Disclosed are optical assemblies such as field-installable connectors having a laser-shaped optical fiber along with methods for laser-shaping the optical fiber. The field-installable connector includes a ferrule having front and rear opposed faces and at least one fiber bore defined longitudinally therethrough, a stub optical fiber having a distal end with a laser-shaped end face is disposed within the at least one fiber bore of the ferrule and extends a predetermined distance beyond the rear face of the ferrule, and an alignment feature operable for aligning the stub optical fiber with the field optical fiber. One method of laser-shaping the optical fiber includes rotating the optical fiber and sweeping a beam of a laser across the optical fiber and then essentially stopping the rotation of the optical fiber and sweeping the beam through the optical fiber to cut the same with a tapered and angled end face. Other methods may include shifting the laser relative to the optical fiber to create a “pencil-tip” end on the optical fiber.