Overview
All Other Technicians and Trades Workers
-
$1,146 Weekly Pay
-
Moderate Future Growth
Optical Mechanics
-
480 workers Employment Size
-
Medium skill Skill level rating
-
81% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
41 hours Average full-time
-
46 years Average age
-
27% female Gender Share
Optical Mechanics operate machines to grind, polish and surface optical lenses to meet prescription requirements, and fit lenses to spectacle frames.
You can work as an Optical Mechanic without formal qualifications, however, a certificate III or IV in optical technology may be useful.
Tasks
- Selects and assembles optical elements for instruments and fits them in position.
- Scrapes, files and laps mount of instrument to align optical elements.
- Centres, focuses, adjusts and calibrates instrument on standard targets.
- Anchors lenses and other optical elements with adhesives or retaining ring.
Prospects
The number of people working as Optical Mechanics (in their main job) fell over 5 years:
from 650 in 2011 to 480 in 2016.
Caution: The Australian jobs market is changing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These estimates do not take account of the impact of COVID-19. They may not reflect the current jobs market and should be used and interpreted with extreme caution.
- Size: This is a very small occupation.
- Location: Optical Mechanics work in many parts of Australia. Victoria has a large share of workers.
- Industries: Most work in Health Care and Social Assistance; Manufacturing; and Wholesale Trade.
- Full-time: Most work full-time (81%, much higher than the average of 66%).
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 41 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 46 years (compared to the average of 40 years). Many workers are 45 years or older (54%).
- Gender: 27% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
Main Industries
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC 06).
States and Territories
NSW
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
NT
ACT
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian States and Territories, in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Profile
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Education Level
Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Pathways
You can work as an Optical Mechanic without formal qualifications, however, a certificate III or IV in optical technology may be useful.
Before starting a course, check it will provide you with the skills and qualifications you need. Visit
- My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
- AAPathways website to explore Health Industry, Plastics, Rubber & Cablemaking and Property Services VET training pathways.
Skills & Knowledge
Employers look for Other Technicians and Trades Workers who are reliable, work well in a team and have a strong work ethic.
Filter Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge
These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.
-
Production and processing
Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
Computers and electronics
Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
-
Mechanical
Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
-
Customer and personal service
Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Engineering and technology
Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Technical design
Design techniques, tools, and principles used to make detailed technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
-
Sales and marketing
Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
-
Public safety and security
Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.
-
Medicine and dentistry
Diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities, including preventive health-care measures.
-
Personnel and human resources
Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.
-
Economics and accounting
Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
-
Telecommunications
Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
-
Physics
The physical laws of matter, motion and energy, and how they interact through space and time.
-
Transportation
Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Quality control analysis
Doing tests and checking products, services, or processes to make sure they are working properly.
-
Operation and control
Controlling equipment or systems.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Operation monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Serving others
Looking for ways to help people.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Writing
Writing things for co-workers or customers.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Equipment selection
Deciding on the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
-
Repairing
Fixing machines or systems.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
-
Learning strategies
Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.
-
Management of personnel resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Control precision
Quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
-
Arm-hand steadiness
Keep your hand or arm steady.
-
Finger dexterity
Put together small parts with your fingers.
-
Manual dexterity
Quickly move your hand to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
-
Selective attention
Pay attention to something without being distracted.
-
Visualization
Imagine how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Colour discrimination
Notice differences between colours, including shades of colour and brightness.
-
Reaction time
Quickly move your hand, finger, or foot when a sound, light, picture or something else appears.
-
Sorting or ordering
Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
-
Written comprehension
Read and understand written information.
-
Categorising
Come up with different ways of grouping things.
-
Perceptual speed
Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
-
Rate control
Change when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
-
Wrist-finger speed
Make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
-
Flexibility of closure
See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Depth perception
Decide which thing is closer or further away from you, or decide how far away it is.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Handling and moving objects
Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, moving and manipulating objects.
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Controlling equipment or machines
Operating machines or processes either directly or using controls (not including computers or vehicles).
-
Monitoring people, processes and things
Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.
-
Planning and prioritising work
Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Assessing and evaluating things
Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.
-
Working with computers
Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
-
Training and teaching others
Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.
-
Collecting and organising information
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Making sense of information and ideas
Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.
-
Checking compliance with standards
Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
-
Checking for errors or defects
Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials for errors, problems or defects.
-
Explaining things to people
Helping people to understand and use information.
-
Helping and caring for others
Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.
-
Documenting or recording information
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 51-9083.00 - Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians.
Work Environment
Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.
Filter Work Environment
Demands
The physical and social demands workers face most often are shown below.
-
Indoors, heat controlled
Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.
-
Time pressure
Work to strict deadlines.
-
Using your hands to handle, control, or feel
Spend time using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
-
Being exact or accurate
Be very exact or highly accurate.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Making repetitive motions
Spend time making repetitive motions.
-
Repeating same tasks
Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Freedom to make decisions
Have freedom to make decision on your own.
-
Pace of work set by equipment
Pace of work depends on the speed of equipment or machinery.
-
Spend time standing
Spend time standing at work.
-
Exposure to contaminants
Be exposed to pollutants, gases, dust or odours.
-
Frequent decision making
Frequently make decisions that impact other people.
-
Impact of decisions
Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.
-
Physically close to people
Work physically close to other people.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
-
Angry or unpleasant people
Deal with unpleasant, angry, or rude people.
-
Loud or uncomfortable sounds
Be exposed to noises and sounds that are distracting or uncomfortable.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
-
Support
Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.
-
Independence
Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.
-
Relationships
Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
-
Working conditions
Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.
-
Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
-
Recognition
Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
-
Practical
Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
-
Administrative
Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.
-
Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
-
Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
-
Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.
-
Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 51-9083.00 - Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians.
All Other Technicians and Trades Workers
-
$1,146 Weekly Pay
-
Moderate Future Growth
Optical Mechanics
-
480 workers Employment Size
-
Medium skill Skill level rating
-
81% Full-Time Full-Time Share
-
41 hours Average full-time
-
46 years Average age
-
27% female Gender Share
Optical Mechanics operate machines to grind, polish and surface optical lenses to meet prescription requirements, and fit lenses to spectacle frames.
You can work as an Optical Mechanic without formal qualifications, however, a certificate III or IV in optical technology may be useful.
Tasks
- Selects and assembles optical elements for instruments and fits them in position.
- Scrapes, files and laps mount of instrument to align optical elements.
- Centres, focuses, adjusts and calibrates instrument on standard targets.
- Anchors lenses and other optical elements with adhesives or retaining ring.
The number of people working as Optical Mechanics (in their main job) fell over 5 years:
from 650 in 2011 to 480 in 2016.
Caution: The Australian jobs market is changing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These estimates do not take account of the impact of COVID-19. They may not reflect the current jobs market and should be used and interpreted with extreme caution.
- Size: This is a very small occupation.
- Location: Optical Mechanics work in many parts of Australia. Victoria has a large share of workers.
- Industries: Most work in Health Care and Social Assistance; Manufacturing; and Wholesale Trade.
- Full-time: Most work full-time (81%, much higher than the average of 66%).
- Hours: Full-time workers spend around 41 hours per week at work (compared to the average of 44 hours).
- Age: The average age is 46 years (compared to the average of 40 years). Many workers are 45 years or older (54%).
- Gender: 27% of workers are female (compared to the average of 48%).
Main Industries
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC 06).
States and Territories
NSW
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
NT
ACT
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian States and Territories, in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Profile
Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Education Level
Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
You can work as an Optical Mechanic without formal qualifications, however, a certificate III or IV in optical technology may be useful.
Before starting a course, check it will provide you with the skills and qualifications you need. Visit
- My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
- AAPathways website to explore Health Industry, Plastics, Rubber & Cablemaking and Property Services VET training pathways.
Employers look for Other Technicians and Trades Workers who are reliable, work well in a team and have a strong work ethic.
Filter Skills & Knowledge
Knowledge
These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.
-
Production and processing
Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.
-
Mathematics
Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.
-
Computers and electronics
Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
-
Mechanical
Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
-
Customer and personal service
Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.
-
Education and training
Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
-
Engineering and technology
Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.
-
English language
English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
-
Clerical
Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.
-
Administration and management
Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.
-
Technical design
Design techniques, tools, and principles used to make detailed technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
-
Sales and marketing
Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
-
Public safety and security
Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.
-
Medicine and dentistry
Diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities, including preventive health-care measures.
-
Personnel and human resources
Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.
-
Economics and accounting
Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.
-
Law and government
How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.
-
Telecommunications
Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
-
Physics
The physical laws of matter, motion and energy, and how they interact through space and time.
-
Transportation
Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.
Skills
Skills can be improved through training or experience.
-
Quality control analysis
Doing tests and checking products, services, or processes to make sure they are working properly.
-
Operation and control
Controlling equipment or systems.
-
Active listening
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
-
Critical thinking
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
-
Monitoring
Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.
-
Operation monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
-
Reading comprehension
Reading work related information.
-
Time management
Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.
-
Judgment and decision making
Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.
-
Serving others
Looking for ways to help people.
-
Speaking
Talking to others.
-
Writing
Writing things for co-workers or customers.
-
Active learning
Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.
-
Complex problem solving
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
-
Coordination with others
Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.
-
Equipment selection
Deciding on the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
-
Repairing
Fixing machines or systems.
-
Social perceptiveness
Understanding why people react the way they do.
-
Learning strategies
Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.
-
Management of personnel resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.
Abilities
Workers use these physical and mental abilities.
-
Near vision
See details that are up-close (within a few feet).
-
Control precision
Quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
-
Arm-hand steadiness
Keep your hand or arm steady.
-
Finger dexterity
Put together small parts with your fingers.
-
Manual dexterity
Quickly move your hand to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
-
Selective attention
Pay attention to something without being distracted.
-
Visualization
Imagine how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
-
Deductive reasoning
Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.
-
Problem spotting
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.
-
Colour discrimination
Notice differences between colours, including shades of colour and brightness.
-
Reaction time
Quickly move your hand, finger, or foot when a sound, light, picture or something else appears.
-
Sorting or ordering
Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
-
Written comprehension
Read and understand written information.
-
Categorising
Come up with different ways of grouping things.
-
Perceptual speed
Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
-
Rate control
Change when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
-
Wrist-finger speed
Make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
-
Flexibility of closure
See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.
-
Speech recognition
Identify and understand the speech of another person.
-
Depth perception
Decide which thing is closer or further away from you, or decide how far away it is.
Activities
These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.
-
Handling and moving objects
Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, moving and manipulating objects.
-
Building good relationships
Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.
-
Controlling equipment or machines
Operating machines or processes either directly or using controls (not including computers or vehicles).
-
Monitoring people, processes and things
Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.
-
Planning and prioritising work
Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.
-
Keeping your knowledge up-to-date
Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.
-
Looking for changes over time
Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.
-
Researching and investigating
Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.
-
Assessing and evaluating things
Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.
-
Working with computers
Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
-
Training and teaching others
Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.
-
Collecting and organising information
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.
-
Making decisions and solving problems
Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.
-
Communicating within a team
Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.
-
Making sense of information and ideas
Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.
-
Checking compliance with standards
Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
-
Checking for errors or defects
Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials for errors, problems or defects.
-
Explaining things to people
Helping people to understand and use information.
-
Helping and caring for others
Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.
-
Documenting or recording information
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 51-9083.00 - Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians.
Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.
Filter Work Environment
Demands
The physical and social demands workers face most often are shown below.
-
Indoors, heat controlled
Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.
-
Time pressure
Work to strict deadlines.
-
Using your hands to handle, control, or feel
Spend time using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls.
-
Unstructured work
Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.
-
Being exact or accurate
Be very exact or highly accurate.
-
Face-to-face discussions
Talk with people face-to-face.
-
Making repetitive motions
Spend time making repetitive motions.
-
Repeating same tasks
Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.
-
Teamwork
Work with people in a group or team.
-
Freedom to make decisions
Have freedom to make decision on your own.
-
Pace of work set by equipment
Pace of work depends on the speed of equipment or machinery.
-
Spend time standing
Spend time standing at work.
-
Exposure to contaminants
Be exposed to pollutants, gases, dust or odours.
-
Frequent decision making
Frequently make decisions that impact other people.
-
Impact of decisions
Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.
-
Physically close to people
Work physically close to other people.
-
Telephone
Talk on the telephone.
-
Angry or unpleasant people
Deal with unpleasant, angry, or rude people.
-
Loud or uncomfortable sounds
Be exposed to noises and sounds that are distracting or uncomfortable.
-
Contact with people
Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.
Values
Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
-
Support
Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.
-
Independence
Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.
-
Relationships
Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
-
Working conditions
Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.
-
Achievement
Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.
-
Recognition
Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.
Interests
Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.
-
Practical
Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.
-
Administrative
Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.
-
Analytical
Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.
-
Enterprising
Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.
-
Creative
Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.
-
Helping
Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 51-9083.00 - Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians.