Opticians, Dispensing

Low Risk
Low High

Alternative careers

Related career paths that build on similar skills and experience

Hearing Aid Specialists
29% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better Higher growth
3.8 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Adjacent sensory-device fitting using client measurements, device selection, adjustment, instruction, and follow-up.

Medical Assistants
30% automation risk | Low Risk
Higher growth More jobs
2.4 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Uses patient communication, measurements, clinical office flow, records, privacy, and provider support.

Ophthalmic Medical Technologists
37% automation risk | Low Risk
Higher growth More jobs
View career
Why it fits

Applies eye-care instruments, patient preparation, ocular measurements, documentation, and exam support with training.

Ophthalmic Medical Technicians
42% automation risk | Moderate Risk
Higher growth
View career
Why it fits

Strong eye-care move using patient measurements, lens knowledge, clinical workflow, records, and patient instruction.

Compare this job with others
or search for another job
Share your results with friends and family.

Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
3.7/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

33% (Low Risk)

Low Risk (21-40%): This occupation has a lower risk of full replacement by AI, software, or robotic systems. Some tasks may be automated or assisted, but the role usually still relies on human judgement, communication, responsibility, physical adaptability, or practical decision-making.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Assisting and caring for others

Very important
Why this matters
Provide hands-on help, emotional support, or personal care to people—work that depends on empathy, trust, and responding to individual needs in the moment.
Jobs that also use this strength

Working directly with the public

Very important
Why this matters
The job involves face-to-face interaction with customers, clients, or guests—answering questions, handling requests, and managing service situations in real time. Roles with frequent public interaction are harder to replace end-to-end because they rely on trust, communication, and adapting to unpredictable human needs.
Jobs that also use this strength

Decision-making and problem solving

Very important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
Jobs that also use this strength

Thinking creatively

Quite important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
Jobs that also use this strength

Persuasion

Quite important
Why this matters
Influencing people to change their minds or behavior through conversation, trust, and negotiation.
Jobs that also use this strength
Show 5 more strengths

Coaching and developing others

Quite important
Why this matters
Helps people learn and improve through coaching, mentoring, and feedback. This relies on trust, motivation, and adapting guidance to each person—work that’s hard to replace end-to-end with automation.
Jobs that also use this strength

Coordinating others’ work

Quite important
Why this matters
Bringing people together, assigning tasks, and keeping a group aligned so work gets done.
Jobs that also use this strength

Consulting and advising others

Quite important
Why this matters
Provide guidance and expert advice to managers or teams on technical, system, or process decisions—explaining options, tradeoffs, and recommended actions.
Jobs that also use this strength

Psychology knowledge

Quite important
Why this matters
Understanding human behavior, motivation, and individual differences to assess needs, respond appropriately, and support behavior change or mental health.
Jobs that also use this strength

Active learning

Quite important
Why this matters
Keeps learning from new information and applying it to make better decisions now and in the future, especially when situations change.
Jobs that also use this strength

What users think

Based on 82 votes

51% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted they are unsure if this occupation will be automated. However, employees may be able to find reassurance in the automated risk level we have generated, which shows 33% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Opticians, Dispensing will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Sentiment

Based on user votes over time

View sentiment trend

How opinions have changed over time

Pay & outlook

Wages

Low paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Opticians, Dispensing was $46,560 ($22 per hour).

The median annual wage for Opticians, Dispensing was 5.9% lower than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

View wage trend

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Moderate growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Opticians, Dispensing' job openings is expected to rise 2.9% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Moderate range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 79,690 people employed as 'Opticians, Dispensing' within the United States.

This represents around 0.05% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 1 thousand people are employed as 'Opticians, Dispensing'.

People also viewed

Lawyers Computer Programmers Actors Web Developers Pharmacists

What people are saying (2)

Joshua Shelton (No chance)
14 Jul 2021 21:16
Opticians operate at the intersection of math, science, art and humanities. Hard for a robot to do all that- and in a way that satisfies a human being.
Jeremy Scott (Moderate)
21 Nov 2019 14:43
ITS BECAUSE I WANT TO WATCH THE WORLD BURN
Leave a reply about this occupation
0/8000

Job description

Design, measure, fit, and adapt lenses and frames for client according to written optical prescription or specification. Assist client with inserting, removing, and caring for contact lenses. Assist client with selecting frames. Measure customer for size of eyeglasses and coordinate frames with facial and eye measurements and optical prescription. Prepare work order for optical laboratory containing instructions for grinding and mounting lenses in frames. Verify exactness of finished lens spectacles. Adjust frame and lens position to fit client. May shape or reshape frames. Includes contact lens opticians.

O*NET-SOC code: 29-2081.00