CEC's

Continuing education credits. What the hell are they and why the hell would an optician need them? It was the number one item on my to do list for my vacation. I needed three more credits to renew my state registration.


When I was in high school, it was a given that my sister and I would attend college. Whether it was a sign of the times or our parents desire, it didn't matter. At the young age of 18 you were supposed to know what you wanted to be when you grew up. The guidance counselors played a big role in this process. They would administer tests to help us figure out our destiny. We would fill in the bubbles on the questionaire that would be fed into a computer (yes, we did have computers in 1976!). Somehow the computer would figure out what you were good at and which profession would best suit you. Questions like: do you prefer to work alone or in a group, do you like to create things, do you like to work inside or outside, do you like to read, write, do you like to analyze things, do you like math.... You get the picture. Well, after in-depth personal introspection and baring my soul to the wisdom of the computer, it was determined that I would make a good florist. I was never one to allow something so black and white be the sole force in my decision making process. No, I was much too complicated to believe my life could be determined with such a basic tool. I was profound! And intellectually deep! I was different from the normal teenager! During all that soul-searching, I contemplated various professions. I was encouraged to become a nurse. But I did not think I was smart enough. I decided I would become teacher. I liked kids so I figured it would be a good fit. Truthfully, all I ever wanted was to get married and be a mother. Beyond that, I had no other interests. Always a home-body and always content to stay in baking or reading, I really had no desire to "discover what the world had to offer". But, the 70's was a tumultuous time. Womens lib was in full swing. Working mothers were becoming the norm. The economy was bad, and there was a need for two income families. That, coupled with women proclaiming their independence,would either force or allow, depending on you perspective, women to attend college and persue a career.

So, off I went to Bridgewater State to become an elementary school teacher. The job outlook for that profession was grim. We were encouraged to go into the computer field. Don't ask me why I didn't take the advise of the computer generated soul search to become a florist, but rather took the advise of economic forecasters to become a computer programmer! Needless to say, I was flunking out of that program. More self introspection enlightened me to the idea of becoming a fashion buyer- after all, I liked to shop! So that's what I got my degree in. What exactly does a homebody who hates to travel and, more importantly, hates the city do with a degree in fashion merchandising? She gets married and has babies of course!
The degree in fashion somehow translated into working retail. Well, as we all have experienced, retail sucks. I had to get out of that field! Somehow I was sold a program that would give me a degree in opticianry. Emerging presbyopes and the need for glasses was the premiss for selling this program. So I went backwards. Got a bachelors degree first and an associates degree second.

It's not a bad field. Working with doctors has been interesting. They are a strange breed of people. They teeter on their desire to "help people", prove their own intelligence, and make money. Being an optician has given me a unique insight into human nature. People perceive me as being in the health care industry. On some level that commands a certain respect. I gotta admit, I like that people think I know stuff. But, there is also the sales aspect. Engineers are the toughest audience. They like to know the design specs of their lenses. They want to know the chemistry of the metal in the frames. When their glassed break, they want me to tell them why they spent $600 on something that failed. I have to refrain from explaining that when they sat upon them, their fat ass caused the metal to snap.

So, now I am required to stay current with this ever changing industry. I earn CEC's through magazine articles, attending society meetings and in house training sessions. I learn important updates such as how to sell multiple pairs of eyeglasses. No, seriously, there is a lot of new technology out there. There is a big emphasis on the new High Definition lenses. They are supposed to bring a new clarity to your vision. The sales spiel compares them to HD TV. I aked my in-house IT guy about this. He wanted to know how many pixels the lenses had.

So all this information. All this knowledge and keeping up-to-date. Does it make me a better optician? I did get that feeling of accomplishment when I finally successfully completed the follow up test questions. You know the feeling! I'm done! But, nah, it just reinforced my basic technique of being an optician: If you can't impress them with information, dazzle them with bullshit.
Maybe there was something to that notion of being a florist? Here in my peaceful home, finding my peace of mind.