Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Optometrists
Diagnose, manage, and treat conditions and diseases of the human eye and visual system. Examine eyes and visual system, diagnose problems or impairments, prescribe corrective lenses, and provide treatment. May prescribe therapeutic drugs to treat specific eye conditions.
Also called: Optometrist, Optometry Doctor (OD), Therapeutic Optometrist
- Median pay in Greater Boston
- $154,970
- $74.51/hr
- Jobs in Greater Boston
- 710
- Massachusetts 2024–2034
- +3.6%
- 60 openings a year
- Typical U.S. entry requirement
- Doctoral or professional degree
Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.
Pay range in Greater Boston
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $95,780 | $126,540 | $154,970 | $166,920 | $199,060 |
10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.
What you’d do
- Examine eyes, using observation, instruments, and pharmaceutical agents, to determine visual acuity and perception, focus, and coordination and to diagnose diseases and other abnormalities, such as glaucoma or color blindness.
- Analyze test results and develop a treatment plan.
- Prescribe, supply, fit and adjust eyeglasses, contact lenses, and other vision aids.
- Prescribe medications to treat eye diseases if state laws permit.
- Educate and counsel patients on contact lens care, visual hygiene, lighting arrangements, and safety factors.
- Remove foreign bodies from the eye.
AI and this job
AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.
Moderate exposure41 of 100
The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:
- AIOE 59
- Language-model AIOE 52
- GPTs-are-GPTs 13
Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)
Optometrists have moderate AI exposure, and observed AI use is little or none. AI tools may help with analyzing eye test results and supporting treatment plans. Examining eyes, fitting lenses, prescribing, and counseling patients on eye care rely on in-person skills. Massachusetts projects 3.6% job growth from 2024 to 2034.
Likely to change
- Analyzing eye test results
- Supporting treatment plan decisions
Still relies on people
- Hands-on eye exams and lens fitting
- Counseling patients on eye care
Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.
Training near Boston
College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).
0 programs near Boston (plus 2 graduate)
No programs below a master’s degree near Boston map to this job. Tick the box above to see graduate programs.
Related occupations
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