How To Become A Contact Lens Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a contact lens technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average contact lens technician salary is $29,708. The most common degree is a high school diploma degree with an business major. It usually takes 1-2 years of experience to become a contact lens technician. Contact lens technicians with a National Contact Lens Examiners Advanced Certification (NCLE-AC) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 2% and produce 1,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreContact Lens TechnicianUS Average

Salary

2.3

Avg. Salary $29,708

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.0

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.54%

Asian 9.31%

Black or African American 7.86%

Hispanic or Latino 21.54%

Unknown 3.81%

White 56.93%

Gender

female 87.10%

male 12.90%

Age - 43

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 - 43

Stress level

6.0

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.7

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a contact lens technician

Explore contact lens technician education requirements

Most common contact lens technician degrees

High School Diploma

30.1 %

Bachelor's

28.7 %

Associate

25.7 %

Start to develop specific contact lens technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	40.95%
Customer Service	7.18%
Appointment Scheduling	4.62%
R	4.43%
Front Desk	3.04%

Complete relevant contact lens technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New contact lens technicians 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 contact lens technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real contact lens technician resumes.

Research contact lens technician duties and responsibilities

Maintain coating quality using adhesion testing and spectrophotometers, and manage coating hues and reflectance adjustments.
Schedule appointments, insurance filing and pretest patients for exams using various instrumentation.
Greet patients and ensure accurate demographic and insurance information into their electronic chart following HiPPA compliance in a paperless practice.
Handle accounts receivable for Medicaid and Medicare processing and tracking paperwork.

Prepare your contact lens technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your contact lens technician resume.

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