Why Optics
Why Optics?
Optics Overview
Optics are everywhere
We live in a time where your comfort hobbies that strengthen hand-eye coordination can make an impact on the world by manufacturing products like self-driving cars, streaming services you can’t quit, and car chips that are impossible to get right now—all because of the Optics industry. And most people don’t even know that it exists!
No surprise: There’s a national shortage of Optics Technicians. Imagine being the person behind manufacturing precise Optical components out of glass blocks. The reason why we have backup cameras all the way to the medical scopes that detect cancer in our loved ones.
Optics Technicians are the ones who helped create the Near InfraRed Camera (NIRCam) for NASA’s James Webb Outer Space Telescope. They also fabricate the Optical components used in aircraft and night-vision goggles that protect soldiers in the field every day. It’s a booming industry that’s not slowing down anytime soon or going anywhere.
Everyone’s career path is different; there’s no one way to enter the field. The goal is to increase the pipeline of Optics Technicians across the country with a growing number of community colleges offering a variety of training programs.
That pipeline should look like the world we live in—a melting pot full of people with different backgrounds, vocations, and levels of expertise, all working in a stable industry they’re passionate about.
Now is the time to make a difference. Join an Optics program!
About Optics
What are Optics?
Optics are everywhere. Optics Technicians create precise components–primarily lenses fashioned out of blocks of glass–that are used in a wide array of devices, from scopes used in medical devices, to night-vision goggles worn by soldiers, to the mirrors used in NASA’s James Webb telescope transmitting images from outer space. There are many opportunities to make an impact in the Optics industry.
Playing music
Fine Art
Woodworking
Gardening
Ceramics
Gaming
Carpentry
Jewelry Making
Playing music
Fine Art
Woodworking
Gardening
Ceramics
Gaming
Carpentry
Jewelry Making
Building Legos
Athletics
Gaming
Cooking
Building Electronics
Visual Arts
Fishing
Ceramics
Building Legos
Athletics
Gaming
Cooking
Building Electronics
Visual Arts
Fishing
Ceramics
prospective technicians
Who are Optics Technicians?
Anyone with strong hand-eye coordination, attention to detail, and a good work ethic are fit for a career in Optics. The field is an integral part of our everyday lives, and we don’t even notice it. From medicine to defense, becoming an Optics Technician provides a satisfying and ever-growing career path.
Optics Technicians fabricate, assemble, and install Optical components into devices such as eyeglasses. But it’s so much more than that! We’re talking telescopes, microscopes, aerial cameras, and grocery scanners. With this skill set, you’ll be in demand for a secure, competitive-paying job!
Real People, Real Stories
“I wish I had known about Optics sooner. I would have gone into it [right away].”
Alex previously studied astrophysics at a community college, and got into Optics by working in factory jobs, particularly in consumer electronics as an assembler. His boss encouraged him to go back to school because he was good at problem-solving.
“It’s interesting to see how light works with itself. It’s visually appealing.”
Felicity first fell in love with Optics in high school. She’s a young mother, who appreciated the program’s flexibility and used her art background, and experience in ceramics and jewelry making, to strengthen her creativity and hand-eye coordination.
Room for growth
Competitive pay
Purposeful career
In-demand industry
Career Perks
Career Perks
Optics is more than just a job, it’s a career you can grow into and evolve with over time. Technicians have the opportunity to work with scientists and engineers in research, development, design, manufacturing, and quality control as they manufacture the optical components that power the devices we all use every day
AmeriCOM Partnerships
AmeriCOM Partnerships
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) launched the National Imperative for Industrial Skills initiative to address the growing loss of skilled technicians across the manufacturing sector of the United States. As part of the initiative, the DoD selected AmeriCOM–the American Center for Optics Manufacturing–to significantly build the precision Optics manufacturing base and sustain it with a new generation of skilled technicians.
We focus on workforce development, supply chain stability, and manufacturing innovation in the precision Optics industry. Our Optics Technician and Career Path Development Ecosystem and the Defense Precision Optics Consortium (DPOC) coordinate the resources of partners in industry, education, nonprofit, and government sectors to establish and maintain a national network of regional Optics “ecosystems” that bring together colleges, manufacturers, and nonprofit and government agencies.