Skip to content
Boston Career Explorer

Healthcare Practitioners and Technical

Opticians, Dispensing

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.

Also called: Certified Optician, Contact Lens Technician, Dispensing Optician, Licensed Dispensing Optician (LDO), Licensed Optician, Ophthalmic Dispenser

Median pay in Greater Boston
$64,170
$30.85/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
950
Massachusetts 2024–2034
−1.5%
110 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
High school diploma or equivalent
plus Long-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$49,010$54,320$64,170$79,460$83,570

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • 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.
  • Evaluate prescriptions in conjunction with clients' vocational and avocational visual requirements.
  • Recommend specific lenses, lens coatings, and frames to suit client needs.
  • Assist clients in selecting frames according to style and color, and ensure that frames are coordinated with facial and eye measurements and optical prescriptions.
  • Maintain records of customer prescriptions, work orders, and payments.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Moderate exposure47 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 50
  • Language-model AIOE 48
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 42

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for this job is moderate, and observed AI use is little or none so far. AI tools may help with checking prescriptions and preparing work orders. Taking measurements, fitting frames to a person's face, and helping clients choose what suits them rely on people. Massachusetts employment is projected to dip slightly, by 1.5%, from 2024 to 2034.

Likely to change

  • Evaluating prescriptions and preparing work orders
  • Checking finished lenses against specifications

Still relies on people

  • Measuring and fitting frames on each client
  • Helping clients choose lenses and frames

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

  • Machinists

    Precise measuring to exact specifications carries over. It has lower AI exposure and a higher Boston median pay, with long-term on-the-job training.

    Pay difference
    +$7,890 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +2.2%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors

    Working one-on-one to match people's needs carries over. It is projected to grow 14.0% in Massachusetts and needs only a high school diploma.

    Pay difference
    +$1,020 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +14.0%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Massage Therapists

    Hands-on, client-focused care carries over. It has lower AI exposure, a higher Boston median pay, and 12.1% projected growth in Massachusetts.

    Pay difference
    +$10,990 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +12.1%
    To get started
    Postsecondary nondegree award

Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

1 program near Boston

Related occupations

Talk to a career coach

A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.

Talk to a career coach