Orthoptist Career
Orthoptist Career
The Real Poop
It's one of life's biggest questions―what do you want to be when you grow up? Not that we can read minds or anything, but we're pretty sure you just thought, "How should I know? I don't even know all the kinds of jobs out there." Then again, that's what we're here for. We present a clear view of various careers so you can choose the right one for you. Maybe you clicked on Orthoptist because you're wondering, "What even is that?" Read on and you'll see what it's all about. See what we did there?
Okay, well you probably don't yet, because we haven't told you what an orthoptist does...but soon you'll see.
Orthoptists work with optometrists and ophthalmologists to treat alignment problems of the eye―crossed eyes or lazy eye―eye movement problems and various diseases of the eyes. It's a specialized field in which you help both your clients and the doctor understand the patients' condition and treatment options.
Orthoptists earn an average of just under $74,000 a year and generally work a standard forty hours per week (source). Apparently, puffing air in people's eyes pays well.
Not that shooting air into people's eyes is all you'll do...many orthoptists work with children to correct a crossed or lazy eye with exercises and eye patches to help them avoid surgery. Talking like a pirate is, of course, optional (though highly recommended). Orthoptists need to have great people skills, be highly knowledgeable of the eye, understand conditions or diseases of the eye, and be able to provide patients with a wide array of treatment options to help them understand just what's going on with their peepers.
To become an orthoptist, you'll need good science and math skills, a bachelor's degree (preferably in a science discipline, but any will do), and you'll need to get accepted to one of the two-year post-graduate training programs in orthoptics at an average cost of $3500 (source).
That may seem like a lot of money, but it's a whole lot lower than most post-graduate study. Once you complete all of it, you can work for an eye doctor's office as part of a team helping people see their world more clearly.
If you're interested, get ready to see your breath. Why? The top orthoptist programs in the U.S. are at places like the University of Wisconsin, University of Minnesota, and the University of Iowa. Brrrr. Make sure to bring some heavy coats. But, hey, what's little (a lot) snow and ice when your goal is to provide people with 20/20 sight?
After school, you'll enjoy plenty of job opportunities, the ability to live in any part of the U.S. where people have bad eyesight (which is literally everywhere), and, on top of it all, you'll earn an above-average salary for all your hard work and helpfulness. If you're eyeing a solid career field that can totally be outsourced, this is a great field to jump into.