What has happened to South Florida?

[Raymond]

Now, by SOUTH Florida, I am referring to the REAL SOUTH Florida, down by Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, not the illusion some fill your heads with by referring to Tampa, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach as "South Florida" and what-not.



Opticians are becoming as rare as affordable housing around these parts.

Class sizes in the Opticianry program in the local colleges has dropped, and obviously so has the amount of Opticians.



So where have all the Opticians gone?



All I keep hearing about is all the unlicensed dispensers who call themselves Opticians (it is illegal to call yourself an Optician in Florida w/o a valid Opticianry License, (they would know if they were had to read the Laws and Rules)), and demanding an Optician's salary.

Mind you, there are unlicensed dispensers that may be 100 times better than some Licensed Opticians, but that little piece of paper issued by the state proves your worth, not always the impeccable cover letter and resume.



Some people have held the opinion that Licensed Opticians are nothing more than glorified used car salesmen / salespeople (to be PC) selling frames and lenses with a state license.

I've done some scouting to see if I can lure a Licensed Optician to my practice, but what I keep seeing is one Optician per 5 unlicensed dispensers working a busy store. All the Unlicensed dispensers I have managed to speak to tend to hold the corporate mantra to heart.

"A license to sell glasses? That is Ridiculous! Why should I spend to the time to get licensed, just to be paid a salary, which is about $2-$4 more than what I'm getting now. I can make more than that with overtime and commission."

Where have all the Licensed Opticians gone?

[fvc2020]

South Florida?

I just heard from my former rep in Jacksonville that my former employer has had trouble keeping an optician.

As a former Floridian I think the board unreasonable when it comes to getting that "little piece of paper" I was short six months of the required 5 years of out of state requirement to sit for my board. They don't make it easy for people like me to get that license. I'm not saying this the reason for so few licenses there but it's not helping.


christina

[Johns]

South Florida?

I just heard from my former rep in Jacksonville that my former employer has had trouble keeping an optician.

As a former Floridian I think the board unreasonable when it comes to getting that "little piece of paper" I was short six months of the required 5 years of out of state requirement to sit for my board. They don't make it easy for people like me to get that license. I'm not saying this the reason for so few licenses there but it's not helping.


christina

When they start "making it easy for people", I'll let my license lapse.

[wmcdonald]

...are important, and will be appreciated once you are through the process. The Board of Opticians is Florida is full of folks who want to maintain high standards and are doing just that. If you don't meet the criteria, you are in trouble. But, let me give you another view. I am pleased to hear that some states are sticking to their guns regarding their requirements. Again, if and when you et through the process, you will appprecite that license, and it will mean something, unlike many states where it is much less rigoous.

If you look at the schools specifically, you will find that the schools with progressive leadership are doing really well. Compare and contrast the Hillsborough and Miami-Dade programs and see the difference. They do all they can at Hillsborough to reach out to potential students through Internet and video-based programs that allow for ease of access and are growing exponentially. Not so at the Miami-Dade program, which is not as strong as it once was. This is not to say Miami is a bad program; completely the opposite is true. They just have not changed their delivery methodology to meet the needs of contemporary students. They need to review the leadership of the program to make it grow. They are not alone. Many schools across the country, including some COA-accredited schools, feature many "educators" who talk the talk, but don't walk the walk, meaning they have little or no education themselves. They sit and wait for students to show up, rather than go out to the community. We must begin to grow new educational leaders in the profession and appreciate them. Florida is a prime example, due to their size and fantastic growth. Opticianry is still a wonderful profession and needs new folks to provide the education and training so badly needed so we can include more formal education in our training.