Production · Holland code RCI

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.

Also called: Lab Technician (Laboratory Technician), Optical Lab Technician (Optical Laboratory Technician), Optical Technician, Surfacing Technician, Edger Technician, Finishing Lab Technician, Lens Grinder and Polisher, Line Operator.

O*NET 51-9083.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $39,460; Middle half earn $36,470 to $47,010. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 56% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 2 of 5; Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension3.0 / 5
Critical Thinking3.0 / 5
Monitoring3.0 / 5
Active Listening2.9 / 5
Speaking2.9 / 5
Writing2.8 / 5

Knowledge areas

Production and Processing3.9 / 5
Mechanical3.4 / 5
Mathematics3.3 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.1 / 5
Administration and Management3.0 / 5
English Language3.0 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic90
Investigative31
Artistic12
Social15
Enterprising6
Conventional52

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

optical engineer · DE Optikingenieur/Optikingenieurin · FR ingénieur opticien/ingénieure opticienne
optometrist · DE Optometrist/Optometristin · FR optométriste
optoelectronic engineering technician · DE Optoelektroniker/Optoelektronikerin · FR technicien en génie optoélectronique/technicienne en génie optoélectronique
optomechanical engineering technician · DE Feinmechaniker Optomechanik/Feinmechanikerin Optomechanik · FR technicien en ingénierie optomécanique/technicienne en ingénierie optomécanique
photonics engineering technician · DE Photoniktechniker/Photoniktechnikerin · FR technicien en génie photonique/technicienne en génie photonique
optical instrument production supervisor · DE Produktionsleiter optische Instrumente/Produktionsleiterin optische Instrumente · FR superviseur en production d’instruments optiques/superviseuse en production d’instruments optiques

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Dispensing opticians (3211)9,200 employed
Precision instrument makers and repairers (5224)15,800 employed
Quantity surveyors (2453)45,300 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.60. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (51-9083).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

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