How To Become An Optician Apprentice: What It Is and Career Path

What is an optician apprentice and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Todd Peabody

Optician apprentices with opticians to assist people who are looking for new glasses or contact lenses. Once people see an optician apprentice, they are able to see the rest of the world a little better too. The blurry days are gone.

The optician apprentice helps the optician with all their tasks. This includes helping customers pick out glasses, teaching clients how to use contact lenses, and managing customer data. The optician apprentice also gets to use machines that help fit glasses to a customer's face, such as lens grinders and polishers. Neither the optician apprentice nor optician tests people's visions; that's the job of the ophthalmologist. The optician apprentice gets to work and learn on the job.

By working closely with an optician, they learn the ins and outs of the field and can work their way up to become a full optician themselves.

What general advice would you give to an optician apprentice?

Dr. Todd Peabody

Clinical Associate Professor, Associate Dean, Indiana University

You're not an island and can take better care of your patients with the help of fellow professionals as well as friends and colleagues. Don't hesitate to reach out for guidance and advice. Find a few mentors who can help you plot your course through your professional career. Create specific, actionable goals that you revisit on a periodic basis.

ScoreOptician ApprenticeUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $37,698

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 9.21%

Black or African American 5.63%

Hispanic or Latino 19.19%

Unknown 3.84%

White 61.77%

Gender

female 75.13%

male 24.87%

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 an optician apprentice

Explore optician apprentice education requirements

Most common optician apprentice degrees

Associate

31.2 %

Bachelor's

29.5 %

High School Diploma

24.3 %

Start to develop specific optician apprentice skills

Skills	Percentages
POS	36.82%
Customer Service	26.32%
Patients	12.79%
Product Knowledge	3.91%
HIPAA	3.11%

Complete relevant optician apprentice training and internships

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

Research optician apprentice duties and responsibilities

Maintain coating quality using adhesion testing and spectrophotometers, and manage coating hues and reflectance adjustments.
File patient medical records; bill insurance; contact insurance companies regarding patient insurance benefits, comply with all HIPAA policies.
Assist customers in picking out a frame that goes well with their life style, RX and price needs.
Process MTR's and RX reminders and stock merchandise.

Prepare your optician apprentice resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your optician apprentice 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 an optician apprentice resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable optician apprentice resume templates

Build a professional optician apprentice 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 optician apprentice resume.

Apply for optician apprentice jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an optician apprentice 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 optician apprentices rate their job?

-/5

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1 star

Optician apprentice 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