Ophthalmic Medical Technicians

Moderate Risk
Low High

Explore safer careers (5)

Lower estimated automation risk

Low Vision Therapists, Orientation and Mobility Specialists, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapists
13% automation risk | Minimal Risk
Pays better More jobs
29.3 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Uses eye-care knowledge and patient instruction with additional rehabilitation-focused training.

Ophthalmic Medical Technologists
37% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better More jobs
5 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Direct progression using ophthalmic testing, patient preparation, medications, and clinical workflow.

Opticians, Dispensing
33% automation risk | Low Risk
9.1 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Reuses corrective-lens knowledge, patient instruction, measurements, frames, and eye-care terminology.

Surgical Technologists
30% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better More jobs
12 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Fits ophthalmic clinic staff moving toward procedure support, sterile setup, and operating-room workflow.

Patient Representatives
29% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better More jobs
13.2 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Applies patient communication, care coordination, scheduling, benefits questions, and clinic navigation.

Compare this job with others
or search for another job
Share your results with friends and family.

Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
4.8/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

42% (Moderate Risk)

Moderate Risk (41-60%): This occupation may be meaningfully affected by automation. Some parts of the role may be suitable for AI, software, or robotics, while others still rely on human skill, judgement, trust, or real-world context. People in this range may benefit from building skills that complement automation and reduce replacement risk.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Assisting and caring for others

Very important
Why this matters
Provide hands-on help, emotional support, or personal care to people—work that depends on empathy, trust, and responding to individual needs in the moment.
Jobs that also use this strength

Working directly with the public

Very important
Why this matters
The job involves face-to-face interaction with customers, clients, or guests—answering questions, handling requests, and managing service situations in real time. Roles with frequent public interaction are harder to replace end-to-end because they rely on trust, communication, and adapting to unpredictable human needs.
Jobs that also use this strength

Social perceptiveness

Quite important
Why this matters
Noticing others’ emotions and reactions in the moment and adjusting what you say or do based on why they’re responding that way.
Jobs that also use this strength

Decision-making and problem solving

Quite important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
Jobs that also use this strength

Coaching and developing others

Quite important
Why this matters
Helps people learn and improve through coaching, mentoring, and feedback. This relies on trust, motivation, and adapting guidance to each person—work that’s hard to replace end-to-end with automation.
Jobs that also use this strength
Show 2 more strengths

Coordinating others’ work

Quite important
Why this matters
Bringing people together, assigning tasks, and keeping a group aligned so work gets done.
Jobs that also use this strength

Active learning

Quite important
Why this matters
Keeps learning from new information and applying it to make better decisions now and in the future, especially when situations change.
Jobs that also use this strength

What users think

Based on 10 votes

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Ophthalmic Medical Technicians will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Pay & outlook

Wages

Very low paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Ophthalmic Medical Technicians was $44,080 ($21 per hour).

The median annual wage for Ophthalmic Medical Technicians was 10.9% lower than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

View wage trend

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Very fast growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Ophthalmic Medical Technicians' job openings is expected to rise 19.8% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Moderate range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 76,520 people employed as 'Ophthalmic Medical Technicians' within the United States.

This represents around < 0.001% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 2 thousand people are employed as 'Ophthalmic Medical Technicians'.

People also viewed

Lawyers Computer Programmers Web Developers Commercial Pilots Civil Engineers

What people are saying (0)

Leave a reply about this occupation
0/8000

Job description

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.

O*NET-SOC code: 29-2057.00