As of June 2026, Optometrists has an AI-exposure score of 60/100 (Elevated exposure) on the AI-Safe Careers index, blending O*NET tasks, the Anthropic Economic Index, the Penn/OpenAI study, and BLS data. This is an estimate of task exposure, not a prediction of job loss.
Optometrists
More exposed than 66% of the roles we track. Median pay ~US$136,570. About 2,400 projected openings a year (BLS 2024–34 — growth plus replacement).
Pay & demand figures are US medians (BLS, in USD) — your local figures will differ. Your exposure score applies broadly.
How you compare to similar Healthcare roles
Your tasks, by AI exposure
- Prescribe, supply, fit and adjust eyeglasses, contact lenses, and other vision aids.
- Provide patients undergoing eye surgeries, such as cataract and laser vision correction, with pre- and post-operative care.
- Analyze test results and develop a treatment plan.
- Prescribe medications to treat eye diseases if state laws permit.
- Consult with and refer patients to ophthalmologist or other health care practitioner if additional medical treatment is determined necessary.
- Provide vision therapy and low-vision rehabilitation.
- Remove foreign bodies from the eye.
- Prescribe therapeutic procedures to correct or conserve vision.
- Examine eyes, using observation, instruments, and pharmaceutical agents, to determine visual acuity and perception, focus, and coordination and to diagnose diseases and other abnormalities, such as glaucoma or color blindness.
- Educate and counsel patients on contact lens care, visual hygiene, lighting arrangements, and safety factors.
No durable tasks identified for this role — its real, individually-assessed tasks consistently read as augmentable (80%).
Safer adjacent roles
Your AI-Safe Career Report
Every task scored with what to do about it · 5–10 safer roles with salary, demand & reachability · skill-gap map · a 30/60/90-day roadmap · plus a résumé & LinkedIn rewrite · PDF.
Grounded in O*NET + the Anthropic Economic Index + BLS — personalized to your role.
Workers with AI skills earn a roughly 62% wage premium — adapting pays. — PwC Global AI Jobs Barometer, 2026
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