Pros
Exposure to multiple aspects of optical care and patient interaction. Opportunity to learn quickly in a fast-paced environment. You are allowed 30 minutes to eat, or cry in your car.
Cons
The level of responsibility placed on staff does not align with the pay or support provided. I was hired into an optician role with minimal structured training and was expected to perform at a high level almost immediately. You do everything, and when the Optometrist is not great, you get to deal with them, plus their unhappy customers. I was told to call them patients, but you are a retail worker in scrubs. And after handoff, they become CUSTOMERS. SELL SELL SELL! There was a constant expectation to be extremely thorough with patients/customers while simultaneously being rushed to complete pre-testing and screenings before they saw the optometrist. On certain days when a doctor was not in the building, I was expected to conduct digital eye exams myself. That is a significant responsibility, especially without adequate training or compensation that reflects the weight of that role. It takes IT knowledge, as well as understanding how the phoropter works, and none of that will be explained at all. You'll teach people how to insert contact lenses, and never be trained on it. As a manager told me "we are double booked, you're a mom, figure out how to teach them. Do well, so you can take a lunch today!" while the patient was standing next to me. Management was inconsistent and, at times, critical rather than supportive. After a leadership change, the environment felt more focused on oversight and fault-finding than mentorship. Favoritism is huge in this role - you will see it when the regional manager is planning to visit. It gets really weird. Instead of guidance, there was pressure. Constant pressure. For $15 per hour and costly benefits, the workload, expectations, and accountability placed on staff were disproportionate. Despite being a hardworking employee who learns quickly and goes above and beyond, I left feeling undervalued and overwhelmed. Patients will either be kind and say they're surprised there's no schooling for this position, or be very very mean. People will throw glasses at you and scream before you even say hello. And then you'll be told by 3 people above you "it is important to greet our patients" RUN.