An optician is another professional in the field of eye care. They are trained professionals whose responsibility lies in fitting and dispensing eyeglasses for patients on the recommendation of the more specialized medical professional (s) of the field i.e. Ophthalmologists or Optometrists. Optician's work includes helping their customers/patients to select right kind of eyeglass frames and then measure their faces so that correct size frames can be made.
Opticians also measure the accurate distance between the corneas of the eyes so that the lenses may be correctly fitted in the frames. Some opticians specialize in the fitting of contact lens and artificial eyes.
Opticians are considered as important as any other professional in the field of eye care because they are the ones on whose efficiency the success of the Eye Specialist diagnosis depends. As they are the persons who are going to provide the right kind of eyeglasses to the patients.
Changed lifestyle and working conditions along with the increased use of visual media like computers in routine life have been a major cause of the increase in the eye related diseases and ailments affecting the large population all over the world thereby increasing the work of Opticians. So there is a good scope for those who want to become Opticians.
Although one can adopt the skills required to become an Optician by getting informal training under some experienced Optician with the advent of advanced technology and demand of high precision by the prospective customers, there is an urgent need of getting some formal qualification in the related field. So to adopt this career and be in the race of best one can do one or more of the following given courses.
Optician Eligibility
To become an Optician one should have to attain at least a Bachelor’s degree in Science with Biology and Physics as the main subjects.
Optician Required Skills
- Opticians possess the ability to understand mathematical and scientific information; accuracy and attention to detail; the ability to adapt to new techniques and instruments.
- They also have the ability to maintain concentration for repetitive tasks; strong communication skills; a genuine desire to help people and the ability to put anxious patients at ease.
- They should also have the ability to explain ideas and instructions to children; good organisational and administration skills and an interest in style and fashion.
How to become an Optician?
The aspiring candidate has to follow the given steps to become an Optician.
Step 1
As a first step towards becoming an Optician, the interested candidate has to take admission in Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) - a three years graduate degree course. The candidate may have to take an entrance exam to get admission in some of the highly rated Science Institutions providing B.Sc. courses.
Step 2
After the completion of the three-year B.Sc. course, the candidates can either get some job in Corporate Eye Care Centres. Establishing their own private enterprise after getting the requisite training by working under some experienced and trained professionals in the field is another lucrative option.
Institutes offering Courses for Optician
- All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi
- Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla
- Government Medical College, Amritsar
- Bharati Vidyapeeth University, Pune
Optician Job Description
There are some duties of the optician:
- They have to measure clients' bridge and eye size and other specifications by using measuring devices.
- They also verify that finished lenses are ground to specifications.
- They have to prepare work orders and instructions for grinding lenses and fabricating eyeglasses.
- They also assist clients in selecting frames according to style and colour & ensure that frames are coordinated with facial and eye measurements and optical prescriptions.
- They also maintain records of customer prescriptions, work orders, and payments.
Optician Career Prospects
The need for highly skilled Optician is expected to increase in the coming times going by the unexpected increase in the patients with an eye problem in the recent past. Thus the prospects of the Opticians are quite bright both in private practice and corporate sector.
Optician Salary
An optician can expect anything between Rs.15,000 to Rs.20,000 to start with if they are interested in working with corporate sector hospitals. Beside this Optician with good organizing and marketing skills can go for their own practice and the remuneration for such practitioners are unlimited as they can ask for virtually anything in lieu of their services.
