After earning a degree in Optical and Optometric sciences, a wide variety of promising career opportunities become available to you. These jobs let you truly make a difference by assisting people in improving their vision and overall eye health. If you have a passion for enhancing people's quality of life and a knack for precision-focused work, a career in this field could be ideal. Mainstream careers for those with optical and optometric degrees tend to be in various settings such as hospitals, retail stores, private clinics, or even in academia as educators or researchers. But there's also room to innovate and launch your own ventures.
- Optometrist
- Dispensing Optician
- Ophthalmic Laboratory Technician
- Optical Engineer
- Optical and Optometric Researcher
- Optical and Optometric Educator
- Optician Business Owner
- Ophthalmic Medical Technologist
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual wage for opticians was $46,560 in May 2024. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. In May 2023, the lowest 10 percent earned less than $31,560, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $69,900[1][2].
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After completing your advanced studies in Optical & Optometric fields, you'll have a wealth of career possibilities to explore. You might find work as an optometrist, providing eye examinations and prescribing corrective lenses to patients. Alternatively, you could delve into the research side as an optical scientist, aiding the development of new optical technologies. Or, you might even consider a career as an orthoptist, specializing in diagnosing and managing visual problems and eye disorders. Whichever path you choose, know that the field of optical & optometric promises an exciting future of growth, development, and reward.