Optician apprentice vs dispensing optician apprentice

The differences between optician apprentices and dispensing optician apprentices can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a dispensing optician apprentice has an average salary of $48,535, which is higher than the $37,698 average annual salary of an optician apprentice.

The top three skills for an optician apprentice include POS, customer service and patients. The most important skills for a dispensing optician apprentice are customer service, , and .

Optician apprentice vs dispensing optician apprentice overview

	Optician Apprentice	Dispensing Optician Apprentice
Yearly salary	$37,698	$48,535
Hourly rate	$18.12	$23.33
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	10,174	9,965
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 31%	High School Diploma, 23%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	-	-

Optician apprentice vs dispensing optician apprentice salary

Optician apprentices and dispensing optician apprentices have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Optician Apprentice	Dispensing Optician Apprentice
Average salary	$37,698	$48,535
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $48,000	Between $24,000 And $97,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between optician apprentice and dispensing optician apprentice education

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

	Optician Apprentice	Dispensing Optician Apprentice
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 31%	High School Diploma, 23%
Most common major	Business	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities	University of Pennsylvania

Optician apprentice vs dispensing optician apprentice demographics

Here are the differences between optician apprentices' and dispensing optician apprentices' demographics:

	Optician Apprentice	Dispensing Optician Apprentice
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1%	Male, 57.9% Female, 42.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 9.2% White, 61.8% 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 Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between optician apprentice and dispensing optician apprentice duties and responsibilities

Optician apprentice example 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.
Maintain patient confidentiality and HIPAA.
Create referral business by designing specialty lenses to patients' specifications.

Dispensing optician apprentice example responsibilities.

Follow HIPPA policies for disclosing patient information.
Work with multiple optometrists to solve patient issues including inaccurate optical measurements, lens adaptations, and overall patient satisfaction.
File insurance for orders including medicare and medicaid.

Optician apprentice vs dispensing optician apprentice skills

Common optician apprentice skills

POS, 37%
Customer Service, 26%
Patients, 13%
Product Knowledge, 4%
HIPAA, 3%
Appointment Scheduling, 3%

Common dispensing optician apprentice skills

Customer Service, 100%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Optician Apprentice
Optician Apprentice vs Dispensing Optician Apprentice

Updated January 8, 2025

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