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Optometrist assistant vs optometric assistant

The differences between optometrist assistants and optometric assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both an optometrist assistant and an optometric assistant. Additionally, an optometrist assistant has an average salary of $122,813, which is higher than the $98,734 average annual salary of an optometric assistant.

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

Optometrist assistant vs optometric assistant overview

Optometrist AssistantOptometric Assistant
Yearly salary$122,813$98,734
Hourly rate$59.04$47.47
Growth rate16%16%
Number of jobs48,461142,550
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 31%Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age3737
Years of experience1212

Optometrist assistant vs optometric assistant salary

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

Optometrist AssistantOptometric Assistant
Average salary$122,813$98,734
Salary rangeBetween $85,000 And $177,000Between $66,000 And $147,000
Highest paying City-Baltimore, MD
Highest paying state-Massachusetts
Best paying company-QPS
Best paying industry-Manufacturing

Differences between optometrist assistant and optometric assistant education

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

Optometrist AssistantOptometric Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 31%Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college--

Optometrist assistant vs optometric assistant demographics

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

Optometrist AssistantOptometric Assistant
Average age3737
Gender ratioMale, 11.8% Female, 88.2%Male, 9.6% Female, 90.4%
Race ratioBlack 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, 9.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 22.0% Asian, 9.8% White, 53.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between optometrist assistant and optometric 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.
  • Show more

Optometric assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage telecommunications, provide patient telephone triage and documentation thereof.
  • Utilize organization skills in managing business operation keeping Dr. Rivera on schedule.
  • Maintain medical records in accordance with HIPAA.
  • Administer vaccines, EKG and Spirometry testing.
  • Test patients for glaucoma and cataracts on NCT machine.
  • Assist physicians with injections, EKG testing, treadmill tests.
  • Show more

Optometrist assistant vs optometric assistant skills

Common optometrist assistant skills
  • Patients, 37%
  • Appointment Scheduling, 7%
  • Exam Rooms, 6%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • Eye Exams, 3%
  • Front Desk, 3%
Common optometric assistant skills
  • Patients, 36%
  • Appointment Scheduling, 5%
  • Customer Service, 4%
  • Patient Care, 4%
  • Visual Acuity, 3%
  • Blood Pressure, 3%

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