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The differences between ophthalmic technicians and 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 ophthalmic technician and an assistant. Additionally, an ophthalmic technician has an average salary of $44,042, which is higher than the $37,363 average annual salary of an assistant.
The top three skills for an ophthalmic technician include patients, patient care and ophthalmology. The most important skills for an assistant are patients, customer service, and patient care.
| Ophthalmic Technician | Assistant | |
| Yearly salary | $44,042 | $37,363 |
| Hourly rate | $21.17 | $17.96 |
| Growth rate | 16% | -8% |
| Number of jobs | 19,063 | 557,900 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 41 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An ophthalmic technician specializes in providing eye care services to patients under the supervision of an ophthalmologist. Among their responsibilities include conducting interviews, taking notes of the patients' symptoms, conducting eye examinations and tests, administering medication, and performing support tasks for ophthalmologists during procedures. They may also set-up and operate equipment, perform maintenance checks, and maintain the cleanliness of work areas. Moreover, an ophthalmic technician may perform clerical tasks such as preparing and processing documents, answering calls and correspondence, arranging appointments, and assisting patients in filling out forms.
An assistant intern is responsible for facilitating administrative and clerical tasks as assigned by the management. Assistant interns' duties include keeping records of meetings, receiving calls and handling customer inquiries, assisting on writing reports and data entry processing, cooperating and providing support for business events, and adhering to company policies and regulatory procedures. Successful assistant interns must have excellent time-management, multi-tasking, and communication skills. They must be a team player and fast-learner to handle various tasks in the corporate industry.
Ophthalmic technicians and assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Ophthalmic Technician | Assistant | |
| Average salary | $44,042 | $37,363 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $62,000 | Between $16,000 And $82,000 |
| Highest paying City | Portland, OR | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Eye Consultants of Atlanta | Latham & Watkins |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Education |
There are a few differences between an ophthalmic technician and an assistant in terms of educational background:
| Ophthalmic Technician | Assistant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Biology | Business |
| Most common college | - | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between ophthalmic technicians' and assistants' demographics:
| Ophthalmic Technician | Assistant | |
| Average age | 41 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 16.8% Female, 83.2% | Male, 40.7% Female, 59.3% |
| 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, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |