Eye technician vs certified ophthalmic surgical assistant

The differences between eye technicians and certified ophthalmic surgical assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an eye technician and a certified ophthalmic surgical assistant. Additionally, a certified ophthalmic surgical assistant has an average salary of $44,864, which is higher than the $30,664 average annual salary of an eye technician.

The top three skills for an eye technician include patients, schedule appointments and medical history. The most important skills for a certified ophthalmic surgical assistant are patients, surgery, and in-office.

Eye technician vs certified ophthalmic surgical assistant overview

	Eye Technician	Certified Ophthalmic Surgical Assistant
Yearly salary	$30,664	$44,864
Hourly rate	$14.74	$21.57
Growth rate	2%	-
Number of jobs	6,948	59,884
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	2	2

Eye technician vs certified ophthalmic surgical assistant salary

Eye technicians and certified ophthalmic surgical assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Eye Technician	Certified Ophthalmic Surgical Assistant
Average salary	$30,664	$44,864
Salary range	Between $20,000 And $46,000	Between $30,000 And $65,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between eye technician and certified ophthalmic surgical assistant education

There are a few differences between an eye technician and a certified ophthalmic surgical assistant in terms of educational background:

	Eye Technician	Certified Ophthalmic Surgical Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Most common major	Biology	Nursing
Most common college	-	-

Eye technician vs certified ophthalmic surgical assistant demographics

Here are the differences between eye technicians' and certified ophthalmic surgical assistants' demographics:

	Eye Technician	Certified Ophthalmic Surgical Assistant
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 16.9% Female, 83.1%	Male, 10.1% Female, 89.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 14.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 5.8% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 14.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 5.8% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between eye technician and certified ophthalmic surgical assistant duties and responsibilities

Eye technician example responsibilities.

Maintain coating quality using adhesion testing and spectrophotometers, and manage coating hues and reflectance adjustments.
Collect co pay, enter in EHR, balance and close out dates.
Reconcile cash drawer and daily close reports to EHR at the end of the day.
Obtain patient's chief complaint as well as present and past illness, medications, and allergies.
Experience in assisting retina procedures, ordering supplies and medications.
Coordinate departmental activities while maintaining excellent relationships with all other departments, vendors, patients and professionals.

Certified ophthalmic surgical assistant example responsibilities.

Manage surgical scheduling, cataract evaluations, ultrasounds, keratometry, IOL selection, and preoperative exam for surgery.
Perform technical examination, testing and evaluation of cancer patients in outpatient setting and bedside.
Perform clinic work-ups/manifest refraction utilizing EMR, program and maintain laser equipment, clinical photography, and assist physicians during surgeries.
Project management and event coordinator responsibilities; Dr. Garcia hosts and attends numerous continuing education events yearly.

Eye technician vs certified ophthalmic surgical assistant skills

Common eye technician skills

Patients, 39%
Schedule Appointments, 5%
Medical History, 5%
Eye Exams, 4%
FDA, 4%
Exam Rooms, 3%

Common certified ophthalmic surgical assistant skills

Patients, 29%
Surgery, 14%
In-Office, 6%
Laser Treatments, 6%
Medical History, 5%
IOL, 5%

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Eye Technician vs Certified Ophthalmic Surgical Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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