How to become a dispensing optician

A dispensing optician helps people choose and fit glasses from an optometrist’s prescription. To qualify you complete a General Optical Council (GOC) approved degree and pass the professional qualifying exams of the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO), or take the level 6 degree apprenticeship, and then register with the GOC. The National Careers Service gives typical pay of £28,000 for a starter to £40,000 with experience, over 37 to 40 hours a week that can include weekends on a rota.

What the work involves

You work from an optometrist’s prescription. The National Careers Service lists tasks such as helping customers choose eyewear, advising on frames and styles (including safety glasses, sunglasses and screen glasses), taking facial measurements, and fitting, adjusting and repairing frames. You also show people how to fit and remove contact lenses, offer advice on managing common eye conditions, and refer customers to an optometrist when they need further vision tests.

It is a hands-on job that mixes clinical support with selling. The skills the National Careers Service lists include customer service, practical dexterity, maths and the ability to sell products and services. You could work at a store or at a health centre.

Three ways in

University

You complete a GOC approved degree and then pass the ABDO qualifying exams. The National Careers Service says you will usually need five GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 including English, maths and science, plus one or two A levels or equivalent, including a science.

Degree apprenticeship

The Dispensing Optician Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship is offered with a commercial optician. It can take three years, is equivalent to degree level and leads to a professional qualification. Entry is typically four or five GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 plus A levels or equivalent. Our guide to NHS apprenticeships shows how apprenticeship applications generally work, though this one is with a commercial optician and not the NHS.

Working your way up

If you are already an assistant or optical technician in an optician practice, you may be able to train on the job through an apprenticeship or a part-time degree. You need your employer’s support to do this, so ask early whether they back study.

Registration and checks

You must be registered with the General Optical Council. Students register as students before doing any clinical support work. Enhanced background checks apply. Our guide to DBS check levels explains what an enhanced check involves.

Getting experience

The National Careers Service says it helps to get some experience in an optician before you apply to study, and points to ABDO for how to find work experience. ABDO membership also gives access to professional development and training.

Where the career goes

With experience you could supervise and mentor trainee opticians, take extra training to work as a contact lens optician, work in a hospital or teach at a university, or move into optical sales for a lens manufacturer. You could also become self-employed and run your own business. Another route is to study to qualify as an optometrist, which needs the approved optometry degree and a pre-registration year.

Pay

The range above is typical pay from the National Careers Service, not a fixed scale, and employers set their own. To see what a salary leaves after tax and National Insurance, use the take-home pay calculator. For a hospital-based eye role with a different training route, see our guide to the orthoptist.