Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · Holland code ISR

Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric

Diagnose and perform surgery to treat and help prevent disorders and diseases of the eye. May also provide vision services for treatment including glasses and contacts.

Also called: Glaucoma Specialist, Ophthalmologist, Physician, Retina Specialist, Clinical Ophthalmologist, Cornea Specialist, Oculoplastic Specialist, Ophthalmic Surgeon.

O*NET 29-1241.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $300,080; Middle half earn $173,650 to $421,530. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Post-Doctoral Training; 42% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 5 of 5; Extensive preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Perform comprehensive examinations of the visual system to determine the nature or extent of ocular disorders.
Diagnose or treat injuries, disorders, or diseases of the eye and eye structures including the cornea, sclera, conjunctiva, or eyelids.
Provide or direct the provision of postoperative care.
Develop or implement plans and procedures for ophthalmologic services.
Prescribe or administer topical or systemic medications to treat ophthalmic conditions and to manage pain.
Develop treatment plans based on patients' histories and goals, the nature and severity of disorders, and treatment risks and benefits.
Perform ophthalmic surgeries such as cataract, glaucoma, refractive, corneal, vitro-retinal, eye muscle, or oculoplastic surgeries.
Educate patients about maintenance and promotion of healthy vision.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.3 / 5
Critical Thinking4.3 / 5
Active Listening4.1 / 5
Writing4.0 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Active Learning4.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

Medicine and Dentistry4.5 / 5
English Language4.4 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.1 / 5
Biology3.8 / 5
Administration and Management3.6 / 5
Education and Training3.5 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic57
Investigative87
Artistic12
Social74
Enterprising33
Conventional45

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

specialised doctor · DE Facharzt/Fachärztin · FR médecin spécialiste
optometrist · DE Optometrist/Optometristin · FR optométriste
orthoptist · DE Orthoptist/Orthoptistin · FR orthoptiste

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Optometrists (2252)18,900 employed
Specialist medical practitioners and consultants (2212)154,900 employed
Generalist medical practitioners (2211)197,900 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Japan

Japan classifies jobs in its own way. The closest category that names the same work is “医師”, which may be narrower or broader than this occupation.

Median monthly pay: ¥971,300; Middle half earn ¥666,600 to ¥1,338,000 a month.
Workers in the category: 145,170; Regular employees in firms of ten or more.

Scheduled monthly pay before tax, excluding overtime and bonuses, so it is not comparable to the annual figures above. Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, via e-Stat, under the Japanese Government Standard Terms of Use. The category match was made by hand.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

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