Healthcare practitioners
Ophthalmic medical technician
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.
Median pay
$45,570
Growth to 2035
+21%
much faster than average
Openings a year
11,800
Time to qualify*
12 months
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Ophthalmic medical technician
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- On-the-job training
- None
- Prior experience
- None
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Hazardous conditions
Exposure to disease
Ophthalmic medical technician: 14% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- 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.
- Measure and record lens power, using lensometers.
- Administer topical ophthalmic or oral medications.
- Conduct visual field tests to measure field of vision.
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
Outlook and AI
Ophthalmic medical technicians held 72,500 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 88,000 by 2035 (+21%, much faster than average; all jobs: +3.5%).
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