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Thread: Optical Salaries???

  1. #1
    Bad address email on file kjw1231's Avatar
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    Question Optical Salaries???

    Hello,

    I have been out of the retail end of the business for a few years now. We might be looking to bring someone in with optical experience to help in the development and sales of an optical custom software application. When I left I was at 35K+ (15 years of experience and ABO/NCLE/New York State licensed). Is 35K the going rate nowadays, or have salaries taken a downturn? I need to know as we pay most of our computer people twice that, and if 35K is true, we may have room for two.

    Thanks :)

  2. #2
    Bad address email on file stephanie's Avatar
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    Wave

    I don't know what the going rate is and will be interested as well to hear what your findings are. I just hope people make a whole lot more than I do. I would hate to think people are trying to live and support a family on this.


    Steph

  3. #3
    RETIRED JRS's Avatar
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    You might want to check out a salary web site. There are several, but the one that comes to mind is listed below.

    www.salary.com

  4. #4
    Master OptiBoarder
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    Call me totally thick, but I couldn't find 'optician' on there. I found technician and optom, but nothing else. Help!

  5. #5
    RETIRED JRS's Avatar
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    Maria, nothing is where you think it should be.

    On that site > HEALTHCARE is the place
    Under HEALTHCARE you have choices, examples;

    HEALTHCARE TECHNICIANS (then sub-catagory)
    Optical Technicians (I selected St. Petersburg, FL)

    Low = $31,931 Medium = $35,210 High = $41,848

    or

    HEALTHCARE PRACTIONERS
    Optometrist (same city)

    Low = $61,379 Medium = $66,012 High = $79,346


    How accurate it is.... I don't know. But it may give you some ideas.

    John

  6. #6
    Master OptiBoarder
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    Did I not cover that in "I can find technician and optom"? :p

  7. #7
    RETIRED JRS's Avatar
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    Yes Ma'am, but I would have had to actually read your post. However, on this site - i think Technician actually means optician. No way to verify, just a guess based on the salary ranges listed.

  8. #8
    Master OptiBoarder Texas Ranger's Avatar
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    Smilie

    kjw...The last time I talked with some friends in NYC, opticians were getting about $43K as they graduated their Associate degree plan and were newly licensed, seems like 15 years exp. should rate higher?

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    Job Decriptions

    Don't know if this is still the case, but many years ago in Texas they had Opticians listed as "Bevelers" or Precision Bevelers. Could be we are listed in other places as same.

    Chip

  10. #10

    Chicago ABOC

    ABOC Opticians in Chicago are only making $12.00- $15.00 per hour. What are we doing wrong! Cost of living here certainly is one of the highest in the country.

  11. #11
    Optical Curmudgeon EyeManFla's Avatar
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    Salary has been a major bone of contention here in SW Florida between LDOs and ABOCs.
    When I came to Florida from DC in 1993, most of my contempories were making between $17 to $22.00 an hour. (No commissions.....I never worked on a commission basis till I moved to Florida.) In Florida, however, after three months of looking, I has to take $8.00.
    Now, my employees make between $10 and $15.00 and hour. None are LDOs. Why.....because almost all the LDOs who walk into my office want $18.00+ to start. Well that's fine, but I am not going to pay that kind of money to someone who has no where near the experiance I have....and get lost if they have to go back into the lab.
    I know of a number of LDOs in this area that are in fact making less than my ABOC 'Technician', one of which is making less that $9.00 an hour because thats all the company he works for thinks LDOs are worth. My shop girl was making more!
    Pay in the Northeast is higher, but so is the standard of living....but the dirty little secret is, the cost of living in Florida is not that much cheaper.
    As one local MD stated to me six years ago..."There is nothing an optician does that required a degree and or the money that goes with it"......of course, that Doctor has one of the biggest cataract/Lasik mills in the area.

  12. #12
    OptiBoard Professional Dannyboy's Avatar
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    LDOs or techs

    See here is the dilemma. When a doctor graduates last of the class, he is still refer as to doctor (even though he is the dummest of them all). Your ABOC Technician maybe knowledgeable but still he/she has not met the standard of what is required in Florida.

    Supply and demand....

    To make an interesting point, I personally know of many ophthalmologists who pay tech wages to ODs licensed in other states until they get their Florida License. You play by the rules, you must earn more. You are right, Florida aint cheap! But it beats the yellow snow of up north.

    Maybe someday all those loops will be closed making our profession more credible...more financially rewarding..more of the kinda career you would recommend your kids to get into.

    Sincerely,

    Dannyboy
    :bbg:

  13. #13
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    Pay

    You get paid what you are worth, if you don't you move on.

    Ask for a raise, if your employer doesn't come up with it , it means that he doesn't think you produce enough to be worth it to him. It's time to improve your worth or move on.

    Stop whining and acting like some sort of oppressed servitude is forced upon you.

    If worse comes to worse, it's time to see if you have the nerve to move out on your own.

    Chip

  14. #14
    Master OptiBoarder Alan W's Avatar
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    To: EyeManFla

    As one local MD stated to me six years ago..."There is nothing an optician does that required a degree and or the money that goes with it"......of course, that Doctor has one of the biggest cataract/Lasik mills in the area.
    If you knew what opticians are paid in Houston, you'd start crying.
    It's pathetic. Dominated by OD's and retailers who refuse to pay opticians what opticians get so they create opticians from he garden center. Other retailers take full advantage of rank and make the sales peron (who did nails last month) earn less than $8.00/hr with comissions a little over $12.00.

    Two things have to happen to create change:

    1, The public has to be clued in that the person who did nails last month is not competent this month as an optician because he/she saw a couple videos and read a manual. But, parades around with a badge that says "Eye Care Professional" or "Eye Care Specialist", etc. That's fraud, and needs to be exposed.

    2, The public must command the care of an individual certified to perform those services by a professional or recognized organization that is industry, national, or international.

    In the background the OAA, NAO, and worthy state and regional organizations move towards legislative change with academic support.

    I can think of nothing I would enjoy more than to see an ordinary customer say to his own doctor, "I heard on TV that I should be asking for a certified optician here in your optical room. So, where is he/she?" And, let the sucker talk his way out of that. He would have no choice but to come up with a lot of bull. Sooner or later, that doctor will be forced to have a better qualified person. Who won't be available at slave wages.

    There's a lot more to that than "meets the eye." Just you watch and see . . . I pray that we can get the support needed at the OAA and hopefully when the day comes . . . IOC.

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    More on Wages

    More on wages
    Why would anyone work as an optician in Houston for $ 8.00 hr. when they can start at $11.00 per hour at Home Depot and get some of the best stock options and benefits out there? Afraid of really having to work for a living maybe? I admit there is a lot to be said for standing around the water cooler and talking with other opticians and receptionist, but if you ain't makin a livin and they won't pay more, do something else. Not whine about your lot in life. I was making $23,000 at age 22 fitting contact lenses and while I have had my ups and downs, I have never looked back. Wouldn't stay a minite more if I wasn't supporting my family though.

    Remember if you are a dispenser in a doctor's office he is unethical to start with by having an ecconomic interest in his own Rx's, you think he is going to treat you ethicly?

    Chip

  16. #16
    Bad address email on file John R's Avatar
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    Wave Over here

    Dont know what they really get paid over her in the UK, but at another board (Louise's) some pre-reg student was moaning about only getting £25.000 a year after their 3 years training..:hammer:
    now if only i got that much................

  17. #17
    Master OptiBoarder Alan W's Avatar
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    Hi, Chip

    I couldn't agree more.
    In fact, I have passed that message on to the people who need to hear it.
    It seems that down here people are so complacent its a joke.
    EyeMasters hires (untrained or 1 year people) in at around $8.00
    Lens Crafters about the same, Walmart a little less for experienced people, or internal transfers. Cole pays higher. I know of no ABO people with 1 year behind them that earn more than $.50 an hour more. Higher pay scale is up to around $12 - $14/hr. The ABO Certificate, in my mind, is hardly a coveted document around here. What it does do is disqualify certain candidates. THAT'S MY POINT. If we can't command hire wages, then lets make it harder for untrained people to get hired unless they are certified. Once that happens over time (don't know how long) specialty certification MAY up the anty. However, I must assert that higher level certification and better productivity must be partners in the equation. Conversley, I have never, in 36 years as an optician and in management, found people with what can be called "extraordinary qualifications", do anything less than a superior job of generating cuustomer/patient confidence, and a better job of bringing home the bacon for themselves and employer.

    Somebody a while ago argued that salary and certification are not supposed to be mentioned in the same breath. Baloney. Want to be part of the masses classes, you get paid that way.

  18. #18
    OptiBoard Professional Dannyboy's Avatar
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    I feel sorry for all those of us who must make a living as Opticians in Texas. I think that says it all.

    Dannyboy

  19. #19
    Master OptiBoarder Alan W's Avatar
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    To: Dannyboy

    The exploitation of opticians in Texas is a disgrace. . .
    And, the disservice wrought by so many companies against the public is even more of a disgrace.
    All I can say is that field and middle management in those instances is doing what it's supposed to do, and we opticians aren't doing ours.
    Allowing ourselves to get walked all over like this, and continue to bury our heads in the sand this way will be the chief contribution to the destruction of our profession.
    I don't believe in unionizing because that will just allow more unqualified to make the same money as the qualified.
    I feel very strongly that when that customer walks into an optical store or even a doctors office, insisting on being cared for by an ABO or an ABO specialist, and doesn't get one . . . they'll walk out or raise hell.

    "How dare you charge me $75.00 for an exam and not even have a certified optician in here. What kind of fool do you make me into, Doc? Let me have a copy of the prescription and I'll have them made by the right technician!"

    How will they do that? They'll do it because IOC and OAA plus state and local groups will someday be sending out the message in magazines, internet, radio, and television public service not to mention the possibility of exposing fraud, although that is NOT on either organization's agenda. . . Sooner or later the cream will rise to the top and the **** will be separated out. From then on . . "if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck . . . it must be a trout . . . or something (?"@#$!") That's what I predict!

    Sooner or later, management will realize, we ain't screwin around any more! I frankly don't see legislative action will happen soon enough and will be enforced, but it needs to happen. What I want is the customer to be in control. And, that can happen PDQ. I just hope our training people can produce them fast enough, Distance Education, CD, DVD, Books, Classes, Internships, externships . . . the works . . . right now .. . if not sooner. This whole thing will depend on how effectively we can move training along. The greatest single challenge opticianry faces is not legislative, is not institutional marketing . . . it is massively training, cost effectively, flawlessly accurately, and darned quickly. It's called getting our ducks in a row.

  20. #20
    That Boy Ain't Right Blake's Avatar
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    Re: Hi, Chip

    Originally posted by Alan W
    The ABO Certificate, in my mind, is hardly a coveted document around here. What it does do is disqualify certain candidates.
    Same thing here! For example, I work with a guy who has been a lab tech for over 20 years. He could pass the ABO exam in his sleep. However, he sees very little motivation to take it. He won't get paid much more, and he can do his job without it.
    The truth is, anyone with $130 to risk, good test-taking skills, and a few hours to prepare can take and pass the ABO. Then, when their coworkers observe the "ABOC" who wouldn't know Prentice Rule if it slapped them in the face, why should they bother taking it themselves?



    Blake

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    OptiBoard Professional Dannyboy's Avatar
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    Unhappy ABOC

    Maybe instead of looking for licensure, we should be lobbying at the national level specially to medicare/medicaid and other insurance not to issue payment unless the dispensers are ABOC.
    If licensure is unattainable maybe the fact that insurance requires it for third party payment may bring some changes. What is TOPS doing to remediate this obscenity? No voice I figure?

    Dannyboy

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    More Cold Water

    Optical Licenseing bills traditonally exempt:
    1) Employes in Optometrists offices.
    2) Employees in Physicians offices.

    So what would be accomplished by all this sword rattling anyway?
    If you don't like your job, Quit!

    Chip

  23. #23
    Master OptiBoarder Alan W's Avatar
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    To: Chip

    Sword Rattling?
    You are right about quitting if you don't like the job.
    There are models that prove otherwise with respect to certification.
    Orthotic Technician, Physical Therapists, Neuromuscular Therapists, Audiometrists (not audiologists, but they grew quickly from AS to Masters), and the list goes on in dental where hygienists who went from AA degrees in 1968 to Bachelor level in present times, salaries changed with the degrees. The same for RN's.
    I won't address national licensure until I see multiple certification based on advanced studies.
    Once multiple certification is adopted, the path has been cleared for a lot of changes, including national licensing, and comensurate pay levels, maybe! The common thread is not the license. The common thread is the distinctive competency. We ain't got any!
    Job satisfaction and career compensation are not one of the same. So, the unhappy ones can quit.
    Sword rattling? Hardly. The consumer can make or break someone. And, opticianry is getting a dose of exposure to the consumer through discounters. But, the one optical company (good or bad) that was not built on price points became the biggest. Its leaders knew exactly how to get to the consumer, right under the nose of major discounters and shlock houses.
    If you believe that the current trend of price points and twofers is the fate of opticianry, no wonder it sounds like sword rattling. Time will tell . . . I ain't changing my attitude . . no way, no how!

  24. #24
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    Wages Paid

    In almost 30 years in the business I have worked mainly in the Wholesale Lab and the last 5 as a Lab Technician for a major chain. First coming in, one had to spend 5 years in a apprentice program learning everything from surfacing to finish work. We were union shop so the pay wasn't too bad. I've seen too many people come into our industry that want to make the good money right off the bat. OR, once they get, say a years experience, think they know everything! Case in point, a individual I worked with for one year, decided to take the ABO. When I asked him if he had studied, he replied," what is there to know that I already DON'T know?" Needless to say, this wiseacre didn't pass. Now I admit, the ABO is not a guarantee of knowledge but it is a good indicator of basic optical knowledge. Far as I'm concerned, ABO Certification can only help increase the sometime lacking wages we live with.

  25. #25
    OptiBoard Professional Caroline's Avatar
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    Re: Dearest Chip

    [QUOTE]Originally posted by chip anderson
    [B]You get paid what you are worth, if you don't you move on.

    Ask for a raise, if your employer doesn't come up with it , it means that he doesn't think you produce enough to be worth it to him. It's time to improve your worth or move on.

    Stop whining and acting like some sort of oppressed servitude is forced upon you.

    If worse comes to worse, it's time to see if you have the nerve to move out on your own.

    Your words really struck a chord with me. I'm an L.O. working for an O.D. I've been thinking of leaving for greener pastures. He doesn't need my license and my pay shows. I've been with him for ten years (licensed for 5 yrs). But I'm going to take the plunge!! My resume is pretty kick-a$$, if I do say so myself!
    Wish me luck!
    Caroline
    Caroline, L.O.

    If you suffer from severe nonlinear waterfowl issues, you don't have your ducks in a row.

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