Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians
Cut, grind, and polish eyeglasses, contact lenses, or other precision optical elements. Assemble and mount lenses into frames or process other optical elements. Includes precision lens polishers or grinders, centerer-edgers, and lens mounters.
Most important skills
- Operation and Control
- Operations Monitoring
- Quality Control Analysis
- Time Management
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Judgment and Decision Making
Key knowledge
- Production and Processing
- Mechanical
- Mathematics
- Customer and Personal Service
- Administration and Management
- English Language
- Computers and Electronics
- Education and Training
What the work involves
- Adjust lenses and frames to correct alignment.
- Mount, secure, and align finished lenses in frames or optical assemblies, using precision hand tools.
- Mount and secure lens blanks or optical lenses in holding tools or chucks of cutting, polishing, grinding, or coating machines.
- Shape lenses appropriately so that they can be inserted into frames.
- Assemble eyeglass frames and attach shields, nose pads, and temple pieces, using pliers, screwdrivers, and drills.
- Inspect lens blanks to detect flaws, verify smoothness of surface, and ensure thickness of coating on lenses.
- Clean finished lenses and eyeglasses, using cloths and solvents.
- Select lens blanks, molds, tools, and polishing or grinding wheels, according to production specifications.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (56.4% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (27.1%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (30.9%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very low | Lower on contact with others than 96% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Moderate | Lower on dealing with the public than 54% of occupations compared | 51% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 66% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 64% of occupations compared | 46% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 93% of occupations compared | 78% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Lower on conflict situations than 51% of occupations compared | 35% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very high | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 82% of occupations compared | 73% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Consequence of error | Very low | Lower on consequence of error than 91% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very high
- Consequence of error: very low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 17.86%
- Occasional contact with others: 24.59%
- Contact with others about half the time: 4.2%
- Contact with others most of the time: 6.84%
- Constant contact with others: 46.51%
n = 28, Incumbent 07/2015
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 36.95%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 8.24%
- Very important: 4.31%
- Extremely important: 50.5%
n = 27, Incumbent 07/2015
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 31.91%
- Very important: 29.96%
- Extremely important: 38.12%
n = 28, Incumbent 07/2015
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 3.01%
- Limited freedom: 22.78%
- Some freedom: 45.95%
- A lot of freedom: 28.25%
n = 28, Incumbent 07/2015
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 19.77%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 2.64%
- Every day: 77.58%
n = 27, Incumbent 07/2015
Conflict situations
- Never: 19.66%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 28.79%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 8.67%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 35.41%
- Every day: 7.47%
n = 26, Incumbent 07/2015
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 10.32%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 9.64%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 4.38%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 72.59%
- Every day: 3.09%
n = 27, Incumbent 07/2015
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 37.18%
- Fairly serious: 44%
- Serious: 7.9%
- Very serious: 3.36%
- Extremely serious: 7.56%
n = 27, Incumbent 07/2015
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O*NET-SOC 51-9083.00 · SOC 51-9083 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8