Data & Research
 
* ELMI Occupation Profile - Ophthalmic Medical Technicians *
 
Ophthalmic Medical Technicians
(O*NET 29-2057.00, SOC 29-2057)
What they 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.
 
Also called:
Certified Ophthalmic Medical Technician (Certified Ophthalmic Medical Tech), Certified Ophthalmic Surgical Assistant, Certified Ophthalmic Technician (COT), Certified Ophthalmic Technician-Surgical Assistant (COT-SA), Health Technician (Health Tech), Ophthalmic Assistant, Ophthalmic Diagnostic Sonographer, Ophthalmic Medical Assistant, Ophthalmic Medical Technician (Ophthalmic Medical Tech), Ophthalmic Tech (Ophthalmic Technician)
 
 
Wages
Vermont - 2023
Percentile1HourlyYearly
10% $ 18.96   $39,430  
25% $ 20.72   $43,090  
Median $ 23.43   $48,740  
75% $ 25.99   $54,060  
90% $ 30.29   $62,990  
 
Average $ 23.96   $49,830  
1 What are Percentile Wages?
More at CareerOneStop
 
Industries of Employment
United States - 2020
IndustryPercent of total
  • Ambulatory healthcare services
89%
  • Hospitals; state, local, and private
5%
  • Health and personal care stores
3%
  • Educational services; state, local, and private
2%
  • Self-employed workers
1%
More at BLS
 
Knowledge
People in this career often know a lot about:
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • English Language
    Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Mathematics
    Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
More at O*NET
 
Skills
People in this career often have these skills:
  • 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.
  • Speaking
    Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Reading Comprehension
    Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
  • Service Orientation
    Actively looking for ways to help people.
  • Social Perceptiveness
    Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
More at O*NET
 
Interests
People in this career often prefer these work environments:
  • Conventional
    Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.
  • Social
    Work involves helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others. Social occupations are often associated with social, health care, personal service, teaching/education, or religious activities.
  • Realistic
    Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services.
What are your interests? Take the O*NET Interest Profiler
 
Work Styles
People in this career will do well at jobs that need:
  • Integrity
    Job requires being honest and ethical.
  • Self-Control
    Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
  • Attention to Detail
    Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
  • Dependability
    Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
  • Concern for Others
    Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
More at O*NET
 
Tasks
On the job, you would:
  • 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.
More at O*NET
 
Related Occupations
More at O*NET
 
 
Career Video
Watch at CareerOneStop with transcript or at YouTube.
 
Projected Employment
 Vermont
2020 employment 166
2030 employment 185
Annual percent change
(compounded)
1.1%
Annual projected job openings
(due to change and separations)
15
More at Occupational Projections
 
Education and Experience:
  • Typical education needed for entry
    Postsecondary non-degree award
  • Work experience in a related occupation
    None
  • Typical on-the-job training needed to attain competency
    None
Based on BLS Education and Training Classifications
 
Physical Work Activity
Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
 
  • Physical activity is Somewhat Important
  • Level of activity is Low
Importance
Low   High
Level
Compare Occupations at O*NET
 
Job Zone
Medium Preparation Needed
  • Specific Vocational Preparation Range
    (6.0 to < 7.0) - A typical worker will require over 1 year up to and including 2 years of training to achieve average performance in this occupation.
Based on O*Net Job Zones and SVP
 
Education Level
How much education do most people in this career have?
Education level Percent of
U.S. Workers
Doctoral or professional degree
or post-MA certificate
  0%
Master's degree or
post-BA certificate
  0%
Bachelor's degree   0%
Associate's degree   9%
Certificate or some college,
no degree
  32%
High school diploma
or equivalent
  59%
Less than high school diploma   0%
More at O*NET
 
Abilities
People in this career often have talent in:
  • 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 that there is a problem.
More at O*NET
 
Work Activities
In general, what you might do:
  • Getting Information
    Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
    Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
  • Assisting and Caring for Others
    Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
  • Documenting/Recording Information
    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
  • Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
    Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
More at O*NET
 
Detailed Work Activities
What you might do in a day:
  • Record patient medical histories.
  • Collect medical information from patients, family members, or other medical professionals.
  • Test patient vision.
  • Measure the physical or physiological attributes of patients.
  • Operate diagnostic or therapeutic medical instruments or equipment.
More at O*NET
 
Other Resources
  • CareerOneStop
    resource for job seekers, students, businessess and career professionals
  • O*NET Online
    nation's primary source of occupational information
 
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This page includes information from the O*NET 28.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

BLS

This page includes information produced in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics and State Occupational Projections programs.

 
 
 
 
Vermont.gov State of Vermont Department of Labor