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Optometry Major

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Optometry

1,803 Doctor's Degrees Annually
$119,980 Median Salary

Types of Degrees Optometry Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many optometry graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level Number of Grads
Doctor’s Degree 1,803
Graduate Certificate 19

What Optometry Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to optometry and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Optometry Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

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  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
  • Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
  • Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Skills for Optometry Majors

A major in optometry prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

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  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • 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.
  • Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
  • Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Optometry Majors

Optometry majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

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  • Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • 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 Optometry Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with optometry:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Optometrists 17.9% $111,790

How Much Do Optometry Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Optometry majors often go into careers with median salaries of $119,980. This median refers to all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Median Salary for an Optometry Major  119,980
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Median Salary for a High School Graduate  ( 30000 to 57900 )
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250K
Median Salary for a Bachelor's Degree Holder  ( 45600 to 99000 )
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Median Salary for an Advanced Degree Holder  ( 55600 to 125400 )
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Some degrees associated with optometry may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for optometry careers below.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
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. 9.0%
Doctoral Degree 94.2%

Online Optometry Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 23 schools offered some type of optometry program. 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 0 0
Bachelor’s Degree 0 0
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 0 0
Post-Master’s 1 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 0 0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 23 0
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 0 0

Is a Degree in Optometry Worth It?

The median salary for a optometry grad is $119,980 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 201% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,601,600 after 20 years!

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You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to optometry.

Major Number of Grads
Nursing 66,964
Medicine 28,629
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 24,774
Public Health 19,473
Health & Medical Administrative Services 17,335
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 16,952
Mental & Social Health Services 16,815
Allied Health Professions 12,950
Communication Sciences 10,547
Dentistry 6,770
Bioethics/Medical Ethics 4,684
Chiropractic 2,658
Alternative Medicine & Systems 2,582
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services 2,481
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences 1,762
Medical Illustration & Informatics 1,747
Health Sciences & Services 1,746
Other Health Professions 1,261
Health/Medical Prep Programs 1,122
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science 954
Medical Science 909
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 462
Dental Support Services 122
Alternative Medical Support Services 80
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies 55
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies 37
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services 11
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 4
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies 0

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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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