Optometrists
Job description
These individuals examine the eyes to assess eye diseases and disorders. They prescribe and fit glasses or contact lenses. They also recommend treatments. They are employed in:
- Private practices
- Optometry clinics
- Community health centres
- Rehabilitation centres for the visually impaired
Environment
- Controlled ambient temperature
- Equipment, machinery, tools
Main tasks
- Examine people’s eyes with specialized equipment.
- Prescribe treatments to maintain, improve, and correct vision.
- Prescribe and fit glasses and contact lenses.
- Educate and advise clients on various subjects (eye hygiene, preventive care and maintenance, etc.).
- Refer clients to medical specialists to treat certain eye problems and diseases (cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, etc.).
Advancement and mobility
- These individuals may specialize in various fields (partial blindness, contact lenses, special vision disorders, etc.).
Hourly wage
Not available.Job prospects for 2024-2028
Les 2 champs de sélection ci-dessous vous permettent de comparer 2 régions. Les données des régions seront automatiquement mises à jour à la sélection. Par défaut, la province de Québec est sélectionnée pour la première région.
Job prospects for 2024-2028
Job prospects
All of Québec
Good
All of Québec
Non available
Total jobs for 2023
All of Québec
1,500
All of Québec
na
Gender distribution
All of Québec
Not available.
- 72.7% Female
- 27.3% Male
Not available.
- 72.7% Female
- 27.3% Male
Job types
All of Québec
Not available.
- Full time
- Part time
Not available.
- Full time
- Part time
Yearly wage on 2020
All of Québec
$97,000
All of Québec
Other characteristics
All of Québec
- None
All of Québec
- None
Sectors of activity
All of Québec
Not available.
-
NAICS 621, 622, 62385% of jobs
-
NAICS 44, 4515% of jobs
-
NAICS 44, 4515% of jobs
-
NAICS 44, 4515% of jobs
-
NAICS 44, 4515% of jobs
-
Others0% of jobs
All of Québec
Not available.
-
NAICS 621, 622, 62385% of jobs
-
NAICS 44, 4515% of jobs
-
NAICS 44, 4515% of jobs
-
NAICS 44, 4515% of jobs
-
NAICS 44, 4515% of jobs
-
Others0% of jobs
Training and requirements
Formation
Most training programs are offered in French only.
University
Optometry
Bachelor’s degree
Placement rate: 89.3%
7.1% of graduates pursue further studies
Master’s degree
Placement rate: 100%
This discipline is taught in the following institutions:
Also required
- Licence to practise.
- Membership in the Ordre des optométristes du Québec (Quebec Order of Optometrists) to bear the title of Optometrist.
Main skills and characteristics
Skills
- Data collection
- Active listening
- Critical thought
- Oral expression
- Information processing
- Science
- Reading comprehension
- Written expression
- Social perception
- Active learning
- Judgment and decision-making
- Service oriented
- Solving complex problems
- Coordination
- Result evaluation
- Persuasion
- Teaching
- Systems evaluation
- Time management
- Mathematics
Abilities
- Near vision
- Deductive reasoning
- Inductive reasoning
- Oral comprehension
- Verbal skills
- Awareness of issues
- Written comprehension
- Information organization
- Speech clarity
- Written expression
- Speech recognition
- Processing flexibility
- Classification
- Digital dexterity
- Control accuracy
- Hand-arm stability
- Selective attention
- Perception speed
- Manual dexterity
- Colour perception and distinction
- Information processing speed
- Distance vision
- Basic numeracy
- Idea generation
- Originality
- Mathematical reasoning
- Visualization
Knowledge and attributes
- Diplomacy
- Autonomy
- Sense of responsibility
- Capacity to adapt
- Knowledge of customer and personalized services
- Capacity to work in a team
- Rigour
- Intermediate knowledge of the English language
- Knowledge of biology
- Knowledge of medicine or dentistry
Interests
- Direct, organize, and manage
- Self-employment
- Teach or educate
- Assist or care for people
Personality profiles (RIASEC)
- Investigative
- People with this profile prefer relying on theoretical knowledge before acting. They like observation, analysis and problem solving.
- Social
- People with this profile prefer to be in contact with others, in particular to entertain, help or teach them.
- Realistic
- People with this profile prefer carrying out concrete tasks and being physically involved in what they do.
Official name of the NOC 31111
Optometrists
Job titles
- Doctor of optometry (od)
Skill type
Health
Last update: January 29, 2026
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