Optometrist

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Perform vision tests and analyze results
• Diagnose sight problems, such as nearsightedness or farsightedness and eye diseases, such as glaucoma
• Prescribe eyeglasses, contact lenses, and medications
• Provide treatments such as vision therapy or low-vision rehabilitation
• Provide pre- and postoperative care to patients undergoing eye surgery—for example, examining a patient’s eyes the day after surgery
• Evaluate patients for the presence of diseases such as diabetes and refer patients to other healthcare providers as needed
• Promote eye health by counseling patients, including explaining how to clean and wear contact lenses

Salary: $103,900

Education Required: Doctoral or Professional Degree

Demand: Optometrists need a Doctor of Optometry degree, which requires the completion of a 4-year program at an accredited optometry school. In 2006, there were 16 colleges of optometry in the U.S. and 1 in Puerto Rico that offered programs accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education of the American Optometric Association

Reflection: Being an Optometrist is in my opinion, a job of people who like to learn about these things of science and the eyes. My type of work would be surgical and a little more complicated.