Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric
Diagnose and perform surgery to treat and help prevent disorders and diseases of the eye. May also provide vision services for treatment including glasses and contacts.
Most important skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Speaking
- Active Learning
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
Key knowledge
- Medicine and Dentistry
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Biology
- Administration and Management
- Education and Training
- Mathematics
- Computers and Electronics
What the work involves
- Provide ophthalmic consultation to other medical professionals.
- Refer patients for more specialized treatments when conditions exceed the experience, expertise, or scope of practice of practitioner.
- Develop or implement plans and procedures for ophthalmologic services.
- Educate patients about maintenance and promotion of healthy vision.
- Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams of health professionals to provide optimal patient care.
- Provide or direct the provision of postoperative care.
- Document or evaluate patients' medical histories.
- Prescribe corrective lenses such as glasses or contact lenses.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Investigative, Social, Realistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Post-Doctoral Training (42.1% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (29.6%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (35.8%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very high | Higher on contact with others than 98% of occupations compared | 99% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very high | Higher on dealing with the public than 95% of occupations compared | 73% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Lower on teamwork than 54% of occupations compared | — |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 99% of occupations compared | 100% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 95% of occupations compared | 79% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very high | Higher on conflict situations than 86% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very high | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 80% of occupations compared | 31% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 99% of occupations compared | 91% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: very high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very high
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 1.19%
- Constant contact with others: 98.81%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2022
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 1.16%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 25.84%
- Extremely important: 73.01%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2022
Teamwork
- Not important at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly important: 3.1%
- Important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Extremely important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 14, Incumbent 08/2022
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 0%
- Some freedom: 0%
- A lot of freedom: 100%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2022
Time pressure
- Never: 3.24%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 8.21%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 9.99%
- Every day: 78.56%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2022
Conflict situations
- Never: 3.24%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 3.64%
- Once a month or more but not every week: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2022
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 23.52%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 30.6%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 25.87%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2022
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 0%
- Fairly serious: 0%
- Serious: 0%
- Very serious: 8.95%
- Extremely serious: 91.05%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2022
Is this career right for me? Find jobs with conditions you prefer
Where people with this background could move
Find more alternativesCompare skills with another job
O*NET-SOC 29-1241.00 · SOC 29-1241 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8