💡 Why it matters: Millions of people need glasses or eye care, and spotting eye problems early can prevent blindness.
🌍 Around the world
- Nigeria: Millions of Nigerians need glasses or eye care, and spotting eye problems early can prevent blindness.
- United States: Jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, much faster than average (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).
💰 What it can pay
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Starting out
- ₦2M – ₦4.5M
- Mid-career
- ₦4.5M – ₦10M
- Senior
- ₦10M – ₦22M
≈ ₦375k – ₦833k a month mid-career. Indicative estimate by Incusim.
🇺🇸 United States
Median pay; low and high are the 10th and 90th percentiles. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
🇨🇦 Canada
Annual wages (many optometrists are self-employed, so Job Bank shows annual rates); low/median/high. Job Bank (Government of Canada), 2021 Census
Yearly pay before tax. UK, US and Canada figures come from the official sources named on each card. Nigeria has no official salary survey, so those are our indicative estimates. Real pay depends on the employer, the place, your skills and experience.
🛠️ What you actually do
- Test eyesight and check eye health
- Prescribe glasses and contact lenses
- Spot diseases like glaucoma and cataracts early
- Refer serious cases to eye surgeons
- Advise children and adults on eye care
⚡ Skills you'll need
- Attention to detail
- Patience
- Communication
- Technical skill
- Empathy
Get ready at school
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Ophthalmic nursing or optical dispensing diploma
- Postgraduate fellowship in eye care
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Dispensing optician training, then optometry degree
- Work in an optical practice as an assistant while studying
🇺🇸 United States
- Work as an optometric technician or optician while studying
- Optional residency for specialty training
🇨🇦 Canada
- Optician or optometric assistant jobs for experience
- Few optometry schools exist in Canada, so places are competitive
🗺️ Your path to this career
- 1Study Physics and Biology well in school
- 2Complete an optometry degree at university
- 3Do a period of supervised training or internship
- 4Register with the optometry regulator in your country
- 5Work in an eye clinic or set up your own optical centre
⏰ A day in the life
You test a student who struggles to read the board and find that she needs glasses. You then check an older man's eyes for glaucoma and help a customer choose frames that fit her face.