Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · Holland code ISR

Optometrists

Diagnose, manage, and treat conditions and diseases of the human eye and visual system. Examine eyes and visual system, diagnose problems or impairments, prescribe corrective lenses, and provide treatment. May prescribe therapeutic drugs to treat specific eye conditions.

Also called: Optometrist, Optometry Doctor (OD), Therapeutic Optometrist.

O*NET 29-1041.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $136,570; Middle half earn $109,400 to $165,120. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Doctoral Degree; 95% 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.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +8% · Much faster than average; 47,800 jobs in 2024, projected 51,600. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Optometrists".

What the work involves

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

Examine eyes, using observation, instruments, and pharmaceutical agents, to determine visual acuity and perception, focus, and coordination and to diagnose diseases and other abnormalities, such as glaucoma or color blindness.
Analyze test results and develop a treatment plan.
Prescribe, supply, fit and adjust eyeglasses, contact lenses, and other vision aids.
Prescribe medications to treat eye diseases if state laws permit.
Educate and counsel patients on contact lens care, visual hygiene, lighting arrangements, and safety factors.
Remove foreign bodies from the eye.
Provide patients undergoing eye surgeries, such as cataract and laser vision correction, with pre- and post-operative care.
Consult with and refer patients to ophthalmologist or other health care practitioner if additional medical treatment is determined necessary.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.1 / 5
Active Listening4.1 / 5
Critical Thinking4.1 / 5
Writing4.0 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Science3.8 / 5

Knowledge areas

Medicine and Dentistry4.8 / 5
Biology4.5 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.4 / 5
English Language3.9 / 5
Mathematics3.6 / 5
Education and Training3.6 / 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.

Realistic63
Investigative80
Artistic10
Social67
Enterprising21
Conventional49

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)

eyewear and optical equipment shop manager · DE Leiter eines Optikergeschäftes/Leiterin eines Optikergeschäftes · FR gérant de magasin d'optique et lunetterie/gérante de magasin d'optique et lunetterie
optical engineer · DE Optikingenieur/Optikingenieurin · FR ingénieur opticien/ingénieure opticienne
optometrist · DE Optometrist/Optometristin · FR optométriste
orthoptist · DE Orthoptist/Orthoptistin · FR orthoptiste
optical instrument production supervisor · DE Produktionsleiter optische Instrumente/Produktionsleiterin optische Instrumente · FR superviseur en production d’instruments optiques/superviseuse en production d’instruments optiques
optician · DE Augenoptiker/Augenoptikerin · FR opticien/opticienne

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Optometrists (2252)18,900 employed
Dispensing opticians (3211)9,200 employed
Precision instrument makers and repairers (5224)15,800 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.

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.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.50. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (29-1041).

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.

Take the career interests test