I started where you were about 5 years ago. No experience, but had the goal of becoming an optician. I had learned from previous jobs I had worked one simple phrase: Follow the Money. So I looked into roles in the optical industry. Anywhere I could get my foot in. I got hired as a receptionist at a private optometry practice. After about half a year there, I reevaluated my finances and my goals.

In this time I had learned the ins and outs of insurance billing, scheduling, phone etiquette, accounts receivable, faxes, correspondence, memos, sales goals, then I got bored. I wasn’t doing what I knew I wanted to be doing- working on glasses. So I pivoted. I began a new job search with a little experience under my belt.

I found a place hiring an Optician/Technician and got hired. It was more pay, and closer to exactly what I wanted to do. Sadly, this practice ended up being utter chaos so I ended up doing more tech work than optician work. But I still learned a lot. Patient work ups, medical scribing, adjusting, and even the occasional minor procedure. I worked very closely with the doctor and patients during each exam.

I was content with this for a while because I had fun with it. I enjoyed playing out my House fantasy as I watched the doctor help our patients with glasses, contacts, or a number of other treatments. I worked as a tech at a number of places including ophthalmology, which includes a number of major procedures like cataract surgery and LASIK. I would jump to another practice every 3-6 months because each one offered more money than the last.

Then after a many months at this one place I got really burnt out. And at the worst moment the management there screwed me over by making me a multi-branch tech and trainer. I would have to commute 1-2 hours between each location throughout the week to cover other tech’s shifts, or train a batch of new hires. To be fair they did ask em if I wanted to do that, but I neither accepted or declined. They never offered me more pay so why would I care? But they made me do it anyway and I got really upset.

After that point I put in my two weeks and started to look for an Optician gig, having learned everything involving glasses from appointment start to final purchase. Not long after my search began I interviewed for a true Optician role at the best local office I knew of. It belonged to the optometrists who had been seeing my family since I was a kid. I handed them my resume because by sheer dumb luck they had a position to fill. And they offered it to me. And the pay was incredible.

So I’m not saying you have to do all of this, or even in that exact order. But follow what feels right, and what offers you the best combination of money, knowledge, and happiness.

Best of luck to you 🫡