Optometrist Career Guide

To thrive in this role, you need to be highly skilled at science or anatomy .Additionally, those who find themselves interested in how the eye functions and have a desire to help others may be great candidates for optometry.

We feature real-world career profiles that provide insight into the daily duties of actual optometrists. Check out the profiles below to learn more about what real optometrists are doing today.

Optometrist Career Ratings

(What these ratings mean)

Income

Career
Growth

Personal Growth

Contribution

Influence

Job Profiles

Real-Life Optometrist Job Profiles

Below is a list of links to anonymous job profiles of REAL PEOPLE who have filled out our survey and offered to share their insights with our users about their job in the Optometrist field.

ID	Job Title	Gender	Age	Earnings	City & State	Date
33837	Optometrist	Female	31	$80,000	fredericksburg, VA	01/01/2010
33838	Optometrist	Female	41	$105,000	Austin, MN	01/01/2010
32963	Optometrist	Female	28	$100,000	ashton, MD	01/01/2010

Overview

What an Optometrist does

Optometrists are medical specialists of the eye. An optometrist is responsible for diagnosing and treating eye diseases, eye disorders, and vision problems. They are also able to prescribe corrective eyewear, such as glasses and contact lenses. Anyone who is skilled at science or anatomy may be a good fit for optometry. Additionally, those who find themselves interested in how the eye functions and have a desire to help others may be great candidates for optometry.

Optometrists usually work at offices solely dedicated to optometry. However, some retail stores and hospitals may have optometry offices that require practicing optometrists. Regardless of where they work, the typical duties and responsibilities of a optometrist include:

Performing vision tests and analyzing results
Diagnosing sight problems
Prescribing eyeglasses, contact lenses, and other visual aids
Performing minor surgical procedures
Providing treatments, such as vision therapy or low-vision rehabilitation
Providing pre- and postoperative care to patients
Evaluating patients for the presence of other diseases and conditions
Promoting and education eye and general health

Why they are needed

Our eyes are arguably the most important aspect of our body. They allow us to witness the beauty around us, and search for danger. As a result, optometrists play a very important role in society and are crucial in maintaining our most valuable asset – our eyes. Optometrists are needed because:

They help us to see clearly
They can detect signs of eye disease
They assess how well a patients visual system (e.g., eyes, brain and eye muscles) is working
They detect signs of general health problems
They provide information and education to their clients

Pros and cons of being a optometrist

Pros:

Excellent work-life balance
Optometrist get to work in a clean, well-structured and comfortable work environment
There is the opportunity to become self-employed
Sociable job that involves lots of patient interaction
Relatively low stress job
It is a rewarding career as optometrists will see the positive impact that they have on their patients life

Cons:

There can be fierce competition for jobs
The education is expensive
The pay is lower in comparison to other doctorate professions
May have to work with difficult patients
It can be a hard career to enter

Employability

Job Market

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the overall employment of optometrists is projected to grow 4% from 2019 to 2029. This growth in employment is expected because the aging population, who are the generation to most likely need vision care, will rely of optometrists. Similarly, the number of people with chronic diseases, such as diabetes, has grown drastically in recent years. Conditions like these are linked with several eye conditions, which means that there will be a demand in optometrists to monitor and treat these vision conditions.

Career paths

To become an optometrist, you must first complete at least three years of postsecondary education, including courses in biology, chemistry, physics, English and math. Most aspiring optometrists achieve a bachelors’s degree with a premedical or biological science emphasis.

After this, optometrists must obtain a Doctor of Optometry degree, or O.D. To qualify for O.D. programs, it is best for students to have a bachelor’s degree in pre-med coursework. Students also need to take the Optometry Admission Test, or OAT, which assess them in subjects such as science, reading, comprehension, physics and quantitative reasoning.

After completing this degree, some optometrists complete a 1-year residency program to get advanced clinical training in the area in which they wish to specialize. Typical areas of specilization include family practice, low vision rehabilitation, paediatric optometry and ocular disease, among others.

Example Job Titles for Optometrist

Below is a list of common job titles in the Optometrist field. Click the links below for more information about these job titles, or view the next section for actual real-life job profiles.

Benefits & Conditions

Income and benefits

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for optometrists was $118,050 in 2019. The lowest 10 percent of optometrists in the United States earned less than $60,750, whilst the highest 10 percent earned more than $195,810.

The highest paying industry for optom in the United States was Offices of physicians, where the median annual salary was $124,600. This was followed by health and personal care stores ($120,060) and offices of optometrists ($112,190).

Autonomy and flexibility

When an optometrist is in the early stages of their training, they will be supervised by experienced optometrist. Therefore, when in the early stages of their career optometrists will not have too much flexibility or autonomy. However, once the complete all the relevant education, optometrists are quickly given lots of responsibility! Optometrists are encouraged to be self-directed and make their own decisions, which means that they will have a great deal of autonomy.

Locations and commute

According to Zippia, the best states to be an optometrist, based on average annual salary and number of job opportunities available, are:

Alaska, where the average annual salary is $194,938
Wisconsin, where the average annual salary is $179,086
Vermont where the average annual salary is $188,972
South Carolina, where the average annual salary is $176,555
Nebraska, where the average annual salary is $175,987

The worst states, according to Zippia, are California, Oregon, Arkansas, Rhode Island and District of Columbia.

Work environment

Optometrists held about 44,400 jobs in the United States in 2019. 51% of optometrists were employed by offices of optometrists. 15% were employed by offices of physicians, 14% by health and personal care stores and 11% were self-employed workers.

Optometrists may work in group practices with other physicians or specialists. Podiatrists may work closely with other physicians or nurses and often they work in a cohesive and forward thinking team.

Career Satisfaction

Common Matching Personality Types

Which personalities tend to succeed and thrive in Optometrist careers? Based on our research, there is a relatively strong positive correlation between the following personality types and Optometrist career satisfaction. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t many exceptions, of course, but if you fit into one of the following personality types then we suggest you give strong consideration to a career in Optometrist.

16 Types (Myers-Briggs)

ISFJ

Big Five (OCEAN)

Neuroticism/Emotional Stability

DISC

None

Enneagram

None

Holland Codes (RIASEC)

Personality types

There is little empirical exploration as to the personality types of successful optometrist. However, one study found that the ISTJ was most common personality type of physicians – and optometrists are physicians. ISTJs, or otherwise known as the ‘inspector’, are responsible and reserved. They typically have a strong focus on detail and doing things correctly, which allows optometrists to spot, diagnose and treat medical conditions in the eyes with the utmost accuracy. Finally, ISTJs like to follow regulations and stick to schedules, this makes them reliable, predictable and dutiful: essential qualities of an optometrist!

Accomplishment and mastery

All optometrists must train for a long in order to become qualified and licensed (3 years of an undergraduate degree, 4 years of optometry school and then a 1 year residency). As a result, the sense of accomplishment is likely to be VERY high when they make it to the end and qualify! What is more, is that throughout their career, optometrists will continue to feel accomplished when they help others to have better vision and an improved quality of life.

Meaning and contribution

It goes without saying that the work of an optometrist has high meaning and contribution. Their work makes a huge contribution to society and helps improve the lives of many people who suffer with vision issues. To further increase their sense of meaning and contribution, optometrists may decide to conduct voluntary work in deprived parts of the world and help those who are truly in need!

Life fit

Most optometrists will work full time, but there are opportunities for part time work. Depending on where they work, optometrists have to work evenings or weekends to accommodate patients.

Who will thrive?

Thriving optometrists will have qualities such as:

The willingness to commit to the educational process
A genuine passion for helping and improving the lives of others
Communication skills and compassion
Due to the likelihood that medical emergencies will occur, individuals who remain calm, composed and work well under pressure are likely to thrive as an optometrist

Who will struggle?

You are likely to struggle as an optometrist if you aren’t physically fit enough to meet the requirements of spending periods of time bent down/bent over. If you prefer to work alone, rather than as part of a team, you may struggle with the teamwork and communication aspect of modern day medical work (e.g., optometrists must work closely with physicians and nurses). Finally, those who cannot remain calm in unforeseen circumstances will struggle with the emergency situations that may arise.

Requirements

Quick Glance

Skills

Degrees

Skills and talents

Optometrists are highly skilled professionals. To become truly successful, optometrists must have certain skills such as:

Communication skills, as optometrists will need to communicate effectively with patients and with other healthcare staff
Detail-orientation, as optometrist must be able to accurately monitor and record various piece of information
Business management skills, as optometrists may want to set up their own clinic and will therefore need a business mindset
Empathy and compassion, as optometrists will work with patients who are distressed and in pain. They must be able to relate to and understand each patient
Organizational skills, as optometrists must be able to keep records up to date and manage their time so that they stick to their schedule
Problem-solving skills, as optometrists must evaluate a wide range of symptoms or look at charts and x-rays and establish what is wrong

Education

To become an optometrist, you must first complete at least three years of postsecondary education. After this, optometrists must obtain a Doctor of Optometry degree, or O.D. Students also need to take the Optometry Admission Test, or OAT, which assess them in subjects such as science, reading, comprehension, physics and quantitative reasoning.

Once accepted, an O.D program takes four years to complete. In this time, aspiring optometrists will combine classroom learning and supervised clinical experience. They will cover topics such as physiology, biochemistry, optics, visual science and diagnosing and treating diseases and disorders. After completing this degree, some optometrists complete a 1-year residency program to get advanced clinical training in the area in which they wish to specialize.

Certificates

All states require optometrists to be licensed. To get a license, a prospective optometrist must have an O.D. degree from an accredited optometry school and must complete all sections of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry exam.

Some states require individuals to pass an additional clinical exam or an exam on laws relating to optometry. All states require optometrists to take continuing education classes and to renew their license periodically. The board of optometry in each state can provide information on licensing requirements.

How to Become

Optometrists are medical specialists of the eye. An optometrist is responsible for diagnosing and treating eye diseases, eye disorders, and vision problems. They are also able to prescribe corrective eyewear, such as glasses and contact lenses. Those whose tend to thrive in this role tend to be highly skilled at science or anatomy may be a good fit for optometry. Additionally, those who find themselves interested in how the eye functions and have a desire to help others may be great candidates for optometry.

Over the coming years, the demand for optometrists is expected to increase. This is because the growing population, and the increase in the number of disease such as diabetes, will create a demand for optometrists to protect our vision.

Immediate action

The main thing that aspiring optometrists can do is to obtain relevant work experience. Whilst studying for an undergraduate degree, optometrists should volunteer in a local hospital or eye clinic. Similarly, in order to have the best chances of getting onto a O.D program it is advisable to have as many extra curricular activities as possible. So, you should aim to do as much as possible outside of school (e.g., sports, teaching, quizzes, drama etc).

Education and learning

To become an optometrist, you must first complete at least three years of postsecondary education. After this, optometrists must obtain a Doctor of Optometry degree, or O.D. This program takes four years to complete. In this time, aspiring optometrists will combine classroom learning and supervised clinical experience. They will cover topics such as physiology, biochemistry, optics, visual science and diagnosing and treating diseases and disorders. After completing this degree, some optometrists complete a 1-year residency program to get advanced clinical training in the area in which they wish to specialize.

FAQs

Ask a Question

Have a question about Optometrist careers? If so, our mentors would love to help! Just click on a mentor’s profile below and then fill out the “Ask a Question” form on that page. Your question will then be emailed to the mentor, who can then email you a reply.

ID	Job Title	Gender	Age	Earnings	City & State	Date
33837	Optometrist	Female	31	$80,000	fredericksburg, VA	01/01/2010
33838	Optometrist	Female	41	$105,000	Austin, MN	01/01/2010
32963	Optometrist	Female	28	$100,000	ashton, MD	01/01/2010

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