Optometrists

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State of Alaska > Department of Labor > Research & Analysis Home > Alaska Occupations

Optometrists (29-1041)

Occupation description: 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. Ophthalmologists are included in "Physicians and Surgeons, All Other" (29-1069).

For an explanation of the data, click on the question mark next to the heading.

Career Ladder/Lattice

The Alaska Career Ladder/Lattice is a tool to help job seekers identify upward career paths and lateral opportunities.
Click here to see the career ladder/lattice for Optometrists.

Employment and Job Openings

	Average employment			Average annual openings
	2010 estimate	2020 projection	Percent change	Growth	Replacement	Total
Alaska	30	41	36.7	1	1	2
United States	34,200	45,500	33.0	1,140	1,200	2,340

Job outlook

Alaska: Alaska’s employment growth is robust with low employment opportunities. Read more.

2012 Wages

	Mean Wage and 95% Confidence Interval			Wage by Percentile
	Low	Mean	High	10th	Median	90th
United States	n/a	52.80	n/a	25.28	47.03	88.72
Alaska	48.64	76.96	105.28	29.24	76.82	(1)

(1) indicates an hourly wage greater than $90, or an annual wage greater than $187,200.

Labor Force Indicators

2011 Worker Characteristics
Total workers	Nonresident workers	Percent nonresident	Percent age 45 plus	Percent age 50 plus
35	9	25.7	38.5	30.8

2011 Potential Supply

Qualified but working in another occupation	5
Currently employed in a lower paid occupation	4
UI claimants previously working in occupation	1

2011 ALEXsys Employment Data

Number of registrants	7
Number of job position postings	14
Ratio of registrants to job position postings	0.5

2011 Alaska Licensing Information

Optometrist: 165 licensed View licensing requirements

Typical Entry-level Education, Experience, and/or On-the-job Training

Education: Doctoral or professional degree

Work experience: None

On-the-job training: None

Department of Labor and Workforce Development
Research & Analysis Section

1111 W. 8th St., Juneau, AK 99801
P.O. Box 115501, Juneau, AK 99811-5501

Phone: 907.465.4500 Fax: 907.465.4506