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Licensed optician vs contact lens fitter

The differences between licensed opticians and contact lens fitters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a contact lens fitter has an average salary of $61,893, which is higher than the $45,625 average annual salary of a licensed optician.

The top three skills for a licensed optician include patients, customer satisfaction and eye care. The most important skills for a contact lens fitter are R, EMR, and .

Licensed optician vs contact lens fitter overview

Licensed OpticianContact Lens Fitter
Yearly salary$45,625$61,893
Hourly rate$21.94$29.76
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs14,2163,203
Job satisfaction-4
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 49%Associate Degree, 42%
Average age4444
Years of experience--

Licensed optician vs contact lens fitter salary

Licensed opticians and contact lens fitters have different pay scales, as shown below.

Licensed OpticianContact Lens Fitter
Average salary$45,625$61,893
Salary rangeBetween $32,000 And $63,000Between $41,000 And $93,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between licensed optician and contact lens fitter education

There are a few differences between a licensed optician and a contact lens fitter in terms of educational background:

Licensed OpticianContact Lens Fitter
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 49%Associate Degree, 42%
Most common majorBusinessBiology
Most common collegeUniversity of Minnesota - Twin CitiesDuke University

Licensed optician vs contact lens fitter demographics

Here are the differences between licensed opticians' and contact lens fitters' demographics:

Licensed OpticianContact Lens Fitter
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 36.2% Female, 63.8%Male, 41.7% Female, 58.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 9.2% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 8.1% White, 69.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage13%13%

Differences between licensed optician and contact lens fitter duties and responsibilities

Licensed optician example responsibilities.

  • Maintain coating quality using adhesion testing and spectrophotometers, and manage coating hues and reflectance adjustments.
  • Provide training for ABO certification.
  • Check in finish product to verify rx before dispensing.
  • Read the Rx, take proper measurement of frame and patient.
  • Collect payment for eyewear and Dr fees and balance books daily.
  • Assist the accounting department in generating staff payroll on a weekly basis.
  • Show more

Contact lens fitter example 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.
  • Utilize schematics to troubleshoot tank electronics.

Licensed optician vs contact lens fitter skills

Common licensed optician skills
  • Patients, 33%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 17%
  • Eye Care, 9%
  • HIPAA, 5%
  • RX, 4%
  • Patient Care, 3%
Common contact lens fitter skills
  • R, 53%
  • EMR, 47%

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