Optician to optometrist
An optician already meets 66% of what the optometrist role asks for. The move turns on 15 required skills not yet in the profile.
51.5/ 100
1 How much of what an optometrist is expected to do is already part of an optician’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the optometrist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An optometrist role treats 31 of its required skills as things an optician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- adhere to organisational guidelines
- advise customers on optical instruments maintenance
- advise on contact lense maintenance
- advise on healthcare users' informed consent
- apply context specific clinical competences
What stands in the way is 15 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 38 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An optometrist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an optician background worth leading with.
- already held advise on contact lense maintenance communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held quality standards of ophthalmic equipment business, administration and law
- already held eye protection regulations services
- already held use ophthalmic instruments working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held advise customers on optical instruments maintenance communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held optical instruments health and welfare
All 38 carried skills, including the 31 the optometrist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 22 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn fit contact lenses required
- still to learn prescribe corrective lenses required
- still to learn provide therapy of the visual system required
- still to learn refer healthcare users required
- still to learn test visual acuity required
- optional, not held administer medication for vision problems optional
- optional, not held provide domiciliary eyecare optional
- optional, not held perform vision rehabilitation optional
- still to learn perform comprehensive eye examinations required
- still to learn perform ocular tonometry required
- still to learn determine eye disease progression required
- still to learn diagnose problems of the visual system required
- still to learn record healthcare users' billing information required
- optional, not held record healthcare users' progress related to treatment optional
- still to learn advise patients on vision improvement conditions required
- still to learn promote ocular health required
- still to learn communicate in healthcare required
- still to learn implement marketing strategies required
- optional, not held implement sales strategies optional
- still to learn refraction of the eye required
- optional, not held preventive medicine optional
- optional, not held participate in medical inventory control optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an optometrist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 perform comprehensive eye examinations practise this
- 02 perform ocular tonometry practise this
- 03 refraction of the eye study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 38 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- already held advise customers on optical instruments maintenance skill
- already held advise on contact lense maintenance skill
- already held advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
- already held apply context specific clinical competences skill
- already held apply numeracy skills skill
- already held apply organisational techniques skill
- already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
- already held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- already held deal with emergency care situations skill
- already held educate on the prevention of illness skill
- already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held eye protection regulations knowledge
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held have computer literacy skill
- already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- already held interact with healthcare users skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held manage healthcare users' data skill
- already held manage staff skill
- already held optical glass characteristics knowledge
- already held optical instruments knowledge
- already held process payments skill
- already held promote inclusion skill
- already held quality standards of ophthalmic equipment knowledge
- already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
- already held use ophthalmic instruments skill
- already held work in a multicultural environment in health care skill
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
- already held contribute to continuity of health care skill
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- already held provide health education skill
- already held provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health skill
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies skill
- already held use foreign languages for health-related research skill
- already held use foreign languages in patient care skill
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held administer medication for vision problems optional
- optional, not held provide domiciliary eyecare optional
- optional, not held implement sales strategies optional
- optional, not held perform vision rehabilitation optional
- optional, not held record healthcare users' progress related to treatment optional
- optional, not held participate in medical inventory control optional
- optional, not held preventive medicine optional
23 held skills the optometrist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role achieve sales targets skill
- not needed by the target role adjust eyeglasses skill
- not needed by the target role advise customers on eyewear maintenance skill
- not needed by the target role comply with optical prescriptions skill
- not needed by the target role cut lenses for eyeglasses skill
- not needed by the target role dispense corrective lenses skill
- not needed by the target role ensure client orientation skill
- not needed by the target role fit low vision aids skill
- not needed by the target role handle contact lenses skill
- not needed by the target role health care legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain records of clients' prescriptions skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relationship with customers skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relationship with suppliers skill
- not needed by the target role make referrals to ophthalmology skill
- not needed by the target role monitor stock level skill
- not needed by the target role operate cash register skill
- not needed by the target role operate optical measuring equipment skill
- not needed by the target role perform frames' repairs skill
- not needed by the target role prepare optical laboratory activities skill
- not needed by the target role repair lenses skill
- not needed by the target role sell optical products skill
- not needed by the target role use lensometer skill
- not needed by the target role verify lenses compliance skill
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn refraction of the eye required
- optional, not held preventive medicine optional
Common questions about this move
Can an optician become an optometrist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An optician already covers 66% of what an optometrist is expected to do: 38 skills carry over, 31 of which the optometrist role treats as required.
What skills does an optician need to become an optometrist?
15 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is perform comprehensive eye examinations.
How hard is the move from optician to optometrist?
Its learning distance is 51.5 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.