Ophthalmic Technician

Types of Degrees Ophthalmic Technician Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many ophthalmic technician/technologist graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Associate Degree	115
Undergraduate Certificate	41
Basic Certificate	36
Bachelor’s Degree	1

What Ophthalmic Technician Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to ophthalmic technician/technologist were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Ophthalmic Technician/Technologist Majors

Ophthalmic Technician/Technologist majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

Skills for Ophthalmic Technician/Technologist Majors

When studying ophthalmic technician/technologist, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for Ophthalmic Technician/Technologist Majors

Ophthalmic Technician/Technologist majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

What Can You Do With a Ophthalmic Technician Major?

People with a ophthalmic technician/technologist degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Ophthalmic Medical Technicians	19.6%	$36,530

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Ophthalmic Technician?

The major attracts more women than men. About 84% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of ophthalmic technician/technologist majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	8
Black or African American	4
Hispanic or Latino	39
White	47
International Students	3
Other Races/Ethnicities	14

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Ophthalmic Technician/Technologist. About 2.6% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Ophthalmic Technician Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to ophthalmic technician/technologist is $38,220. This median refers to all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Ophthalmic Technician

Some degrees associated with ophthalmic technician/technologist may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to ophthalmic technician/technologist have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	43.5%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	30.4%
Some College Courses	8.7%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	13.0%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	4.4%

Online Ophthalmic Technician Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	9	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	12	0
Bachelor’s Degree	1	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Ophthalmic Technician Worth It?

The median salary for a ophthalmic technician/technologist grad is $38,220 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

Trades Related to Ophthalmic Technician

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to ophthalmic technician/technologist.

Major	Number of Grads
Opticianry/Ophthalmic Dispensing Optician	445
Optometric Technician/Assistant	154
Other Ophthalmic and Optometric Support Services and Allied Professions	22
Orthoptics/Orthoptist	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.