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Ophthalmic assistant vs eye technician

The differences between ophthalmic assistants and eye 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 ophthalmic assistant and an eye technician. Additionally, an ophthalmic assistant has an average salary of $43,217, which is higher than the $30,664 average annual salary of an eye technician.

The top three skills for an ophthalmic assistant include patients, patient care and ophthalmology. The most important skills for an eye technician are patients, schedule appointments, and medical history.

Ophthalmic assistant vs eye technician overview

Ophthalmic AssistantEye Technician
Yearly salary$43,217$30,664
Hourly rate$20.78$14.74
Growth rate16%2%
Number of jobs21,5596,948
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 35%Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Average age4141
Years of experience22

Ophthalmic assistant vs eye technician salary

Ophthalmic assistants and eye technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Ophthalmic AssistantEye Technician
Average salary$43,217$30,664
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $62,000Between $20,000 And $46,000
Highest paying CityVancouver, WA-
Highest paying stateHawaii-
Best paying companyEye Consultants of Atlanta-
Best paying industryTransportation-

Differences between ophthalmic assistant and eye technician education

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

Ophthalmic AssistantEye Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 35%Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Most common majorMedical Assisting ServicesBiology
Most common college--

Ophthalmic assistant vs eye technician demographics

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

Ophthalmic AssistantEye Technician
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 13.1% Female, 86.9%Male, 16.9% Female, 83.1%
Race ratioBlack 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 Percentage6%6%

Differences between ophthalmic assistant and eye technician duties and responsibilities

Ophthalmic assistant example responsibilities.

  • Experience with IOP, using Tonopen, knowledge of eye drops, emails prescription and refills to pharmacy, for patients.
  • Obtain patient history to include chief complaint, past ocular history medication and allergies.
  • Check intraocular pressure by application and tonopen.
  • Perform OCT, HVF, FA/FP tests.
  • Order labs, MRI, ect as necessary.
  • Perform OCT scans, and Fluorescein Angiograms.
    • Show more

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.
    • Show more

Ophthalmic assistant vs eye technician skills

Common ophthalmic assistant skills
  • Patients, 20%
  • Patient Care, 7%
  • Ophthalmology, 6%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • Color Vision, 5%
  • Triage, 4%
Common eye technician skills
  • Patients, 39%
  • Schedule Appointments, 5%
  • Medical History, 5%
  • Eye Exams, 4%
  • FDA, 4%
  • Exam Rooms, 3%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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