Optometric technician vs eye technician

The differences between optometric technicians 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 optometric technician and an eye technician. Additionally, an optometric technician has an average salary of $30,928, which is higher than the $30,664 average annual salary of an eye technician.

The top three skills for an optometric technician include patients, customer service and patient care. The most important skills for an eye technician are patients, schedule appointments, and medical history.

Optometric technician vs eye technician overview

	Optometric Technician	Eye Technician
Yearly salary	$30,928	$30,664
Hourly rate	$14.87	$14.74
Growth rate	16%	2%
Number of jobs	33,412	6,948
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	2	2

Optometric technician vs eye technician salary

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

	Optometric Technician	Eye Technician
Average salary	$30,928	$30,664
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $39,000	Between $20,000 And $46,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between optometric technician and eye technician education

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

	Optometric Technician	Eye Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 31%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	-	-

Optometric technician vs eye technician demographics

Here are the differences between optometric technicians' and eye technicians' demographics:

	Optometric Technician	Eye Technician
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 14.7% Female, 85.3%	Male, 16.9% Female, 83.1%
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 optometric technician and eye technician duties and responsibilities

Optometric technician example responsibilities.

Maintain coating quality using adhesion testing and spectrophotometers, and manage coating hues and reflectance adjustments.
Preform pre-test on patients, using auto refractor, NCT and OCT and fundus photos.
Identify, reference and apply insurance coverage and present financial policies and arrangements accurately to patients.
Perform and interpret OCT and HVF.
Measure eye pressure with Tonopen and tonometer.
Maintain accurate and organize patient records, including EHR.

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.

Optometric technician vs eye technician skills

Common optometric technician skills

Patients, 24%
Customer Service, 10%
Patient Care, 10%
Field Testing, 8%
Excellent Organizational, 7%
Pre-test, 5%

Common eye technician skills

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

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Optometric Technician
Optometric Technician vs Eye Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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