Optical manager vs dispensing optician

The differences between optical managers and dispensing opticians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a dispensing optician has an average salary of $45,679, which is higher than the $39,584 average annual salary of an optical manager.

The top three skills for an optical manager include patients, payroll and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for a dispensing optician are patients, patient care, and customer service.

Optical manager vs dispensing optician overview

	Optical Manager	Dispensing Optician
Yearly salary	$39,584	$45,679
Hourly rate	$19.03	$21.96
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	6,274	4,434
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Associate Degree, 32%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	-	-

Optical manager vs dispensing optician salary

Optical managers and dispensing opticians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Optical Manager	Dispensing Optician
Average salary	$39,584	$45,679
Salary range	Between $11,000 And $131,000	Between $33,000 And $62,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between optical manager and dispensing optician education

There are a few differences between an optical manager and a dispensing optician in terms of educational background:

	Optical Manager	Dispensing Optician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Associate Degree, 32%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Optical manager vs dispensing optician demographics

Here are the differences between optical managers' and dispensing opticians' demographics:

	Optical Manager	Dispensing Optician
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 32.4% Female, 67.6%	Male, 33.4% Female, 66.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 9.2% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 9.2% White, 61.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between optical manager and dispensing optician duties and responsibilities

Optical manager example responsibilities.

Manage patients vision benefits and do comparative analysis of benefits vs. promotions.
Maintain coating quality using adhesion testing and spectrophotometers, and manage coating hues and reflectance adjustments.
Install data and voice cabling, Cat6 and Cat5e.
Maintain a well HIPPA policy environment.
Submit billing for both eyem and VSP.
Authorize and bill vision insurance online for VSP and eyem.

Dispensing optician example responsibilities.

Communicate information and provide customer service to patients, families and visitors.
Fax Rx to proper lab.
Scan documents and abide by all HIPAA regulations.
Read and understand the different refractive errors as well as the Rx.
Work with VSP and eye med insurances, and all relate duties.
Order verification, working with insurance companies including VSP, NBN, and DSHS.

Optical manager vs dispensing optician skills

Common optical manager skills

Patients, 25%
Payroll, 15%
Customer Satisfaction, 14%
Customer Complaints, 13%
Customer Service, 5%
Patient Care, 4%

Common dispensing optician skills

Patients, 44%
Patient Care, 15%
Customer Service, 8%
Insurance Eligibility, 3%
Appointment Scheduling, 3%
Eye Exams, 2%

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Optical Manager vs Dispensing Optician

Updated January 8, 2025

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