Healthcare

How to become an Optometric Assistant

From no experience: every step, how long it takes, and the credential it earns.

Time to get there

2–6 months

Typical pay

$34k–$44k

Starting from

No experience

Pay is an estimate of typical US entry-level pay for this role and varies by state, employer and shift. The timeline assumes you are starting from no experience and includes any licence or programme legally required, not just course length.

The route

1. 1

   2–6 weeks

   Apply to an optometry practice

   Most hire without experience and train in-house; a customer-service record helps more than a course.

2. 2

   2–4 months

   Learn pretesting and the equipment

   Autorefractor, visual fields, tonometry — you run these before the doctor sees the patient.

3. 3

   3–6 months

   Take on insurance and optical duties

   Vision-plan billing is the part practices struggle to staff.

4. 4

   Certify if you want to progress

   The CPO credential is optional but it is how you move up, or across to opticianry.

   ◆ CPO (ABO)

5. ✓

   Destination

   Optometric Assistant

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