Ophthalmic laboratory technicians

The median annual salary for Ophthalmic laboratory technicians in the US is $38,420.

The role is showing modest growth of 2% over the next decade. Current US employment is approximately 19,600 workers.

The typical entry education is a High school diploma or equivalent. Building a foundation in the top skills below will strengthen your application.

The most in-demand skills for this role include production processes, characteristics of products, optical glass characteristics, types of optical instruments, manufacturer's recommended price, product comprehension. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.

Our AI-durability model gives Ophthalmic laboratory technicians a score of 0.48 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.

Ophthalmic laboratory technicians has low barrier to entry — generally accessible — you can enter with basic credentials and on-the-job learning.