Optometrist
Give people eye tests to check their health and decide if they need glasses.
Also known as: optician
About the job
Salary
Source: National Careers Service
Weekly
£673
Entry level
£1,327
Experienced
Monthly
£2,917
Entry level
£5,750
Experienced
Yearly
£35,000
Entry level
£69,000
Experienced
1,700
people are currently employed
Low growth
100 more jobs in 5 years
These figures refer to this job and similar ones with comparable skills and qualifications. They only apply to Scotland. Source: Oxford Economics
What it's like
You would examine people’s eyes to check their vision and decide if they need glasses or contact lenses. You’d also look for defects, injuries and ill health.
You would:
Test and measure a person’s vision using instruments and traditional tools like reading charts
Make a diagnosis and advise what they should do
Prescribe, fit and supply glasses or contact lenses
Discuss the suitability and shape of frames for glasses
Using your knowledge of eye diseases, if you detect abnormalities - including conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure - you would refer the person to specialists or ophthalmologists (eye surgeons).
You could specialise in a particular area, such as:
Working with children (paediatrics)
Contact lenses – to advise people about using contact lenses
Sports vision - to help sportspeople improve skills like estimating distances or hand-eye co-ordination
Low vision – to show people how to use lighting and other aids so they can live with low vision that can’t be corrected with glasses or contact lenses
You’d need to be able to work with precision and understand mathematical and scientific information. It would be important to keep up to date with new techniques and instruments.
Some people may be nervous so you’d need to put them at ease. You may need to carefully and clearly explain the process and instructions, especially with children.
You can see more about this role in the National Health Service on the Optometrist page on the NHS Careers website.
Hours
Environment
Travel
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Top skills
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It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.
Here are some of the skills you'll need to do this job:
- taking responsibility
- making decisions
- developing a plan
- social conscience
- empathising
- researching
- written communication
- verbal communication
- listening
- resilience
Your skills are important
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Getting in
Explore the sections shown for more information about getting into this career.
You might have qualifications which are not shown here but will allow you access to a course. You can compare your qualifications by looking at their SCQF Level. For more information about this, check out the SCQF website.
Always contact the college, university or training provider to check exactly what you'll need.
Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:
Biology
Care
Human Biology
Physics
You need an honours degree in optometry (SCQF level 10), a Certificate of Clinical Competency and/or registration with the General Optical Council (GOC).
To enter a optometry degree (SCQF level 9/10) at Glasgow Caledonian University requires National 5 qualifications and a minimum of five Highers at AABBB.
Work experience in a related field is useful.
To complete paid pre-registration training for one year with a practice under the guidance of a GOC registered optometrist. You need to hold 2:2 honours degree and a valid Certificate of Clinical Competency (awarded at graduation) to commence the pre-registration training.
To be approved for membership of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme run by Disclosure Scotland
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