Optometrists
SOC 29-1041 · 2024-2034
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.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
The job this trains for
- Typical pay in California
- $140,115per year
- Projected openings
- 4,840
- Projected change
- +22.2%
- Usually needs
- Doctoral or professional degree
Bright Outlook — a U.S. Department of Labor designation
Rapid Growth
The Department's own designation, made from its national projections. It is not this project's assessment and it is not California's: every other figure on this page comes from California's projection, which can point the other way and for some occupations does.
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | $170,378 | 40 |
| San Rafael MD (Marin County) | $168,866 | 20 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $162,805 | 340 |
| Vallejo MSA (Solano County) | $160,661 | 50 |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $159,154 | 180 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $158,648 | 300 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $156,809 | 20 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $153,399 | 220 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County) | $143,353 | 10 |
| North Coast Region (Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties) | $141,422 | 0 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $140,795 | 930 |
| Merced MSA (Merced County) | $140,210 | 10 |
| Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County) | $140,210 | 40 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $139,495 | 500 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $138,412 | 50 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $137,899 | 300 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $135,474 | 300 |
| Chico MSA (Butte County) | $135,115 | 10 |
| Visalia MSA (Tulare County) | $134,324 | 30 |
| Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County) | $133,050 | 70 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $132,763 | 90 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $128,685 | 60 |
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| The job this trains for | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency Medicine Physicians | Not reported | 1,730 | +10.9% |
| General Internal Medicine Physicians | $322,677 | 2,360 | +9% |
| Physicians, All Other | $289,473 | 9,800 | +9.5% |
| Neurologists | $367,076 | 410 | +8.3% |
| Chiropractors | $77,583 | 2,630 | +25.6% |