Optometrists

Low Risk
35%

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Vote Comments (13)
AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
22%
(Low Risk)
POLLING
48%
(Moderate Risk, Based on 318 votes)
Average: 35%
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
8.7%
by year 2033
WAGES
$131,860
or $63.39 per hour
Volume
41,390
as of 2023
SUMMARY
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
7.2/10
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.

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Calculated automation risk

22% (Low Risk)

Low Risk (21-40%): Jobs in this level have a limited risk of automation, as they demand a mix of technical and human-centric skills.

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

Some very important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Assisting and Caring for Others

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Social Perceptiveness

  • Finger Dexterity

  • Persuasion

  • Manual Dexterity

  • Negotiation

User poll

48% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted they are unsure if this occupation will be automated. However, employees may be able to find reassurance in the automated risk level we have generated, which shows 22% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

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

Sentiment

The following graph is shown where there are enough votes to produce meaningful data. It displays user poll results over time, providing a clear indication of sentiment trends.

Sentiment over time (yearly)

Growth

Very fast growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Optometrists' job openings is expected to rise 8.7% by 2033

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.

Wages

Very high paid relative to other professions

In 2023, the median annual wage for 'Optometrists' was $131,860, or $63 per hour

'Optometrists' were paid 174.4% higher than the national median wage, which stood at $48,060

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Moderate range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2023 there were 41,390 people employed as 'Optometrists' within the United States.

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

Put another way, around 1 in 3 thousand people are employed as 'Optometrists'.

Job description

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.

SOC Code: 29-1041.00

Comments (13)

Leave a comment
Bobby Steward (Low)
28 Aug 2023 14:46
Optometry is human centric
Alex Bay (Highly likely)
22 Jun 2023 23:36
Thinks about optometry and what it entails. It is based on machines testing for glaucoma, retinal scans, images, and subjective visual tests based on "clearer" or not. Similar to a radiologist, an optometrist will likely only be able to give a general recommendation, a general prescription for contact lenses or glasses, and if severe, referral to ophthalmologist. A technologist/assistant would be able to accomplish this without the need for an optometrist.

A limited number of veteran optometrists or ophthalmologists can provide oversight and "double check" the AI. I don't see where the future need for more and newer classes of optometrists will be needed, especially as AI and technological advances improve.
Ian James Pengilley (Low)
05 Feb 2023 07:10
Many cases 'break the mold' on behavioural cooperation/ feedback - it will be very difficult to automate Pediatric optometry - people with low vision, poor understanding or mobility will not give adequate feedback to be properly diagnosed and treated.
robotic worrier (Moderate)
04 Jan 2023 22:12
Ophthalmologists are safe, but I think the risk for automation of the optometrist specialty is being underestimated here given the advances in AI software which can detect vision defects, signs of injury, ocular diseases, and other problems with general health.
Reality Chk. (Highly likely)
29 May 2020 14:20
There are already provisional patents in existence for glasses/refraction kiosks. Add AI for the exam, a pressure check, and you’ve eliminated about 90 percent of what an optometrist does. Check out GlobeChek. There is a reason they are pushing to do surgery with weekend classes! (No med school required.)
Dr. Evil (No chance)
04 Feb 2020 17:40
This profession continues to change and adapt to new technologies. The role of optometrists in medical eye care continues to increase as 80% or more of ophthalmologist are needed to perform surgery, leaving only a fraction of general ophthalmologists to address the increasing need of medical eye care. If all optometrist did were refractions for glasses, I do see a potential for SOME automation. But someone is still needed to subjectively determine why someone isn’t seeing clearly which may not be correctable with glasses or basic contact lenses.
Kemo (Moderate)
31 Jan 2020 05:35
Refraction and diagnosis of diseases are already performed by machines. It may just be a matter of time, until advancement of technology, automation, and laws catching up, before optometry almost disappears.
John
23 Nov 2019 23:31
Disagree. Virtual reality eye tests using AI and machine learning may remove the need for optometrists.
Elle
30 Jul 2019 19:51
Totally disagree. Besides specialists, optometrists will be obsolete as online retailers and virtual eye tests will eliminate the gatekeeping of prescriptive glasses and contacts, which are 95% of the reason people go to the optometrist.
Alwyn
06 Dec 2019 18:09
I totally agree with you. I'm waiting for someone to build a kiosk powered by AI that will perform all the standard tests. Customers should benefit greatly from this since the markup on prescriptive glasses and contacts is why my optometrists with a supposed median income of 106k drives a Porsche.
Ke
01 Sep 2021 16:00
It took that optometrist an investment of thousands of dollars of debt to pay for eight years of college making little money while learning their profession. Not to mention the years it takes to build a practice and pay off their debt while doing so. How many people are willing to give that many years up to receive a median salary of 106k? If you want to drive a Porsche you could do the same.
Dr. Ian
05 Feb 2023 07:34
"FREE EYE TEST" is what caused the gatekeeping - I've never seen "Free Architects Plans" with every home purchased, or Civil Engineer consultations... The root of this is that people would rather keep their wallets shut and put up with sub-par vision than pay an Optometrist to really let them see well, under all circumstances, and deal with their headaches, squints and dry eyes.
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