There are many clinical roles in the vision care industry, and it can be difficult to distinguish between them. The terms opticians, optometrists and ophthalmologists are sometimes used interchangeably, but they have vastly different roles.
In this blog, our vision care recruitment experts will cover everything you need to know about opticians, optometrists and ophthalmologists and the key differences between these jobs.
A dispensing optician is an eye care technician who assists customers in selecting suitable eyeglasses, contact lenses, or vision aids. They interpret prescriptions (given by an ophthalmologist or optometrist) and provide quality customer service.
Because opticians aren’t medical or eye doctors, they can’t diagnose or treat eye problems or diseases.
Some of an optician’s typical responsibilities include:
Opticians work in optical shops, eyewear retailers, and healthcare settings.
According to Indeed Salaries, the average salary for an optician in the UK is £30,516 per year.
You can find optician vacancies on the government website or non-specific job sites, such as Indeed.
Optometrists are eye specialists and healthcare professionals trained to diagnose and treat eye diseases, vision defects, signs of injury, and general health problems. Their main role involves examining patients and prescribing vision corrective devices, including glasses, contact lenses, and medication. Optometrists are sometimes called ophthalmic opticians.
Optometrists aren’t medical doctors, unlike ophthalmologists, so they aren’t trained to perform eye surgery. Optometrists hold a Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree and attend optometry school rather than medical school.
An optometrist’s key responsibilities include:
Optometrists work in a range of settings, including high street optometrists and opticians, hospitals, clinics, teaching intuitions and research projects.
According to Indeed Salaries, the average salary for an optometrist in the UK is £55,825 per year.
There are a few optometry recruitment sites, including The College of Optometrists website. However, vacancies can also be found on non-job-specific sites, like Indeed or Reed.
Ophthalmologists are doctors of medicine (MD) or doctors of osteopathy (DO) who specialise in eye and vision care. They offer comprehensive vision care, including medical and surgical eye care. Ophthalmologists diagnose, treat, manage, and prevent all types of eye conditions and diseases, such as cataracts, glaucoma, age-related vision loss or optic nerve damage. Because they have had medical training, they can also provide surgical and follow-up care.
An ophthalmologist’s primary responsibilities include:
Ophthalmologists can work in various settings but mainly in specialist, general or acute clinics and hospitals.
According to Indeed Salaries, the average salary for an ophthalmologist in the UK is £113,075 annually. However, an ophthalmologist’s salary depends on how qualified they are and the amount of experience they have.
The basic salary during foundational training ranges from £32,398 to £37,303. During speciality training, salaries increase to at least £43,923. As an ophthalmology consultant, they can earn between £93,666 and £126,281.
You can search general job sites like Indeed or Reed for ophthalmologist roles. Alternatively, you can look at ophthalmology-specific job boards, such as the ones on The Royal College of Ophthalmologists or NHS websites.
The main difference between these three eyecare roles is the amount of training and qualifications that are required. Here’s an overview of the qualifications required for each role:
Our professional and experienced vision recruitment agency can help if you're looking for a non-clinical vision care role.
At Vision Executives, we are experts in international vision care recruitment. Our consultants are dedicated to finding our candidates the perfect vision care role. If you join us, you’ll gain access to our global hiring manager network, which includes over 4000 professionals in 30 countries.
We have placed candidates in diverse roles across multiple companies, from sales representative roles in start-ups to director roles in 'blue-chip' multinationals.
Our team provides a clear, open and honest optical recruitment service. We will take the time to understand you and your dream role so we can find a position that’s the perfect fit based on your skills, qualifications and experience.
Here’s what our recruitment process looks like:
If you’re interested in our professional vision care recruitment services, check out our live vacancies on our site or learn more about what we do.