Eye technician vs certified ophthalmic technician

The differences between eye technicians and certified ophthalmic technicians 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 technician. Additionally, a certified ophthalmic technician has an average salary of $43,658, 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 technician are patients, ophthalmology, and color vision.

Eye technician vs certified ophthalmic technician overview

	Eye Technician	Certified Ophthalmic Technician
Yearly salary	$30,664	$43,658
Hourly rate	$14.74	$20.99
Growth rate	2%	16%
Number of jobs	6,948	49,836
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	2	2

Eye technician vs certified ophthalmic technician salary

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

	Eye Technician	Certified Ophthalmic Technician
Average salary	$30,664	$43,658
Salary range	Between $20,000 And $46,000	Between $30,000 And $62,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between eye technician and certified ophthalmic technician education

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

	Eye Technician	Certified Ophthalmic Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	-	-

Eye technician vs certified ophthalmic technician demographics

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

	Eye Technician	Certified Ophthalmic Technician
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 16.9% Female, 83.1%	Male, 15.9% Female, 84.1%
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 technician 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 technician example responsibilities.

Assess patients and document medical history.
Have used the goldmann, tonopen and the Perkins hand hold tonometer.
Perform examinations and interviews with patients.
Obtain intraocular pressure by applanation tonomentry or tonopen.
Perform clinic work-ups/manifest refraction utilizing EMR, program and maintain laser equipment, clinical photography, and assist physicians during surgeries.
Comply with all HIPAA regulations regarding patient information.

Eye technician vs certified ophthalmic technician skills

Common eye technician skills

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

Common certified ophthalmic technician skills

Patients, 18%
Ophthalmology, 7%
Color Vision, 6%
Visual Acuity, 5%
Visual Fields, 5%
Allergies, 5%

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Eye Technician
Eye Technician vs Certified Ophthalmic Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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