How did YOU get into the Optical Industry???

[Laurie]

Jackie L and I have the same story...we both started working for my mother!

My mom opened her optical business in 1979. I was worried that she would be bored working alone every day, so I volunteered to go in to clean frames and stuff. (we were, and still are, very close)

When I was a senior in high school, I couldn't decide if I wanted to study opticianry, or special education. I just knew that I wanted to move out of Maine and go to college in Boston. I was working as a teacher's assistant at a school for disabled people at the time.

I chose opticianry because, at the time, there was more $$ in it, I liked it, and I was already comfortable with alot of the concepts.

Here I am, 20something years later, and still enjoying the field. It is funny how I ended up combining my first two loves: optics and teaching. (no special ed jokes, now!)

My first job outside my mom's business was at Montgomery Frost and Lloyd opticians in Boston where they sent me around the stores to find a lens stretcher! My boss, Leon Kornhouser, used to buy my lunch every day stating, "You fly, I'll buy". To this day I often buy lunch for my students saying the exact same thing!

Laurie

Edit...It was Kornhauser, not Kornhouser!!

thanks Harry ; )

[Alan W]

My apologies also for dropping in in the middle of this wonderful look at everbody's past. But, I just wanted to say to everybody that I appreciate the culture that was left for so many of us, the wonderful experiences we had, and hopefully what we need to do for those who follow. I find it sobering and even depressing, after all the trivia, reminiscing and name dropping, to think that 25 years from now, those who will follow instead of who made us what we were, might say, . . .

Ahhh, yes . . . . I remember the good old days when I started. My boss . . . an ex Area Manager from "The GAP" was showing me how to sell AR cause the figures were too low and the Regional Manager was getting angry. And, ahh yes....how good he was at hitting the GREEN BUTTON on the patternless edger . . . or, when he said..."Oh, WE don't do slab off. They'll have to go to that doctor down the street. That's not what we're here for!"

Go figure! We gave away something. Can't bring it back....but what will WE leave?

[Mike Fretto]

Thanks HC you beat me to it. It's a shame when you can't respond to a simple question without someone correcting your response. We need to be a little more open minded in here, there are people who watch this site in an effort to learn something. It can be intimidating to someone wanting to respond to a question, but afraid to for fear of embarassment.

[rfish777]

hcjilson: your right
Russell Stimson was the GOD Father along with Ralph Drew.
:bbg:

[JERRY HUANG]

That was 17 years ago, I ran into a big Lincoln town car belonged to a German lady optician. It was my fault. I then had to work over 300 hours for free in her optical shop in order to make up her damage and fix my own motorcycle.

[so]

I had just moved into town and was looking for an apartment to rent. There was an add in the newspaper for a lab technician, no experience needed. I filled in the application and continued apartment hunting. I have been here 7 years.

[Michele]

Went to my eye doctor/neighbor for an eye exam. Sold me a pair of glasses with -0.25 sphere OU and asked me if I wanted to switch careers from cashier to optician. Sure. Still at it 15 years later picking up some certifications, degree and licenses along the way.

Michele

[Texas Ranger]

Alan W is right. the optical cultures now are I suppose pretty different. For me, I started our in '65 working for my uncle's optical lab, from the bottom. I thought my career was over the first time I had the opportunity to edge a rush job(glass crux a 40mm aspheric panoptics)on a ceramic bowl edger, I forgot to turn the pattern over...boy were they upset! Went to the navy in'66, spent time as as medic working with the Ophthalmologist at Annapolis, went to Vietnam, came back and went to work for my uncle's retail stores. Opened my own shop in '77, so in all the years, I've had a pretty unique experience, never worked for an eye doctor or a retail chain. I have learned to appreciate opticianry skills at all levels, what it takes to deal with clients, how fortunate we are to have so many technological improvements at our disposal, I don't have an "education" or a "license", I probably would be fired as a manager if there was someone over me to fire me. We do however have a 24 yr old thriving business with great repeat and referrals, loyal staff, two sons working with me, and a lifetime of rich relationships of service to some really wonderful, real people. And I've always made a very good living at it. Will Rogers once said that "to be successful, you have to KNOW what you're doin', LIKE what you're doin', and BELIEVE what you're doin'" So, i've had all that, and thank you Lord for all your blessings.

[JennyP]

Al said: I don't have an "education" or a "license"

Al, since you don't need a license in Texas to work as an optician, we can see why you aren't licensed, but don't say you don't have an education!!! What you described sounds like a very good education, be it maybe without a gold-trimmed paper to tack on the wall! I don't think we should ignore the benefits of classroom training, but neither should we denigrate years of hands-on gained knowledge! And it sounds like you aren't being stingy with the skills you have picked up along the way!

If you can still say after all these years that you "KNOW what you're doin', LIKE what you're doin', and BELIEVE what you're doin'", then you are definitely doing something right!

JP :cheers:

[Homer]

about a month after I turned 19, I got fired from my first job - a "bookkeeper" at the local grain elevator in central Kansas. Didn't know what I would do next, only knew that I didn't want to pull tits, put up hay or spend all day in a dust cloud in the field - thay hadn't even though of putting little glassed-in appartments on tractors back then. The family farm was too many hours for me - yah, sure, so I now own my own little business - funny how similar the hours can be.

Enlisted in the AirForce, later that Summer, '63, but didn't pass the physical - they were still rejecting young fellows with flat-feet - I think they just probably didn't want to mention my IQ.

So this two-time looser goes back to a little business school to try and graduate (again), working as a janitor at night. Before completing it, I got a really cushy job as a bookkeeper - office flunky - in February. Got a raise in April. Got Married in June. Got fired in September. The wise old man said "Homer, this is NOT what you do! You need to go be a salesman or something", gave me a weeks pay and I had the rest of Wednesday afternoon off. :)

By Wednesday the next week I had tried two other jobs - the last one being construction - It rained that day and we were sent home for lunch. I got dressed up in my Sunday best and went to the local employment office, begging for something. Anything!

Seems that the local wholesale lab was looking for a trainee. Went in. Passed the "test". Started the next day fining and polishing spheres.

The next few years is a story all by itself, but suffice it to say that I finally found out what I "do" and it has held my interest every day since that September day in 1964.

I have been blessed with a profession, wife, three children, four grandchildren and good health and the provilage of living in several interesting places. Man, am I rich or what?

Great to read all of the other stories.

Homer

[Di822]

I began in the optical industry after having major surgery. This was 1988. I had just gotten out of the hospital and was at the mall walking for exercise. I saw a sign in the window of a Pearle Express. This was the largest corporate Pearle in the south at that time. The sign said OPTICIAN NEEDED IMMEDIATELY. I went in out of curiosity and inquired about what it is that an optician does. They wanted me to begin work the following day. I did and worked 10 hours the first day. I have never said "I don't know" so many times in my life. This was during the Buy One -Get One Free boom. It was wild! I have loved the optical industry because it is so challenging. Just when I think I know it all, everything changes. Pearle Vision was just a beginning.

[rdrnr1968]

I was in college and on summer break. I obtained a summer job with AIT in their research and developement office in California. Eventually I moved into tech service and sales and have been with it (not the same company) for the past 27 years. I think this optical communty is the greatest place to work with and for.

[hcjilson]

Dear rdrnr-Welcome to the board! You're right-despite our occasional dissapointments- its a great industry-keep posting!

[Cassandra]

It was the summer of '94. I was tired of working in the food industry and didn't want to do loss prevention work either. I needed a job so I could finish college, so I went to the mall and asked the information booth who was hiring. One of the places listed was LensCrafters. I thought you probably had to have some experience or special schooling, but what the heck, I applied anyway.

I was called back for an interview. The were interested in hiring a lab tech. This really perplexed me since I was a front end person most of my working career, but it also intrigued me. So I accepted the position, and began my career in optics.

I graduated from Purdue and thought, it was time to get out. Yet each job I tried didn't bring me the satisfaction I had working in optical. I have tried to leave it behind three times now, and thanks to a wonderful customer, my mentor, and the great doctor who I worked with in the Seattle area, I now know I can never leave it behind. Instead I want to hone my skills further and take this joyride as far as it can go.

Cassandra