brymastr

There are other non-Luxottica options in the US. Warby Parker, Bailey Nelson, and Ollie Quinn to name a few. Almost everyone sells Essilor frames though but not quite everyone is owned by the eyewear conglomerate. At least with Bailey you can get some quality frames for a decent price.

For the Tech section; Vancouver, Canada has a lower salary for the experienced column than for the entry level column. I know tech compensation in Vancouver is poor but I don't think it gets worse with experience.