Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$39,460

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$36,470 – $47,010

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

18,660

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

+2.2%

Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)

Openings a year (projected)

2,200

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

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.

Main tasks

• Mount and secure lens blanks or optical lenses in holding tools or chucks of cutting, polishing, grinding, or coating machines.
• Inspect lens blanks to detect flaws, verify smoothness of surface, and ensure thickness of coating on lenses.
• Set up machines to polish, bevel, edge, or grind lenses, flats, blanks, or other precision optical elements.
• Inspect, weigh, and measure mounted or unmounted lenses after completion to verify alignment and conformance to specifications, using precision instruments.
• Shape lenses appropriately so that they can be inserted into frames.
• Clean finished lenses and eyeglasses, using cloths and solvents.
• Mount, secure, and align finished lenses in frames or optical assemblies, using precision hand tools.
• Examine prescriptions, work orders, or broken or used eyeglasses to determine specifications for lenses, contact lenses, or other optical elements.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

High school diploma or equivalent

Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training

O*NET Job Zone 1–2

Little to some preparation

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

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