Eye technician vs ophthalmology surgical technician

The differences between eye technicians and ophthalmology surgical 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 an ophthalmology surgical technician. Additionally, an ophthalmology surgical technician has an average salary of $43,454, 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 an ophthalmology surgical technician are patients, field testing, and visual fields.

Eye technician vs ophthalmology surgical technician overview

	Eye Technician	Ophthalmology Surgical Technician
Yearly salary	$30,664	$43,454
Hourly rate	$14.74	$20.89
Growth rate	2%	16%
Number of jobs	6,948	33,527
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	2	2

Eye technician vs ophthalmology surgical technician salary

Eye technicians and ophthalmology surgical technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Eye Technician	Ophthalmology Surgical Technician
Average salary	$30,664	$43,454
Salary range	Between $20,000 And $46,000	Between $29,000 And $63,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between eye technician and ophthalmology surgical technician education

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

	Eye Technician	Ophthalmology Surgical Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Most common major	Biology	Medical Assisting Services
Most common college	-	-

Eye technician vs ophthalmology surgical technician demographics

Here are the differences between eye technicians' and ophthalmology surgical technicians' demographics:

	Eye Technician	Ophthalmology Surgical Technician
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 16.9% Female, 83.1%	Male, 20.2% Female, 79.8%
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 ophthalmology surgical 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.

Ophthalmology surgical technician example responsibilities.

Work daily with EHR, manual keratomerty, topography, pachymetry, visual field testing, macular OCT, and CCT.
Perform optical examinations obtaining patients chief complaints, demographic information and medical history.
Document medications, record allergies.
Discuss IOL options with patient.
Provide review/grammar correction of medical chart dictations for the doctor in the ophthalmology department.
Assist ophthalmologists in ophthalmic surgery, observe patients under anesthesia by using various health monitoring equipment.

Eye technician vs ophthalmology surgical technician skills

Common eye technician skills

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

Common ophthalmology surgical technician skills

Patients, 31%
Field Testing, 7%
Visual Fields, 5%
Surgical Procedures, 5%
Visual Acuity, 4%
Diagnostic Tests, 4%

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Eye Technician
Eye Technician vs Ophthalmology Surgical Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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