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Date: 10/13/2025

Optometrists

Diagnose, manage, and treat conditions and diseases of the human eye and visual system. Examine eyes and visual system, diagnose problems or impairments, prescribe corrective lenses, and provide treatment. May prescribe therapeutic drugs to treat specific eye conditions.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Prescribe medications to treat eye diseases if state laws permit.
    • Consult with and refer patients to ophthalmologist or other health care practitioner if additional medical treatment is determined necessary.
    • Consult with and refer patients to ophthalmologist or other health care practitioner if additional medical treatment is determined necessary.
    • Prescribe therapeutic procedures to correct or conserve vision.
    • Remove foreign bodies from the eye.
    • Provide patients undergoing eye surgeries, such as cataract and laser vision correction, with pre- and post-operative care.
    • Analyze test results and develop a treatment plan.
    • Examine eyes, using observation, instruments, and pharmaceutical agents, to determine visual acuity and perception, focus, and coordination and to diagnose diseases and other abnormalities, such as glaucoma or color blindness.
    • Provide vision therapy and low-vision rehabilitation.
    • Prescribe, supply, fit and adjust eyeglasses, contact lenses, and other vision aids.
    • Analyze test results and develop a treatment plan.
    • Educate and counsel patients on contact lens care, visual hygiene, lighting arrangements, and safety factors.
    • Prescribe, supply, fit and adjust eyeglasses, contact lenses, and other vision aids.

    Skills

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    5
    Workplace Documents
    5
    Graphic Literacy
    5

    Abilities

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    Knowledge

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • 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.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • 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.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • 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.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 130000/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 62.5/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 2,160
    • Yearly Projected Openings 70

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Investigative: People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Concern for Others
    • Dependability
    • Integrity
    • Analytical Thinking
    • Cooperation

    Tools

    • Binocular vision test sets
    • Blood pressure cuff kits
    • Color perception testing lanterns
    • Corneal topographers
    • Depth perception apparatus
    • Desktop computers
    • Eye charts or vision cards
    • Eye occluders
    • Fundus cameras
    • Keratometers
    • Lens measuring equipment
    • Loupes
    • Medical acoustic stethoscopes
    • Notebook computers
    • Ophthalmic eye test lenses
    • Ophthalmic instrument table accessories
    • Ophthalmic irrigation or aspiration supplies
    • Ophthalmic lachrymal probes
    • Ophthalmic lens holder
    • Ophthalmic lensometers
    • Ophthalmic prisms
    • Ophthalmic retinoscope accessories
    • Ophthalmic retinoscopes
    • Ophthalmic slit lamps
    • Ophthalmic surgical knives or blades
    • Ophthalmic tonometers
    • Ophthalmic transilluminators
    • Ophthalmoscopes or otoscopes or scope sets
    • Opticians tools
    • Personal computers
    • Phoropter units
    • Photo attachments for microscopes
    • Scleral shells
    • Thickness measuring devices

    Technology

    • Accounting software
    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Internet browser software
    • Medical software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software
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