Opticians, Dispensing

AI & job outlook

What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.

Exposure to current AI

Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.

OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.1), with simple added tooling (β 0.3), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.5). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.

This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.

Job outlook

Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.

“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.

Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient

The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.

Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.

Tasks

All 21 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.

• Measure clients' bridge and eye size, temple length, vertex distance, pupillary distance, and optical centers of eyes, using measuring devices. Core · importance 5.0
• Verify that finished lenses are ground to specifications. Core · importance 4.9
• Evaluate prescriptions in conjunction with clients' vocational and avocational visual requirements. Core · importance 4.8
• Assist clients in selecting frames according to style and color, and ensure that frames are coordinated with facial and eye measurements and optical prescriptions. Core · importance 4.8
• Recommend specific lenses, lens coatings, and frames to suit client needs. Core · importance 4.8
• Maintain records of customer prescriptions, work orders, and payments. Core · importance 4.7
• Heat, shape, or bend plastic or metal frames to adjust eyeglasses to fit clients, using pliers and hands. Core · importance 4.7
• Show customers how to insert, remove, and care for their contact lenses. Core · importance 4.7
• Determine clients' current lens prescriptions, when necessary, using lensometers or lens analyzers and clients' eyeglasses. Core · importance 4.6
• Prepare work orders and instructions for grinding lenses and fabricating eyeglasses. Core · importance 4.6
• Obtain a customer's previous record, or verify a prescription with the examining optometrist or ophthalmologist. Core · importance 4.5
• Sell goods such as contact lenses, spectacles, sunglasses, and goods related to eyes, in general. Core · importance 4.5
• Fabricate lenses to meet prescription specifications. Core · importance 4.5
• Perform administrative duties, such as tracking inventory and sales, submitting patient insurance information, and performing simple bookkeeping. Core · importance 4.4
• Assemble eyeglasses by cutting and edging lenses, and fitting the lenses into frames. Core · importance 4.4
• Instruct clients in how to wear and care for eyeglasses. Core · importance 4.3
• Supervise the training of student opticians. Core · importance 4.2
• Order and purchase frames and lenses. Core · importance 4.2
• Grind lens edges, or apply coatings to lenses. Core · importance 3.8
• Repair damaged frames. Core · importance 3.7
• Arrange and maintain displays of optical merchandise. Core · importance 3.5

Work activities

• Order medical supplies or equipment.
• Measure the physical or physiological attributes of patients.
• Fabricate medical devices.
• Prepare detailed work plans.
• Plan production or operational procedures or sequences.
• Fit eyeglasses, contact lenses, or other vision aids.
• Recommend types of assistive devices.
• Record patient medical histories.
• Perform clerical work in medical settings.
• Process medical billing information.
• Merchandise healthcare products or services.
• Evaluate treatment options to guide medical decisions.
• Instruct patients in the use of assistive equipment.
• Operate diagnostic or therapeutic medical instruments or equipment.
• Repair medical or dental assistive devices.
• Gather medical information from patient histories.
• Verify accuracy of patient information.
• Train medical providers.

Knowledge, skills & abilities

O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).

Knowledge

Essential skills

Abilities

Transferable skills

Skills in demand

Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.

• Mathematics Common Skill
• Active Listening Common Skill
• Speech Recognition Specialized Skill
• Reading Comprehension Common Skill
• English Language Common Skill
• Deductive Reasoning Common Skill
• Critical Thinking Common Skill
• Information Ordering Specialized Skill
• Finger Dexterity Common Skill
• Writing Common Skill
• Social Perceptiveness Common Skill
• Psychology Specialized Skill
• Time Management Common Skill
• Microsoft Word Common Skill
• Microsoft Excel Common Skill
• Inductive Reasoning Common Skill
• Complex Problem Solving Common Skill
• Active Learning Common Skill
• Visualization Specialized Skill
• Instructing Specialized Skill
• Negotiation Common Skill
• Learning Strategies Specialized Skill
• Physics Specialized Skill
• Biology Specialized Skill
• Depth Perception Common Skill
• Telecommunications Specialized Skill
• Systems Analysis Specialized Skill
• Equipment Selection Specialized Skill
• Foreign Language Common Skill
• Chemistry Specialized Skill
• Database Software Specialized Skill
• Geography Specialized Skill
• Equipment Maintenance Specialized Skill
• Medical Software Specialized Skill
• Installation Specialized Skill
• Accounting Software Specialized Skill

Tools & technology

Work context

How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.

How to get in

Job zone

Zone 3 — Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed

Education

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Typical entry-level education

High school diploma or equivalent · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement

Related experience

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Preparation level

SVP (6.0 to < 7.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.

What to study: Health Professions and Related Programs . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.

Education of current workers

Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.

Interests & work styles

The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.

Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)

Work styles

Interest areas

Wages & employment

U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)

Industries that employ this occupation

Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.

Where this work is most concentrated

Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).

Related occupations

Part of the Healthcare & Human Services career cluster.

• Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians · 51-9083.00 Compare →
• Optometrists · 29-1041.00 Compare →
• Ophthalmic Medical Technicians · 29-2057.00 Compare →
• Ophthalmic Medical Technologists · 29-2099.05 Compare →
• Endoscopy Technicians · 31-9099.02 Compare →
• Medical Equipment Preparers · 31-9093.00 Compare →
• Pharmacy Technicians · 29-2052.00 Compare →
• Pharmacy Aides · 31-9095.00 Compare →
• Medical Assistants · 31-9092.00 Compare →
• Hearing Aid Specialists · 29-2092.00 Compare →
• Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric · 29-1241.00 Compare →
• Orthotists and Prosthetists · 29-2091.00 Compare →

Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.

What you can do with this

Options the data surfaces for Opticians, Dispensing — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
• AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
• ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
• IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
• Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
• Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-role-29-2081-00,
  title  = {Opticians, Dispensing},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-2081-00}
}