How to hire an optician

How to hire an optician, step by step

Here's a step-by-step optician hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an optician job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new optician
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an optician do?

Post an optician job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring an optician, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them an optician to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire an optician that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of optician salaries for various roles:

   Type of Optician	Description	Hourly rate
   Optician	Dispensing opticians help fit eyeglasses and contact lenses, following prescriptions from ophthalmologists and optometrists. They also help customers decide which eyeglass frames or contact lenses to buy.	$13-24
   Optometric Technician	An optometric technician is responsible for performing administrative and clerical tasks to assist patients with their vision problems and needs. Optometric technicians work in the laboratory, constructing glasses and lenses according to the ophthalmologist's advice... Show more	$11-18
   Optician Apprentice	An optician apprentice is an assistant to a certified optician whose responsibilities include designing, measuring, and fitting lenses and frames for clients. Optician apprentices assist clients with picking out frames of their choice and within their budgets, measuring customer size for fitting, and ensuring a good face- eyeglass match... Show more	$13-23

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Customer Service
   • Basic Math
   • Patient Care
   • Math
   • Work Ethic
   • Eye Exams
   • Visual Acuity
   • Appointment Scheduling
   • Front Desk
   • Optometrists
   • Chrome
   • Eye Care
   • HIPAA

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage appointments and appointment reminders, checking in/out patients, check insurance eligibility.
   • Maintain coating quality using adhesion testing and spectrophotometers, and manage coating hues and reflectance adjustments.
   • Show manual dexterity, hand eye coordination and precision to work with different types of lenses and tools.
   • Assist patients with frame selections and lenses that are best suit for their lifestyle, Rx and price needs.
   • Produce forms for the authorization of insurance benefits and eligibility for incoming patients.
   • Prepare work orders and instructions for fabricating patients prescriptions and verify Rx are finished to specifications.

   More optician duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your optician job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. An optician can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, opticians' average salary in florida is 44% less than in new york.
   • Seniority. Entry-level opticians 42% less than senior-level opticians.
   • Certifications. An optician with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in an optician's salary.

   Average optician salary

   $38,412yearly

   $18.47 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level optician salary

   $29,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

   Average optician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$47,345	$23
   2	New York	$47,333	$23
   3	Oregon	$43,622	$21
   4	Massachusetts	$40,525	$19
   5	Minnesota	$38,494	$19
   6	Ohio	$38,241	$18
   7	Virginia	$37,719	$18
   8	Colorado	$37,246	$18
   9	New Jersey	$37,240	$18
   10	Louisiana	$36,781	$18
   11	Maryland	$36,094	$17
   12	Nebraska	$35,473	$17
   13	Mississippi	$35,161	$17
   14	Missouri	$35,055	$17
   15	Illinois	$33,788	$16
   16	Pennsylvania	$33,731	$16
   17	Texas	$33,161	$16
   18	Wisconsin	$33,120	$16
   19	Michigan	$33,018	$16
   20	District of Columbia	$31,903	$15

   Average optician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Horizon Laser Vision	$56,688	$27.25	3
   2	AMETEK	$53,942	$25.93
   3	Discover Vision	$48,102	$23.13	50
   4	Virginia Eye Institute	$47,931	$23.04
   5	University of California	$46,914	$22.55
   6	New York State Restaurant Association	$46,909	$22.55
   7	Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center	$45,524	$21.89
   8	Specialty Care Services Group, LLC	$45,150	$21.71
   9	The Eye Care Group	$45,059	$21.66	2
   10	ProMedica Toledo Hospital	$44,747	$21.51	1
   11	Cheshire Medical Center	$44,627	$21.46
   12	Illinois College of Optometry	$44,407	$21.35
   13	Kaiser Permanente	$44,164	$21.23	15
   14	Dean Mcgee Eye Institute	$43,491	$20.91
   15	CVS Health	$42,853	$20.60
   16	PeaceHealth	$42,377	$20.37
   17	Blue Ridge	$41,350	$19.88
   18	Oregon Health & Science University	$41,307	$19.86
   19	University of Rochester	$40,995	$19.71	1
   20	Lahey Health Behavioral Services	$40,592	$19.52

4. Writing an optician job description

   An optician job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of an optician job description:

   Optician job description example

   Rosin Eyecare has been in Chicagoland area for more than 80 years. As it was with our very first eye center, our dedicated Chicago eye doctors and staff are committed to keeping your eyes healthy, giving you the best possible vision and superior patient care. We offer comprehensive eye exams, stylish glasses, and contacts, along with a variety of eye health checkups.

   What we’re looking for:

   Individuals who are confident, motivated, and who thrive to be a part of our exceptional optical team with a sense of fashion and style. We would like you to join our diverse and experienced team of Eye care professionals. We are looking for qualified candidates who are willing to travel between northwest regional offices (Streamwood, Bloomingdale, Schaumburg, East Dundee) when needed. Bloomingdale will remain your primary office and mileage expenses will be reimbursed if needed to travel to other offices.

   Summary:

   The position of an Optician is a key part to our Optical Team. This team works together to serve all patient needs related to eye wear. The team is responsible for generating revenue through the sale of these products in a retail environment.

   Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

   · Providing excellent patient service

   · Adhere to privacy, confidential and proprietary company policies and procedures (HIPAA)

   · Frame styling, for comfort and optimal visual performance along with Eyewear adjustment and repair

   · Communication with Optometrist regarding patient needs and recommendations

   · Placing and receiving laboratory orders

   · Ensuring all orders arrive and are to the specifications of the patient

   · Enhances optical center reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.

   · Posts charges and payments along with obtaining insurance authorizations

   · Professional phone etiquette and provide general administrative support

   · Directly greet and service patients for scheduled appointments as well as impromptu visits

   Our company offers the following:

   • Competitive Pay
   • Guaranteed full time hours
   • No late nights or Sundays
   • Paid time off
   • Medical and dental insurance
   • Free Vision Benefits for you and your family
   • Excellent training program (previous optical experience is helpful but not necessary)

   If you would like to start a career and develop a lifelong skill, we encourage you to apply.

   For more information about Rosin Eyecare please visit our website at www.rosineyecare.com

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right optician for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your optician job on Zippia to find and recruit optician candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting opticians requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new optician

   Once you have selected a candidate for the optician position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new optician. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire an optician?