Ophthalmic Laboratory Technology/Technician

What Ophthalmic Laboratory Technology/Technician Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, ophthalmic laboratory technology/technician majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Ophthalmic Laboratory Technology/Technician Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in ophthalmic laboratory technology/technician should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Skills for Ophthalmic Laboratory Technology/Technician Majors

ophthalmic laboratory technology/technician majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.

Abilities for Ophthalmic Laboratory Technology/Technician Majors

Ophthalmic Laboratory Technology/Technician majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

What Can You Do With a Ophthalmic Laboratory Technology/Technician Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with ophthalmic laboratory technology/technician:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Ophthalmic Medical Technologists	19.6%	$42,920

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Ophthalmic Laboratory Technology/Technician

Some degrees associated with ophthalmic laboratory technology/technician may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to ophthalmic laboratory technology/technician have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	2.6%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	34.2%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	27.0%
Some College Courses	11.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	8.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	5.5%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	5.1%
Master’s Degree	2.0%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	4.2%

Online Ophthalmic Laboratory Technology/Technician Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	1	0
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Ophthalmic Laboratory Technology/Technician

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to ophthalmic laboratory technology/technician.

Major	Number of Grads
Phlebotomy Technician/Phlebotomist	8,480
Laboratory Sciences & Medical Technology	4,067
Laboratory Technician	3,225
Sterile Processing Technology/Technician	1,333
Other Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science and Allied Professions	858
Blood Bank Technology Specialist	265
Histologic Technician	253
Histologic Technology/Histotechnologist	132
Cytotechnology/Cytotechnologist	123
Renal/Dialysis Technologist/Technician	122
Hematology Technology	45
Cytogenetics/Genetics/Clinical Genetics Technology/Technologist	43

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Staff Sgt. Jerilyn Quintanilla under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.