How To Become A Licensed Dispensing Optician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a licensed dispensing optician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a licensed dispensing optician. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.73 an hour? That's $51,436 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 2,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreLicensed Dispensing OpticianUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $51,436

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.4

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.35%

Asian 9.12%

Black or African American 5.45%

Hispanic or Latino 18.84%

Unknown 3.83%

White 62.42%

Gender

female 66.44%

male 33.56%

Age - 44

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 - 44

Stress level

6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.7

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.4

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a licensed dispensing optician

Explore licensed dispensing optician education requirements

Most common licensed dispensing optician degrees

Associate

36.0 %

Bachelor's

34.7 %

High School Diploma

13.3 %

Start to develop specific licensed dispensing optician skills

Skills	Percentages
Patient Care	38.90%
Patients	22.28%
ANSI	7.03%
RX	6.41%
Customer Complaints	5.12%

Complete relevant licensed dispensing optician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 2-4 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New licensed dispensing opticians 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 licensed dispensing optician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real licensed dispensing optician resumes.

Research licensed dispensing optician duties and responsibilities

File managed care claims including Medicare, Davis, eyem and VSP.
Inventory control over stock single vision lenses and ordering of RX from outside labs.
Help patients receive maximum benefit from their insurance coverage.
Educate patients on optical health and provide informative literature when need.

Prepare your licensed dispensing optician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your licensed dispensing optician resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a licensed dispensing optician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable licensed dispensing optician resume templates

Build a professional licensed dispensing optician resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your licensed dispensing optician resume.

Apply for licensed dispensing optician jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a licensed dispensing optician job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do licensed dispensing opticians rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Licensed dispensing optician reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2020

Pros

an optician: Working with patients. I enjoy helping them choose the right eyewear for their needs. And I enjoy the response they have when they put on their new pair of glasses and smile.

Cons

Very little. The only thing I would dislike is another employee disrespecting a patient. Other than that, I enjoy my job very much.

A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2019