So why did you get into optics?

[Spexvet]

I get bored easily. I didn't know what I wanted to do as a freshman in college. I decided that being an optician included a variety of knowledge and activities that would hold my interest - and it has, for 27 years. It includs hands-on fabricating, dealing with the public, it is technical and technological, yet artistic, I can have a significant impact on someone's life by improving their comfort, vision, and/or appearance. There's troubleshooting, frame adjusting, and designing a pair of glasses that best matches the patient's needs. I'm sure I left out some aspects. What a great profession!

[OPTIDONN]

When I was recruited by Lenscrafters I was not sure if this was something that I wanted to stick with, I thought of myself as more of a gas station or 711 clerk, I thought that it was just too 'good' for me. But when I realized that not alot of people know that many opticians I felt unique and just dove in!! I tell you I love it!! Seriously I can never imagine doing anything else! (is that a good thing?:hammer: )

[Bev Heishman]

I stumbled into the profession as a part time job as a frame stylist. I was taken under the wing of an OD who had a vision. He taught me the back office knowledge. From there, I forged relationships with an optician whom previously was working in a Guild environment and attending a program founded by the PA Society of Dispensing Opticians at Reading Area Community College. I quickly lost my desire for getting a degree in Journalism (although I had a scholarship..I hated it when I decided to work in the field previous to my first semester) and he took me under his wing. He is a partner in a rival practice that I work in today. I will always, respect, admire and hold a special place for him in my heart. I continued on as a student in the first recognized health science program at the community college. In the later half of the year I and sought employment with an MD who reimbursed me for good grades and accomodated my schedule to complete the program. I am grateful to both of these individuals. We are still friends today. Better yet I use my knowledge that I learned as a journalism student and editor in my job today.

[Jacqui]

I needed a job. Got hired by one of the old masters at AO in Sioux City, Iowa. Started sweeping floors and ended 3 years later as lab foreman (forewoman?) and assistant manager. I've done a few other things since, but keep coming back to the lab

[PAkev]

I graduated college majoring in marketing and advertising. I also had a deep interest in photography and hoped to combine this somehow with my formal education but could not seem to land anything more than a part time job as an ambulance dispatcher. A photography friend knew an optician that was able to provide us with some custom filters (tinted plano glass lenses) and we visited him every once in a while to get lenses. One day we got talking about the optical industry as he conveyed he knew a manager of a retail chain that was looking for some help. I took the job and had my ABO within 1 1/2 years. In the meantime the store was upgraded to a full surfacing lab which I went to training for (Coburn Rocket Ranch, Muskogee OK) and became the lab manager. Two years after that the store was franchised and the new owners advised me I could work for them as an employee but they were eliminating management positions since they were essentially managing their own business.
I returned to the academic arena working part time as a dispensing optician in a large group practice for two more years and obtained a second college degree in accounting. During this I did an internship for my final semester in an accounting firm and noticed many small successful businesses. Upon completing the internship, I asked myself a two important questions: 1. What skills do I have to start my own business? 2. Do I persue a career where I have an investment in education or the professional experience?
Everything pointed back to the optical industry with a twist on doing something a little against the grain of the traditional retail environment. With a comprehensive formal college education and the professional optical experience I was equipped with abilities to execute the business logistics and had a business plan in the hands of a bank within a few months.

I took odd jobs painting, cutting grass, etc. to buy as small inventory and pay the professional liability insurance for my mobile optical service which has been succesfully active for the past 11 years. Five years ago, I also opened a retail shop in an ophthalmology practice. Between the two businesses and some irons in a few more fires, I am finally becoming comfortable as an independant optician.

And now you know the rest of the story
(Paul Harvey)

[mlm]

I fell into this completely by accident. In my university years, I was desperately looking for a second job to help with tuition and living expenses. Out of the piles of applications and handful of interviews, an OD hired me to be "the girl at the front desk". Yes, I was once one of those much hated clueless optometric assistants.

After stumbling through the first few months, I decided that I wouldn't be happy in the job until I really understood what eyecare was all about. I asked as many questions as my employer and his associates could tolerate and studied textbooks when they were busy. I found out about the optometric assistant course 3 years after I started in the field (again by accident), and by that point I was hooked so I took the course. Once I had that under my belt, my employer took that as a sign he could use me in the dispensary instead of a licensed optician. I disagreed. I left and went to work for two ODs who prefer to have licensed opticians and certified staff.

Like you Optidonn, now I can't imagine doing anything else.

[karen]

My dad is an OD and at the tender age of 13 he put me to work cleaning the office, filing etc (cheap child labor!) As I got older I moved up to data entry and recalls, patient pre screening and minor repairs. At 18 they moved me into the dispensary and I dispensed for the next 10 years for different Doctors as well as Optical Shop of Aspen. Needed a more flexible schedule with my son and wanted more money so I sold frames for a year (hated it!!). That gave me the outside sales experience I needed to go to work for a lab and here I am today! I have thought once or twice about leaving the industry but I don't have enough knowledge in anything else to get very far so I just stick around. I love that even after all this time there is new stuff to learn! If I won the lottery I would just be a traveling ABO speaker- I love to do that! Maybe someday you all will come take one of classes at Vision Expo!

[Jason Carruthers]

I applied and got rejected from other schools.

First I tried med school
then
dental school
then
pharmacy school
then
nursing school
then
dental hygenist school
then
hairdresser school
then
optometry school
and finally
opticianry accepted me

[ziggy]

I was in the army and had to reclass in another mos. The only two that they offered were an electronics training(at Ft Sill,OK) or optics at Fitzsimions Army Med Center(Denver, Co). Being from Ky,I thought I could spend all this time on the ski slopes with hot babes. But you cant hang in Aspen on Sp4 pay!!:hammer:15 years later here I am.

[For-Life]

I was brought in to do invoices at the tender age of 14. I hated the idea of working and complained a lot. Quickly I started to grow into the business. I then started to educate myself on many of the stuff in the industry. I then did my HB Comm through the university here while doing my licence through correspondence.

[lensguy]

Good One Jason!!

Haaaahaaaahaaa!!!!

[Chris Ryser]

I was born into the optical and never knew anything else.

Father a successfull optician said....................." son you have to make up your mind what you want to become in life. Of course you can become a doctor or a lawyer, but..............i would prefer you become an optician like me or you can go to hotel school, then go out into the world and learn how other people do it and collectall the expirience needed.................then I will buy you a small hotel somewhere up in the mountains.

I hated the mountains and he knew it. So I chose the second option and became what he had become an optician who then later converted into wholesale lab and manufacturing.

[Andrew Weiss]

My father was an OD. Actually, his father was also an OD. So was his brother. His sister married an OD whose brother was an OD. When I was growing up, Weiss family reunions were like New England Optometric conventions. I started working in his office on days his secretary took off and when school was off (Good Friday, etc.) I answered the phone, took findings while my Dad did the exam, and helped with frame selection. When I was 13 or so, my Dad bought an AO Trimatic edger and cutter (state of the art at the time) and put a small lab in the back closet of his office. By the time I was 16 I was making all the SV glasses for his patients, and by 18 all the bifocals also. My Dad was a perfectionist: every metal-frame job went under the polariscope, and I took the lens down until there were no stress-marks (this was before tempering, remember?).

I never planned to stay in this field. I went to college, got a Masters in English and taught high school, lost that job and couldn't find another teaching (this was 1970's when PhDs in English were driving cabs) and so went back to opticianry and got my license. I worked full-time for 2-1/2 years. Then I worked as an optician nights and summers while I attended law school, thinking that was what I really wanted to do. I worked for a friend in his optical shop on Saturdays and an evening a week for 20 years while I practiced law. You'd think I'd have figured it out by then, wouldn't you? But I'm stubborn, it took awhile before I gave in.;)

And then I turned 50, and asked myself what I really enjoyed doing for work. The answers were, teaching and optics. So I gradually closed down the law practice and went back to opticianry. I also teach -- these days, meditation to adults. Some of you also know I had a book published on mindfulness meditation last year.

Opticianry for me is creative, hands-on, practical. I get to help people see better. I get to learn new things, engage my scientific mind. And, unlike law practice or teaching English, I can leave it at the office when I close the door. What a blessing.

[Jason Carruthers]

A lot of interesting stories, especially Andrew's. I was joking earlier of course. The real story isn't as interesting. I didn't choose this field I think it chose me. I came from a family of school teachers but it seemed like teachers get more homework than students!

So I chose an "easy" job. But I have to say, Now I'm an entrepreneur and I can't help it. I dream of helping thousands of opticians open their own shops and become successful. In my spare time I'm a writer and I also teach the world-renowned Dale Carnegie course for business excellence.

I think we have quite a good group here at OptiBoard.com

[890890]

I applied and got rejected from other schools.

First I tried med school
then
dental school
then
...................

Then I think you're lucky. I applied engineering and they accecpted me.. then after 4 years study in the hell I got no job and stay in optical wholesale. At least, I got a job to do. I might plan to get lisence then start retail optical store

[Clive Noble]

For me, it was the amazement at the age of 12, when I put a pair of my Father's glasses on and discovered I could see leaves on trees, and bricks in walls. I knew trees had leaves but just assumed you had to be close up to see them. That was in the 50s when you just sat in the front at school to see the blackboard. So Optics and Glasses were interesting, but it all came together when I married the daughter of an optical wholsaler, and was pulled into the family business. I felt I needed to know what it was all about, so went to college and did 3 years of Dispensing.

Haven't looked back since, OK, maybe once or twice!!

[rbaker]

I returned from Vietnam and was transferred to Fleet Marine Reserve at the end of August 1967. My intentions were to not draw a sober breath for the next six months but somehow, apparently in a blackout, I applied and was accepted into the Ophthalmic Technology program at the Worcester Technical Institute. This fortunate event enabled me to get a most excellent education and extend my drunkenness to two years. I was also most fortunate to work with and for some really great opticians who took great pride in passing along their craft.

I have many fond memories of my early years in the business. Not a single MD dispensed. You could open a shop and prosper. We had wonderful relationships with our local AO and B&L labs and it was always a treat to see sales reps from local wholesale labs.

Things were different back then. To illustrate, there was a fire in an adjacent office and our office received extensive water and smoke damage. Everything was destroyed. While on the fire scene a neighboring business offered us the free use of 1500 square feet in their building. A 6am phone call to a salesman’s home resulted in an 11am delivery of a complete office from frames, stock lenses, lensometer and edger. We were back in business by noon. And, we didn’t have to worry about paying for this stuff. “Just take care of it as you can.”

Those were the days!

[Lawrence Yau]

May be let me tell you more about me.
I studied Mathematics in University. I planned to be a teacher when I was studying. I have taught a short period and find that teaching is quite boring even teaching have steady high paid. I change the field to become a merchandiser in a toy company. About 4 years, I learnt much and know how the Walmart GP operate (in toy department). But politics in a company made me resign the job and find another challenge.
In this moment, my friend want to set up a business and I have investigated and believe it's a possibility. Because I believe I can do better than my previous boss.
You can treat me as a business man. When I found this forum, I found that I just know little bit and need to learn from all of you.
Seeing Chris's reply, I found that I ignored the important of website and neglect the traffic of my website. Now I just surfing in internet to find how to amend my website to improve the traffic. Entering Optical industry, this is because I believe it's valuable for me to invest my time and money on this.
;) . Same as all of you, I want to succeed

[Lightbender]

A long time ago in New York some of the high schools would send recruiters out to the jr. high school to try and encourage the students to go to their high school. One of these recruiters came to my school and ask how would we like to learn how to make telescopes, microscopes and gun sights. For a young guy that sounded pretty neat. I thought this is something I would definitely like to learn. Well when I got to the high school about 90% of the course was on ophthalmic optics the rest on precision optics. Needless to say I did not learn much about telescopes and microscopes. I doubt very seriously if the recruiter had said how would you like to learn how to make eyeglasses that I would have gone that school. As a consequent of this I have had a very long and rewarding career in the optical business. So you can say it all worked out well in the end.

[Framebender]

That's probably not true anymore, but it used to be. My Dad was a military Optician for 20 plus years. I'd hung out with him and his buddies, but when he processed out in 1962 he opened a shop. So 13, 14 and 15 I spent my summers in the lab learning how to fabricate. At 16 he brought me out front and started teaching me that part of the business.

Of course he didn't want me to do it for a living. He wanted better for his kids than he had for himself. So when I graduated he packed me off to San Francisco State in hopes I'd make something of myself. I never really liked school though so I found myself sitting on the loading docks of B&L talking to the fellas.

Red Marris was a friend of my Dads and the day shift supervisor so I asked if he could get me a job. He hired me to true lap tools and the rest is history. I love this business and most of the people in it. I really can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing!!

[rsandr]

I answered an ad in the local paper for an optical technician.

I had no idea what one was but after 15 years have never looked back.