Optometrist assistant vs assistant

The differences between optometrist assistants and assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become an optometrist assistant, becoming an assistant takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an optometrist assistant has an average salary of $122,813, which is higher than the $37,363 average annual salary of an assistant.

The top three skills for an optometrist assistant include patients, appointment scheduling and exam rooms. The most important skills for an assistant are patients, customer service, and patient care.

Optometrist assistant vs assistant overview

	Optometrist Assistant	Assistant
Yearly salary	$122,813	$37,363
Hourly rate	$59.04	$17.96
Growth rate	16%	-8%
Number of jobs	48,461	557,900
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	37	50
Years of experience	12	2

Optometrist assistant vs assistant salary

Optometrist assistants and assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Optometrist Assistant	Assistant
Average salary	$122,813	$37,363
Salary range	Between $85,000 And $177,000	Between $16,000 And $82,000
Highest paying City	-	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Latham & Watkins
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between optometrist assistant and assistant education

There are a few differences between an optometrist assistant and an assistant in terms of educational background:

	Optometrist Assistant	Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	Western Carolina University

Optometrist assistant vs assistant demographics

Here are the differences between optometrist assistants' and assistants' demographics:

	Optometrist Assistant	Assistant
Average age	37	50
Gender ratio	Male, 11.8% Female, 88.2%	Male, 40.7% Female, 59.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 24.7% Asian, 9.9% White, 50.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	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%

Differences between optometrist assistant and assistant duties and responsibilities

Optometrist assistant example responsibilities.

Adhere to OSHA guidelines while performing instrument sterilization in addition to managing medical inventory.
Pretest patients on NCT, OCT, refractomotor, visual field machine, and retinal camera.
Check in and work up patients for eye exam, assist optometrist with retinal photos, glaucoma testing and basic refraction.
Perform require pretests for the Dr's.
Perform OCT scan of optic nerve, macula, and fundus photo.
Clean and maintain equipment and instruments in the optometric area, pre-test room, and restock inventories.

Assistant example responsibilities.

Manage circulations, including educational textbooks and DVDS, video technology and supplies.
Manage branches providing information technology support, logistics, training and operational support.
Manage company's twitter account and communicate with multiple physical therapy providers around the country
Optimize productivity in prioritizing and managing special projects, PowerPoint presentations for classes, and proctore exams for undergraduate classes.
Assist in jewelry design and assembly, manage company Facebook page, participate in wholesale buying, and manage retail inventory
Manage and update company Facebook page with daily updates, finding/sharing relevant and interesting information, and encouraging fan engagement.

Optometrist assistant vs assistant skills

Common optometrist assistant skills

Patients, 37%
Appointment Scheduling, 7%
Exam Rooms, 6%
Customer Service, 5%
Eye Exams, 3%
Front Desk, 3%

Common assistant skills

Patients, 27%
Customer Service, 13%
Patient Care, 8%
CPR, 5%
Sales Floor, 5%
Scheduling Appointments, 3%