The Optical Characters

Tuesday 11th June 2024

A DO's desk

This is based on my experience working in Opticians in the UK for nearly two decades. A typical Optician store will have in their team:
Optical Assistants - Most commonly the first point of contact in an Optician. They carry out most admin tasks from reception to back-office duties.
In most Optical practices, they are allowed to do most Optical shop-floor tasks under supervision.
Opticians or Dispensing Opticians - Spectacle Dispensing is a good mix of science and art. The most common term to refer these team members are DO's. These Optician types are registered optical professionals with the General Optical Council. They have studied a degree or a diploma in Dispensing Optics, Ophthalmic Dispensing. Most DO's aim to become practice managers or move into specialised areas within the Optical Business such as manufacturing.
A DO will fit and supply Spectacles by asking the right questions and matching your needs with the right products available.
Optometrists - They are Ophthalmic Opticians and often also referred to as Opticians. They are also registered with the General Optical Council and would have studied a Batchelor's degree in Optometry as a very basic. They take care of the health of your eyes and do the refraction and issue the spectacle prescription.
Contact lens Opticians - Dispensing Opticians further specialise and become CLO's. Now they can fit and supply contact lenses and look into the anterior surface of your eyes, mainly their focus rests on the Corneal layer which is the outermost layer of the eye.
Optical Lab technicians - Very much the most important part of the Optical business. This is the person who makes your glasses. No customer notices them as they are tucked away in the lab singing and glazing away. There are qualifications given to them by the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers and they usually acquire a diploma.