jobfacts

Optometrist

Optometrists — SOC 2020 2252

Ophthalmic opticians test patients’ vision, diagnose defects and disorders and prescribe glasses or contact lenses as required.

Also calledOphthalmic opticianOphthalmologistOpticianDoctor of optometryConsultant ophthalmologist
Typical full-time pay£51,0002025 Provisional
People in the job19,000across the UK
Demand for workersElevated
New adverts a month783↓ 13%on last year · 214th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time optometrists earn, 2025
£51,000 typicaln/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less thanNot published
25%Not published
Median£51,000
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £51,000
South West!£55,000
North EastNot published by ONS–
North WestNot published by ONS–
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
East of EnglandNot published by ONS–
LondonNot published by ONS–
South EastNot published by ONS–
ScotlandNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £51,000
South West£55,000 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
North WestNot published by ONS
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
East of EnglandNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
South EastNot published by ONS
ScotlandNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £45,000
  • 2024 £44,700
  • 2025 Provisional£51,000
↑ 13% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 783 jobs for optometrists are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as elevated.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (3 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026627
Jul 2026Not published
Jun 2026Not published
May 2026897
Apr 20261,168
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026789
Jan 2026811
Dec 2025420
Nov 2025683
Oct 2025886
Sept 2025764
Aug 2025695
Jul 2025788
Jun 2025913
May 20251,137
Apr 20251,150
Mar 20251,011
Feb 2025970
Jan 2025997
Dec 20241,009
Nov 2024690
Oct 2024738
Sept 2024719
Aug 2024881
Jul 20241,102
Jun 2024998
May 20241,133
Apr 20241,501
Mar 2024710
Feb 2024687
Jan 2024848
Dec 20231,053
Nov 2023879
Oct 20231,081
Sept 2023781
Aug 2023996
Jul 2023961
Jun 20231,525
May 20231,771
Apr 20231,063
Mar 20231,262
Feb 20231,110
Jan 20231,244
Dec 20221,010
Nov 20221,308
Oct 20221,229
Sept 20221,155
Aug 2022975
Jul 20221,236
Jun 2022862
May 20221,285
Apr 2022765
Mar 2022875
Feb 2022920
Jan 20221,023
Dec 2021642
Nov 2021778
Oct 2021838
Sept 2021874
Aug 2021484
Jul 2021712
Jun 2021543
May 2021606
Apr 2021541
Mar 2021726
Feb 2021517
Jan 2021672
Dec 2020683
Nov 2020498
Oct 2020671
Sept 2020598
Aug 2020622
Jul 2020536
Jun 2020505
May 2020464
Apr 2020785
Mar 2020778
Feb 20201,984
Jan 2020862
Dec 2019708
Nov 2019871
Oct 2019944
Sept 20191,647
Aug 20191,591
Jul 20191,638
Jun 20191,944
May 20193,058
Apr 20192,208
Mar 20192,707
Feb 20192,714
Jan 20191,616
Dec 20181,583
Nov 20182,410
Oct 20182,241
Sept 20181,214
Aug 2018871
Jul 20181,448
Jun 20181,249
May 20182,269
Apr 20181,368
Mar 20181,429
Feb 20182,220
Jan 20181,418
Dec 20171,037
Nov 20171,978
Oct 2017837
Sept 20171,376
Aug 20171,314
Jul 2017807
Jun 20171,060
May 20171,845
Apr 20171,465
Mar 20171,717
Feb 20171,064
Jan 20171,209
Is there a shortage of optometrists?
Elevated

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsWell above usual
  • Wage growthUsual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
21%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for other health professionals, which includes optometrists. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London207
Somerset45
Birmingham39
City of Edinburgh33
Liverpool32
Bristol, City of32
Wiltshire30
Cornwall30
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole27
Glasgow City26
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where optometrists are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 37 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from Nigeria, Ghana, Iran, ranking it 156th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of optometrists
n/p
42%!
20%!
20%!
18%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–3442% (small sample)
35–4420% (small sample)
45–5420% (small sample)
55–6418% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent107%
Other qualifications–
Not published
Show as table
Degree or equivalent107%
Other qualificationsNot published

Main employers: other retail sale of new goods in specialised stores (64%), hospital activities (27%), other human health activities (11%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
107%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

Routes in

You can get into this job through a university course or by working towards the role.

University

To become an optometrist you'll need to:

  • get a postgraduate master's degree in optometry, approved by the General Optical Council (GOC)
  • complete a pre-registration work placement for 1 year under the supervision of a registered optometrist
  • pass the GOC final assessment to qualify
Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English, maths and science
  • 3 A levels, or equivalent, including at least 1 science

Work your way up

If you're working as a dispensing optician, you could retrain to become an optometrist.

You'll need to complete an approved optometry degree and pre-registration year.

Volunteering

Volunteering in the NHS is a good way to get work experience in healthcare. This can be helpful when you apply for jobs or training.

You could also contact high street opticians directly for information on work experience schemes.

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks as you may work with children and vulnerable adults

Registration and professional bodies

Registration
  • you'll need to be registered with the General Optical Council
Further information

You can find out more about working in optometry from:

  • The College of Optometrists
  • General Optical Council
  • Health Careers

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for optometrist. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • examines eyes and tests vision of patient, identifies problems, defects, injuries and ill health
  • prescribes appropriate spectacle lenses, contact lenses and other aids
  • advises patient on proper use of glasses, contact lenses and other aids, and on appropriate lighting conditions for reading and working
  • refers patient to a specialist, where necessary
  • carries out research with glass and lens manufacturers

Skills

  • accept own accountability
  • adhere to organisational guidelines
  • advise on healthcare users' informed consent
  • advise patients on vision improvement conditions
  • apply context specific clinical competences
  • apply health sciences
  • apply organisational techniques
  • communicate effectively in healthcare
  • comply with legislation related to health care
  • comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice
  • contribute to continuity of health care
  • deal with emergency care situations
  • develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship
  • diagnose problems of the visual system

Suits people who like

  • Working with ideas and solving problems
  • Practical, hands-on work

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for health professionals, a group of 24 jobs that includes optometrists.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 19%about 310,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 20351.3 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.