Also called: Optical Fabricator, Lens Polisher, Telescope Mirror Maker
Grinds and polishes glass into ultra-precise lenses, prisms, and telescope mirrors by machine and by hand.
You shape a chunk of glass on spinning grinders, then polish it for hours, checking the surface with an interferometer until it's accurate to a few millionths of an inch. Some opticians polish mirrors for giant telescopes, like the ones at the University of Arizona's mirror lab under the football stadium.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. High school diploma; trained on the job or through an optics fabrication certificate (Monroe Community College has one).
Ways in: On-the-job training, Certification, 2-year college. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Optics Technology (2-year), Precision Machining (trade school).
Growing about average. Small specialty; demand steady in defense, space, and scientific optics.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. CNC polishers do more of the shaping, but hand-finishing precision optics stays rare skilled craft.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply to optics manufacturers for optical fabrication trainee jobs
Classes: Geometry, Physics, Manufacturing CTE.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-9083.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.