Optometrists
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.
42,790 people do this job in the US. $136,570 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 20%
- 12%
- 68%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 5%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 20%. Today's estimate: 20%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 10 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 33% | 33 min21 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Prescribe, supply, fit and adjust eyeglasses, contact lenses, and other vision aids.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 23% | 29 min17 min to 42 min | Stays with people | |
| Analyze test results and develop a treatment plan.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 11% | 13 min8 min to 21 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Educate and counsel patients on contact lens care, visual hygiene, lighting arrangements, and safety factors.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 10% | 13 min8 min to 21 min | Stays with people | |
| Provide vision therapy and low-vision rehabilitation.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 7% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Prescribe therapeutic procedures to correct or conserve vision.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 6% | 21 min13 min to 33 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Provide patients undergoing eye surgeries, such as cataract and laser vision correction, with pre- and post-operative care.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min17 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Prescribe medications to treat eye diseases if state laws permit.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 3% | 8 min4 min to 17 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Consult with and refer patients to ophthalmologist or other health care practitioner if additional medical treatment is determined necessary.Done daily by most who do it. | 2% | 13 min8 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Remove foreign bodies from the eye.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 0.4% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).