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Thread: Optician licensing

  1. #1
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    Optician licensing

    Hi everybody, I'm in British Columbia and thinking of going to school to become an optician. I already work in the optical field, but there are no actual opticians at the company I work for so I wonder about the online option. Hoping someone can share their experience of becoming an optician in BC. If I become licensed in BC, would I have to pass another exam to work in, say, Alberta? Ontario? What if I wanted to go the the US, would I need to pass their exams as well? Would I have to go through more schooling before I was allowed to challenge the exams in another province or in the US? And maybe the most important question - would you recommend becoming an optician in general, or are you having buyers remorse about your opticianry education? All opinions and viewpoints most appreciated

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    Master OptiBoarder
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    Don’t become a lab rat, just learn more than a lab rat knows.
    Don’t become an optician, just learn more than an optician knows.
    Don’t become an optometrist, just learn more than an optometrist knows.
    Don’t position yourself at the bottom, position yourself at the top.
    Learn how to run a real business, hire lab rats,hire opticians, hire optometrists, learn how to let them work for you.

  3. #3
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    I love it. Well said idispense ;-). But at the same time if being an optician is something that you have great interest for and you think you will love, I say go for it. Like the good old saying, if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.
    Last edited by aaronkosman; 02-21-2018 at 02:16 AM.

  4. #4
    Master OptiBoarder
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    Getting wrapped up in the politics of lab rats, opticians, optometrists will give you a wrong perspective, and be a waste of your time, which you won’t realize at the time. Very few of those three groups know how to run and market a significant business. You won’t succeed far enough to really love what you do and live how you want with the wealth that you will need. Choose any of those three in a conventional approach and you will have capped your potential.

    Learn how how to run and market a significant sized business first. They don’t teach that in those schools. Learn how to be an Essilor, a Luxottica or an Iris , then choose to be an optician .

  5. #5
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    Appreciate those answers guys. I was also hoping to get some more specific info regarding licensing exams/licensing in different areas/which schools are worthwhile. Anybody have any advice about those topics?

  6. #6
    Ghost in the OptiMachine Quince's Avatar
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    Not from Canada, but can hopefully offer some helpful input.

    In the US, not all states require being ABO certified, though it always helps in job placement. If you move from into a licensed state, you would need to take another exam in that state. The US doesn't require any sort of formal education, only that you can pass a test, so in comparison getting certified in BC is probably more of an investment.

    The ABO or American Board of Opticianry would have further information on state specific requirements.
    https://www.abo-ncle.org/ABO/Home/ABO/Default.aspx

    I am not a business person, nor do I have any desire to manage a business so I couldn't tell you anything about opening any sort of optical, but sure you would make more money in the long run. If you are looking to advance in optics in general, I'd say you are on the right track.
    Have I told you today how much I hate poly?

  7. #7
    Master OptiBoarder
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    Quote Originally Posted by throughalensdarkly View Post
    Hi everybody, I'm in British Columbia and thinking of going to school to become an optician. If I become licensed in BC, would I have to pass another exam to work in, say, Alberta? Ontario?
    In 1995, the Canadian federal government and all the Canadian provinces signed an 'Agreement on Internal Trade' (AIT) that held every profession, trade and vocation that was 'licensed' in one province would have automatic licensure reciprocity in another province. So every province (except Quebec) must conform to AIT. If your current optician dual license is in good standing, your can 'trade' it to another province for a optician license to operate in that jurisdiction without any further competency examinations. So once BC licensed, you can use AIT to move to Alberta, Ontario or Nova Scotia and continue your opticianry profession without any regulatory hindrance.
    The USA has no similar reciprocity agreement, and formal licensure for opticians is found only in about 22 USA States. In these, you would apply for licensure and each State has its own licensure requirements. Although opticians do virtually the same job everywhere, politics plays its part, and there is little or no licensure reciprocity for opticians anywhere in the US today.

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