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.
- O*NET-SOC code
29-1041.00 - Preparation Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Wages
Median annual wage, U.S.$136,570
Employment, U.S.42,790
Median hourly wage$65.66
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $74,870 | $109,400 | $136,570 | $165,120 | $202,180 |
By state (51)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 460 | $145,090 | 0.78 |
| Alaska | 60 | $170,310 | 0.67 |
| Arizona | 1,080 | $122,250 | 1.21 |
| Arkansas | 320 | $124,470 | 0.90 |
| California | 6,890 | $136,300 | 1.37 |
| Colorado | 880 | $152,000 | 1.12 |
| Connecticut | 490 | $150,340 | 1.06 |
| Delaware | 190 | $161,270 | 1.39 |
| District of Columbia | 50 | $134,840 | 0.26 |
| Florida | 2,350 | $151,670 | 0.86 |
| Georgia | 870 | $128,830 | 0.65 |
| Hawaii | 230 | $154,620 | 1.32 |
| Idaho | 160 | $103,390 | 0.68 |
| Illinois | 1,540 | $145,620 | 0.92 |
| Indiana | 1,040 | $135,500 | 1.18 |
| Iowa | 450 | $125,380 | 1.05 |
| Kansas | 660 | $138,580 | 1.66 |
| Kentucky | 430 | $128,860 | 0.79 |
| Louisiana | 250 | $118,060 | 0.47 |
| Maine | 180 | $154,110 | 1.02 |
| Maryland | 780 | $165,840 | 1.02 |
| Massachusetts | 950 | $151,730 | 0.95 |
| Michigan | 1,410 | $135,650 | 1.16 |
| Minnesota | 710 | $158,700 | 0.88 |
| Mississippi | 240 | $108,070 | 0.74 |
| Missouri | 630 | $133,810 | 0.78 |
| Montana | 140 | $104,280 | 1.02 |
| Nebraska | 340 | $125,040 | 1.20 |
| Nevada | 430 | $135,650 | 1.00 |
| New Hampshire | 210 | $125,560 | 1.12 |
| New Jersey | 1,380 | $159,040 | 1.17 |
| New Mexico | 130 | $144,660 | 0.53 |
| New York | 2,390 | $161,140 | 0.90 |
| North Carolina | 1,140 | $161,560 | 0.84 |
| North Dakota | 140 | $132,110 | 1.18 |
| Ohio | 1,300 | $134,850 | 0.85 |
| Oklahoma | 570 | $97,350 | 1.21 |
| Oregon | 560 | $132,020 | 1.04 |
| Pennsylvania | 1,720 | $135,400 | 1.03 |
| Rhode Island | 250 | $134,520 | 1.82 |
| South Carolina | 480 | $145,950 | 0.76 |
| South Dakota | 190 | $102,320 | 1.50 |
| Tennessee | 660 | $134,170 | 0.73 |
| Texas | 4,110 | $126,000 | 1.06 |
| Utah | 380 | $119,070 | 0.79 |
| Vermont | 90 | $137,290 | 1.12 |
| Virginia | 1,110 | $131,570 | 0.98 |
| Washington | 760 | $157,560 | 0.78 |
| West Virginia | 150 | $118,010 | 0.80 |
| Wisconsin | 790 | $139,720 | 0.97 |
| Wyoming | 90 | $111,400 | 1.19 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Urologists | 5 | 0.981 |
| 2 | Podiatrists | 5 | 0.978 |
| 3 | Veterinarians | 5 | 0.978 |
| 4 | Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric | 5 | 0.976 |
| 5 | Dermatologists | 5 | 0.974 |
| 6 | General Internal Medicine Physicians | 5 | 0.973 |
| 7 | Obstetricians and Gynecologists | 5 | 0.971 |
| 8 | Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians | 5 | 0.970 |
| 9 | Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons | 5 | 0.969 |
| 10 | Radiologists | 5 | 0.968 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Optometrists, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urologists | Operations Monitoring | 0.88 | 0.981 |
| Podiatrists | Active Learning | 1.00 | 0.978 |
| Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians | Learning Strategies | 0.88 | 0.970 |
| Pharmacists | Monitoring | 0.88 | 0.966 |
| Orthodontists | Operations Analysis | 1.50 | 0.966 |
| Nurse Anesthetists | Operations Monitoring | 1.13 | 0.962 |
| Critical Care Nurses | Operations Monitoring | 1.00 | 0.954 |
| Family Medicine Physicians | Judgment and Decision Making | 0.87 | 0.954 |
| Neurodiagnostic Technologists | Operations Monitoring | 0.88 | 0.953 |
| Nuclear Medicine Technologists | Operations Monitoring | 0.76 | 0.952 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Optometrists, excluding software Optometrists already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| eClinicalWorks EHR software | 13 of 20 | 12.5x |
| Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR | 10 of 20 | 25.6x |
| GalacTek ECLIPSE | 8 of 20 | 36.9x |
| Greenway Medical Technologies PrimeSUITE | 8 of 20 | 33.6x |
| Allscripts PM | 7 of 20 | 35.9x |
| Automatic Data Processing AdvancedMD EHR | 7 of 20 | 35.9x |
| Benchmark Systems Benchmark Clinical EHR | 7 of 20 | 35.9x |
| CareCloud Central | 7 of 20 | 35.9x |
| Cerner PowerWorks Practice Management | 7 of 20 | 35.9x |
| Epic Practice Management | 7 of 20 | 35.9x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 4.12 | 4.88 |
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 4.12 | 4.25 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 4.12 | 4.25 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Science | Essential skill | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 3.38 | 3.88 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 3.38 | 3.88 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 3.38 | 3.50 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.75 |
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 3.25 | 3.50 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.38 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.25 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.25 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.88 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.12 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.12 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.50 | 2.88 |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 2.25 | 2.25 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 2.12 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 2.12 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 2.12 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 2.12 |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.12 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 0.88 |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 4.81 | 5.38 |
| Biology | 4.52 | 5.00 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 4.40 | 5.14 |
| English Language | 3.90 | 4.00 |
| Mathematics | 3.62 | 4.10 |
| Education and Training | 3.57 | 4.43 |
| Therapy and Counseling | 3.55 | 4.57 |
| Psychology | 3.52 | 4.14 |
| Administration and Management | 3.50 | 4.24 |
| Physics | 3.29 | 3.57 |
| Economics and Accounting | 3.29 | 3.38 |
| Administrative | 3.24 | 4.33 |
| Computers and Electronics | 3.19 | 4.19 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 3.19 | 3.71 |
| Law and Government | 3.19 | 3.19 |
| Sales and Marketing | 3.10 | 4.05 |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.00 | 2.95 |
| Chemistry | 2.90 | 3.52 |
| Communications and Media | 2.67 | 2.57 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 2.43 | 2.43 |
| Telecommunications | 2.33 | 1.57 |
| Engineering and Technology | 2.30 | 2.20 |
| Production and Processing | 2.05 | 1.86 |
| Mechanical | 1.90 | 1.67 |
| Philosophy and Theology | 1.76 | 1.86 |
| Foreign Language | 1.76 | 1.57 |
| Design | 1.52 | 1.10 |
| Transportation | 1.33 | 0.67 |
| Geography | 1.29 | not rated |
| History and Archeology | 1.29 | not rated |
| Fine Arts | 1.24 | not rated |
| Building and Construction | 1.14 | not rated |
| Food Production | 1.00 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Problem Sensitivity | 4.12 | 5.00 |
| Oral Expression | 4.12 | 4.12 |
| Oral Comprehension | 4.00 | 5.00 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 4.00 | 4.88 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 4.00 | 4.75 |
| Written Comprehension | 4.00 | 4.75 |
| Near Vision | 4.00 | 4.62 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Information Ordering | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Written Expression | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Category Flexibility | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Speech Recognition | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Speech Clarity | 3.75 | 3.75 |
| Finger Dexterity | 3.62 | 3.88 |
| Far Vision | 3.25 | 3.75 |
| Selective Attention | 3.25 | 3.25 |
| Control Precision | 3.12 | 3.75 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.12 | 3.62 |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.12 | 3.25 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Manual Dexterity | 3.00 | 3.25 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Visualization | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Time Sharing | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Number Facility | 2.88 | 3.50 |
| Originality | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Speed of Closure | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Memorization | 2.38 | 2.88 |
| Depth Perception | 2.38 | 2.25 |
| Multilimb Coordination | 2.25 | 1.88 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Trunk Strength | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Auditory Attention | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Reaction Time | 2.00 | 1.38 |
| Rate Control | 2.00 | 1.00 |
| Static Strength | 1.88 | 0.88 |
| Response Orientation | 1.75 | 1.50 |
| Extent Flexibility | 1.25 | not rated |
| Dynamic Strength | 1.12 | not rated |
| Explosive Strength | 1.12 | not rated |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Glare Sensitivity | 1.00 | not rated |
| Gross Body Coordination | 1.00 | not rated |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 1.00 | not rated |
| Night Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Peripheral Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Sound Localization | 1.00 | not rated |
| Spatial Orientation | 1.00 | not rated |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 1.00 | not rated |
| Stamina | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Apple Safari in demand
- Microsoft Edge in demand
- Mozilla Firefox in demand
- Web browser software in demand
- Intuit QuickBooks hot
- Microsoft Access hot
- Microsoft Excel hot
- Microsoft SQL Server hot
- Microsoft Word hot
- Accra Med Software Filopto
- AltaPoint Data Systems AltaPoint Vision
- Babcock Winx Pro
- Compulink Business Systems Eyecare Advantage
- Digital Healthcare OptoMize
- First Insight E-Z Frame
- First Insight MaximEyes
- HealthLine Systems Eyecom
- Insight Software My Vision Express
- MAX Systems Max-Gold7
- MediNotes Charting Plus
- OfficeMate Software Solutions ExamWRITER
- OfficeMate Software Solutions OfficeMate
- Operational Data Store ODS software
- Prima Systems OPTIX
- Scheduling software
- Universal Software Solutions VersaVision
- VisionScience Software Acuity Pro
Where it concentrates
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 730 | 2.36 | $111,780 |
| Wilmington, NC | 120 | 2.29 | $163,800 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 580 | 1.87 | $135,330 |
| Manchester-Nashua, NH | 100 | 1.86 | $124,470 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 1,180 | 1.81 | $142,580 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 510 | 1.71 | $139,020 |
| Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL | 120 | 1.62 | $157,140 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 310 | 1.60 | $139,910 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | 450 | 1.48 | $138,580 |
| Tulsa, OK | 190 | 1.47 | $100,250 |