Ophthalmic medical technicians
Assist ophthalmologists by performing ophthalmic clinical functions. May administer eye exams, administer eye medications, and instruct the patient in care and use of corrective lenses.
Ophthalmic medical technicians assist ophthalmologists by performing ophthalmic clinical functions. May administer eye exams, administer eye medications, and instruct the patient in care and use of corrective lenses. The role reports a median annual salary of $44,080 in the US and is projected to grow 20% over the next decade (much faster than average). Entry typically requires a Postsecondary nondegree award, and shows moderate AI exposure (0.45 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £23,783 a year for Pharmacy and optical dispensing assistants (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 7114). ONS rates this estimate precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Technicians and associate professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only Ophthalmic medical technicians, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 3. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
How to get here in India
No single fixed route is listed for this career. These Indian degrees lead to it, according to the US CIP–SOC education-to-occupation crosswalk; open a degree for its entrance exams and colleges.[1]
- Optometry — B.Optom / B.Sc Optometry (four years, commonly three years of study plus a one-year internship)
Rules change: check the exam body's and regulator's current notice before you apply.
- CIP 2020 – SOC 2018 crosswalk (NCES / BLS) (read on 2026-09-27)
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Customer and Personal Service
- Medicine and Dentistry
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Administrative
- Education and Training
- Computers and Electronics
- Psychology
A day in the life
You start the morning in an eye clinic, preparing testing equipment and reviewing the list of patients waiting to see the doctor. Your first patient is an older man with blurred vision; you take his medical history, test how clearly he can see at different distances and measure the pressure inside his eyes. Next you use an automatic refraction machine to estimate his prescription and measure the power of his current glasses. Mid-morning you take detailed scans of the back of a patient's eye and measure the length of another patient's eye before cataract surgery. You explain every test in simple words so patients stay relaxed. After lunch you help the doctor during a minor procedure and record results in each file. You handle a steady stream of patients, often older and anxious. The routine can feel repetitive, but your careful measurements help doctors protect patients' sight.
Illustrative: one typical day, written from the O*NET task statements for this occupation. Real days vary by employer and seniority.
What you'd actually do
- Take and document patients' medical histories.
- Conduct tonometry or tonography tests to measure intraocular pressure.
- Operate ophthalmic equipment, such as autorefractors, phoropters, tomographs, or retinoscopes.
- Take anatomical or functional ocular measurements of the eye or surrounding tissue, such as axial length measurements.
- Measure visual acuity, including near, distance, pinhole, or dynamic visual acuity, using appropriate tests.
- Measure and record lens power, using lensometers.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does Ophthalmic medical technicians do?
Assist ophthalmologists by performing ophthalmic clinical functions. May administer eye exams, administer eye medications, and instruct the patient in care and use of corrective lenses.
What does a typical day look like in Ophthalmic medical technicians?
You start the morning in an eye clinic, preparing testing equipment and reviewing the list of patients waiting to see the doctor. Your first patient is an older man with blurred vision; you take his medical history, test how clearly he can see at different distances and measure the pressure inside his eyes. Next you use an automatic refraction machine to estimate his prescription and measure the power of his current glasses.
How much does Ophthalmic medical technicians earn?
The median annual salary for Ophthalmic medical technicians in the US is $44,080.
What is the job outlook for Ophthalmic medical technicians?
The role is projected to grow 20% over the next decade (much faster than average). Current US employment is approximately 78,800 workers.
How do I become ophthalmic medical technicians?
The typical entry education is a Postsecondary nondegree award. Building a foundation in the top skills below will strengthen your application.
What skills does Ophthalmic medical technicians need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Writing. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace Ophthalmic medical technicians?
Our AI-durability model gives Ophthalmic medical technicians a score of 0.45 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.
How hard is it to enter this field?
Ophthalmic medical technicians has low barrier to entry — generally accessible — you can enter with basic credentials and on-the-job learning.