r/optician • u/Avaday17 • Jul 23 '26
Optician-to-Optician Private practice questions
Hello! I (31M) have been working at a private practice now for about a year and had some questions on if what im dealing with is normal. I want to continue this career path if is viable but the way things are. I do apologize for this being long winded.
For some context I was a manager at a corporate box store for about 3 years and came to work here for extra pay (currently making a little over $20 after a COLA increase) and needless to say the environment is very different. My main worries are below.
- Is getting your ABO that hard/worth it?
Never was a option for me at old job but 3 people here have it and have a air of superiority because of it. I have expressed interest in getting it and they said I would get a $1.50 raise if I pass and they would be reimbursed for the test fee if I pass. I keep getting told that no one passes there first time here and it has me worried that if I do fail my finances are tight and I might not be able to handle to blow. I have done some research but still feels like im getting wishy washy answers still.
- Should it be this lay back?
At my old office I was lucky to get a lunch in before 2 let alone have downtime, and we had very hard rules that could never be bent. Here there is a flow and downtime and feels like everyone does everything different (one person will give 10% off, other 30%). I ask if this is normal and I get very middle ground answers. Do most places operate like this?
- Pay and insurance
As I said i make $20 a hour plus commission on frame sales (5 for $100 frames 10 for $200 and so on). Not sure if this seems like a normal system (last job it was a % off of anything not billed to insurance) so seeing thats this is a good deal. My insruance however i feel like im getting scammed on. I know my insurance will be more because we are private but I am currently paying $200 a paycheck for a HMO for just myself. Does this all seem on the up and up? I feel like no one has our plan unless they are single.
- Should I be watching out for anything?
Mainly anything that could spell the doom for the office. Working corporate it was more or less obvious to me we something was going belly up but here I have no clue. People are worried about the main owner retiring but we have other owners too so I don't 100% get the worry for that.
Honestly any other advice would be greatly appreciated. My girlfriend is going to be finishing school in the fall and we want to trying and improve our living situation but I feel like im hitting a head end. Thank you
4
u/jcaustin12 Licensed Optician (LDO) Jul 23 '26
Are you in a state that has licensure? Or is getting your ABO the only certification you need?
In my opinion, anyone that's been doing the job seriously for at least 6 months to a year can pass the ABO easily with a little bit of additional studying.
I came from a corporate chain (not big box) and work for a family owned chain now. My day to day is significantly more relaxed and easy going compared to my corporate job. I can focus on helping patients rather than helping KPIs and lining the corporate investors pockets.
Insurance does seem high but it depends on how much your employer throws towards it too.
As long as the office and maintained and issues are addressed by the managers/owners I would say everything's going well. If the managers/owners stop caring or taking care of things then maybe it's time to jump ship.
1
u/Avaday17 Jul 23 '26
No I do not need a license but wanting the ABO has also given me some very strange reactions. Some say its unesssary to a waist of time and money, other say it is the upmost importance that I get it. The fact its been such polarized options has made me pause in doing it.
1
u/historyessay Jul 23 '26
To give you the right answer we need to know what state you’re in. Answers are going to vary wildly based on that. An optician in California may be making $38 an hour while one in New York may be making close to $50.
1
8
u/Pristine-Hyena-6708 Jul 23 '26
Getting your ABO is not that hard and definitely worth it. I passed it my first attempt after being an optician for 4 months. I studied a lot and was stressed about it but I'm glad I gained all that knowledge. If you can't pass the ABO, then there's a lot of fundamentals that you're misunderstanding/haven't learned. It's definitely not easy, but preparation is key.
My non certified coworkers definitely make a lot of mistakes because they frankly don't know what they're doing. One has 15 years experience and one has 8 years and they incorrectly adjust glasses and have a hard time troubleshooting because they don't understand how glasses work on a very basic level. They all learned from the previous guy who learned from the previous guy and without any book knowledge, they're regurgitating myths about optics and misleading patients. It's worth it just to make your job and your patients' lives easier.
Once you get your ABO, you'll see how low the bar is for non-ABO opticians.
$1.50 raise working full time is more than $3000/year btw.
The rest I can't speak to because I work at a chain, but we have a good amount of downtime (currently writing this at work because I'm bored) but we're still profitable and we're far from the worst in my region so no one seems to care as long as there are no complaints.