learn
  their trade in the Armed Forces or in the few
  programs in optical technology offered by
  vocational-technical institutes or trade schools.
  

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
4
Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician

• Preparation (continued)
• These programs have classes in optical theory,
  surfacing and lens finishing, and the reading and
  applying of prescriptions. Programs vary in
  length from 6 months to 1 year and award
  certificates or diplomas. The Commission on
  Opticianry Accreditation (COA), a not-for-profit
  agency, that accredits ophthalmic laboratory
  technology programs in the United States.
• A list of all accredited programs is available on
  the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
5
Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician

• Day in the Life
• Ophthalmic laboratory technicians generally work
  in clean, well-lighted, and well-ventilated
  laboratories. They have limited contact with the
  public. Salaried laboratory technicians usually
  work 40 hours a week, but some work part time.
• At times, technicians wear goggles to protect
  their eyes, gloves to handle hot objects, or
  masks to avoid inhaling dust. They may spend a
  great deal of time standing. 

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
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Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician

• Earnings
• According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau
  of Labor Statistics, the median hourly earnings
  of wage-and-salary ophthalmic laboratory
  technicians is about 12.24. The lowest 10 earn
  less than 8.38, and the highest 10 earn more
  than 19.98 an hour.
• Median hourly earnings are 11.63 in medical
  equipment and supplies manufacturing and 11.49
  in health and personal care stores, the two
  industries that employ the most ophthalmic
  laboratory technicians.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
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Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician

• Employment
• Medical appliance technicians hold about 12,000
  jobs in the United States. About 55 percent of
  salaried jobs were in medical equipment and
  supply manufacturing laboratories. In addition to
  manufacturing laboratories, many medical
  appliance technicians worked in health and
  personal care stores, while others worked in
  public and private hospitals, professional and
  commercial equipment and supplies merchant
  wholesalers, or consumer goods rental centers.
  Some were self-employed.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
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Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician

• Career Path Forecast
• Ophthalmic laboratory technicians are expected to
  experience employment growth of 7 through 2016,
  about as fast as the average for all occupations.
  Demographic trends make it likely that many more
  Americans will need vision care in the years
  ahead. Not only will the population grow, but
  also the proportion of middle-aged and older
  adults is projected to increase rapidly. In
  middle age, many people use corrective lenses for
  the first time, and elderly persons usually
  require extra vision care.

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
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Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician

• Resources
• More information about Ophthalmic Laboratory
  Technician is available at the Sloan Career
  Cornerstone Center, including accredited
  university programs, suggestions for precollege
  students, a free monthly careers newsletter, and
  a PDF summarizing the field.
• Associations
•  Commission on Opticianry Accreditation
• Contact Lens Society of America
• Optical Laboratories Association

Overview Preparation Day in the Life
Earnings Employment Career Path Forecast
Resources
Developed by the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.