Optician
Careers
What is an Optician?
Opticians promote eye health, and work with the public and other optical health professionals to give patients the best possible vision. They assess lifestyle requirements, such as hobbies and occupation, to figure out what kind of lenses and frames are best. Opticians can also fit and dispense contact lenses, and recommend a variety of low vision aids. Opticians do much more than just “sell glasses.”
An optician’s job is to use their knowledge and skills to improve a patient’s visual health and well-being. Opticians need to provide quality ophthalmic services and must also be honest and impartial when serving a patient. As a result of this honesty, a patient’s health and well-being always come first, and selling a product comes second. All recommendations made for glasses, contact lenses, and low vision aids should be in the interest of comfort and utility, giving patients the best visual experience.
“There’s many job possibilities for opticians in the Canadian marketplace. Have a look and see what opticians do in everyday practice!”
Optician job
Clinic owner
Wholesale representative
Educator
Something for Everybody
The business of opticianry is an unusual marriage of science with fashion, retail marketing with patient health concerns, and manual dexterity and precision with artistic imagination. There is room within the profession to explore and satisfy a wide variety of personal areas of interest and skill.
Current Job Market in Canada
At any given time the job market will fluctuate. The Government of Canada Job Bank gives you a detailed look at the employment outlook for opticians in each province.
Moderate to large numbers of opticians expected to retire indicates they will be leaving openings for new opticians to fill. Moderate to strong employment growth indicates more opportunities are expected to be available in the near future. Low levels of unemployment indicate that most trained opticians have successfully found employment.
There are also considerable opportunities for opticians who want to work in smaller communities. Communities that are at a distance from major cities are typically under serviced.
Aging Demographics – Good for Opticians?
According to the Government of Canada age demographics, a greater percentage of our population is over 65 than is between 0-14 years old. What does this mean for opticians? Ask yourself, which demographic group most needs the services and products supplied by opticians? The answer – people over 65! It is predicted that this surge in the elder population will mean increased working opportunities for opticians.
The Government of Canada Job Bank also shows what percentage of working opticians in each province are over 55. Opticians over 55 are the most likely to retire in the near future. Opticians expected to retire indicates they will be leaving openings for new opticians to fill.
