Opticians, Dispensing

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

Source: O*NET OnLine information for Opticians, Dispensing.

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Source: O*NET OnLine information for Opticians, Dispensing.