Healthcare Practitioners and Technical · Holland code IRS

Orthoptists

Diagnose and treat visual system disorders such as binocular vision and eye movement impairments.

Also called: Clinical Orthoptist (CO), CO (Certified Orthoptist).

O*NET 29-1299.02

At a glance

US median annual pay: $115,210; Middle half earn $83,780 to $161,470. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
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.

Evaluate, diagnose, or treat disorders of the visual system with an emphasis on binocular vision or abnormal eye movements.
Examine patients with problems related to ocular motility, binocular vision, amblyopia, or strabismus.
Perform diagnostic tests or measurements, such as motor testing, visual acuity testing, lensometry, retinoscopy, and color vision testing.
Provide nonsurgical interventions, including corrective lenses, patches, drops, fusion exercises, or stereograms, to treat conditions such as strabismus, heterophoria, and convergence insufficiency.
Develop nonsurgical treatment plans for patients with conditions such as strabismus, nystagmus, and other visual disorders.
Provide instructions to patients or family members concerning diagnoses or treatment plans.
Interpret clinical or diagnostic test results.
Refer patients to ophthalmic surgeons or other physicians.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Speaking3.9 / 5
Critical Thinking3.9 / 5
Writing3.8 / 5
Science3.5 / 5

Knowledge areas

Medicine and Dentistry4.5 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.0 / 5
English Language3.9 / 5
Biology3.9 / 5
Education and Training3.2 / 5
Psychology3.2 / 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.

Realistic65
Investigative79
Artistic15
Social63
Enterprising8
Conventional47

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)

optometrist · DE Optometrist/Optometristin · FR optométriste
orthoptist · DE Orthoptist/Orthoptistin · FR orthoptiste

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Optometrists (2252)18,900 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.

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.

Take the career interests test