Optometrist to optician
An optometrist already meets 59% of what the optician role asks for. The move turns on 23 required skills not yet in the profile.
59/ 100
1 How much of what an optician is expected to do is already part of an optometrist’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 optician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An optician role treats 30 of its required skills as things an optometrist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- adhere to organisational guidelines
- advise on contact lense maintenance
- advise on healthcare users' informed consent
- apply context specific clinical competences
- apply numeracy skills
What stands in the way is 23 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 optician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an optometrist 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 30 the optician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 23 missing skills fall into 7 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 advise customers on eyewear maintenance required
- still to learn maintain relationship with customers required
- still to learn maintain relationship with suppliers required
- still to learn sell optical products required
- still to learn achieve sales targets required
- still to learn ensure client orientation required
- still to learn fit low vision aids required
- still to learn make referrals to ophthalmology required
- still to learn handle contact lenses required
- still to learn dispense corrective lenses required
- still to learn adjust eyeglasses required
- still to learn repair lenses required
- still to learn cut lenses for eyeglasses required
- still to learn prepare optical laboratory activities required
- still to learn use lensometer required
- still to learn operate optical measuring equipment required
- still to learn perform frames' repairs required
- still to learn comply with optical prescriptions required
- still to learn maintain records of clients' prescriptions required
- still to learn monitor stock level required
- still to learn verify lenses compliance required
- still to learn health care legislation required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an optician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 adjust eyeglasses practise this
- 02 advise customers on eyewear maintenance practise this
- 03 fit low vision aids practise 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 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 contribute to continuity of health care 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 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 advise customers on optical instruments maintenance skill
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges 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
The 1 learning area not shown above
- still to learn operate cash register required
0 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
22 held skills the optician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role administer medication for vision problems skill
- not needed by the target role advise patients on vision improvement conditions skill
- not needed by the target role communicate in healthcare skill
- not needed by the target role determine eye disease progression skill
- not needed by the target role diagnose problems of the visual system skill
- not needed by the target role fit contact lenses skill
- not needed by the target role implement marketing strategies skill
- not needed by the target role implement sales strategies skill
- not needed by the target role participate in medical inventory control skill
- not needed by the target role perform comprehensive eye examinations skill
- not needed by the target role perform ocular tonometry skill
- not needed by the target role perform vision rehabilitation skill
- not needed by the target role prescribe corrective lenses skill
- not needed by the target role preventive medicine knowledge
- not needed by the target role promote ocular health skill
- not needed by the target role provide domiciliary eyecare skill
- not needed by the target role provide therapy of the visual system skill
- not needed by the target role record healthcare users' billing information skill
- not needed by the target role record healthcare users' progress related to treatment skill
- not needed by the target role refer healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role refraction of the eye knowledge
- not needed by the target role test visual acuity skill
1 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 health care legislation required
Common questions about this move
Can an optometrist become an optician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An optometrist already covers 59% of what an optician is expected to do: 38 skills carry over, 30 of which the optician role treats as required.
What skills does an optometrist need to become an optician?
23 required skills are missing, plus 0 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is adjust eyeglasses.
How hard is the move from optometrist to optician?
Its learning distance is 59 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.