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Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric

Occupation · SOC 29-1241.00

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.

Also called: Glaucoma Specialist · Ophthalmologist · Physician · Retina Specialist · Clinical Ophthalmologist · Cornea Specialist · Oculoplastic Specialist · Ophthalmic Surgeon · Ophthalmologist Specialist · Surgical Ophthalmologist · Cornea and External Disease Physician · Medical Doctor (MD)

Job family: Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations

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A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch /roles/role-29-1241-00/context.md directly.

AI work map

A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.

44th-percentile task overlap — yet about 300 openings a year (+4.3% projected, BLS) . What exposure means →

AI & job outlook

What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.

Exposure to current AI

Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.

Measure Rank vs all occupations Percentile Score
LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Moderate 64th 0.8
AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Low 26th 0.1

OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.1), with simple added tooling (β 0.4), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.8). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.

How AI is actually used in this job

Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.

Educate patients about maintenance and promotion of healthy vision. 2.8%
Diagnose or treat injuries, disorders, or diseases of the eye and eye structures including the cornea, sclera, conjunctiva, or eyelids. 0.9%
Develop treatment plans based on patients' histories and goals, the nature and severity of disorders, and treatment risks and benefits. 0.7%
Provide ophthalmic consultation to other medical professionals. 0.7%
Develop or implement plans and procedures for ophthalmologic services. 0.2%

Job outlook

Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.

Outlook About average · +4.3% by 2034
Projected annual openings 300
Employment 2024 → 2034 12,500 → 13,100

“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.

Tasks

All 18 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.

Work activities

Knowledge, skills & abilities

O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).

Knowledge

Medicine and Dentistry 4.5
English Language 4.4
Customer and Personal Service 4.1
Biology 3.8
Administration and Management 3.6
Education and Training 3.5

Essential skills

Reading Comprehension 4.3
Critical Thinking 4.3
Active Listening 4.1
Writing 4.0
Speaking 4.0
Active Learning 4.0
Monitoring 4.0
Science 3.9
Learning Strategies 3.4

Abilities

Written Comprehension 4.3
Problem Sensitivity 4.3
Inductive Reasoning 4.3
Near Vision 4.3
Oral Comprehension 4.1
Oral Expression 4.1
Deductive Reasoning 4.1
Written Expression 4.0
Speech Recognition 4.0
Speech Clarity 4.0
Flexibility of Closure 3.9
Finger Dexterity 3.9
Information Ordering 3.8
Arm-Hand Steadiness 3.8
Category Flexibility 3.6
Selective Attention 3.4
Control Precision 3.4

Transferable skills

Social Perceptiveness 4.0
Complex Problem Solving 4.0
Judgment and Decision Making 4.0
Service Orientation 3.9
Time Management 3.9
Coordination 3.8
Instructing 3.8
Persuasion 3.6

Skills in demand

Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.

Tools & technology

Example Category
eClinicalWorks EHR software Medical software Hot technology
Epic Systems Medical software Hot technology
Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet software Hot technology
Microsoft Word Word processing software Hot technology
Allscripts PM Medical software
athenahealth athenaCollector Medical software
Automatic Data Processing AdvancedMD EHR Medical software
Benchmark Systems Benchmark Clinical EHR Medical software
Bizmatics PrognoCIS EMR Medical software
CareCloud Central Medical software
Cerner PowerWorks Practice Management Medical software
Email software Electronic mail software
Epic Practice Management Medical software
EyeMD EMR Healthcare Systems EyeMD EMR Medical software
GalacTek ECLIPSE Medical software
GE Healthcare Centricity Practice Solution Medical software
Greenway Medical Technologies PrimeSUITE Medical software
HealthFusion MediTouch Medical software
IOS Health Systems Medios EHR Medical software
Kareo Practice Management Medical software
McKesson Practice Plus Medical software
Modernizing Medicine Practice Management Medical software
NextGen Healthcare NextGen Practice Management Medical software
Ophthalmic imaging software Analytical or scientific software
simplifyMD Medical software
Vitera Healthcare Solutions Vitera Intergy Medical software
WRSHealth EMR Medical software

Work context

How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.

Freedom to Make Decisions 5.0
Contact With Others 5.0
Frequency of Decision Making 5.0
E-Mail 5.0
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results 4.9
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled 4.9
Physical Proximity 4.9
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate 4.9
Consequence of Error 4.9
Exposed to Disease or Infections 4.9
Written Letters and Memos 4.8
Deal With External Customers or the Public in General 4.7
Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls 4.6
Time Pressure 4.6
Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals 4.5
Telephone Conversations 4.5
Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities 4.5
Level of Competition 4.4
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team 4.2
Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers 4.1
Importance of Repeating Same Tasks 4.1
Spend Time Sitting 4.1
Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions 3.7
Health and Safety of Other Workers 3.7
Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets 3.6
Conflict Situations 3.5
Dealing With Unpleasant, Angry, or Discourteous People 3.4
Spend Time Standing 3.2
Exposed to Cramped Work Space, Awkward Positions 2.9
Spend Time Walking or Running 2.6
Spend Time Bending or Twisting Your Body 2.6
Exposed to Hazardous Conditions 2.4
Wear Specialized Protective or Safety Equipment such as Breathing Apparatus, Safety Harness, Full Protection Suits, or Radiation Protection 1.9
Exposed to Extremely Bright or Inadequate Lighting Conditions 1.8
Exposed to Contaminants 1.8
Public Speaking 1.6
Spend Time Keeping or Regaining Balance 1.6
Dealing with Violent or Physically Aggressive People 1.5
Exposed to Radiation 1.4
Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable 1.4

How to get in

Job zone
Zone 5 — Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Education
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Typical entry-level education
Doctoral or professional degree · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
Related experience
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Preparation level
SVP (8.0 and above) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.

What to study: Health Professions and Related Programs , Medical Residency/Fellowship Programs . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.

Education of current workers

Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.

Doctoral Degree 20.0%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate 14.0%
First Professional Degree 14.0%
Post-Secondary Certificate 9.9%

Interests & work styles

The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.

Work styles

Dependability 10.0
Attention to Detail 9.0
Integrity 8.0
Cautiousness 7.0
Intellectual Curiosity 6.0
Cooperation 5.0
Achievement Orientation 4.0
Self-Control 3.0

Interest areas

Health Care Service 6.8
Medical Science 5.5
Life Science 5.2
Social Service 3.2

Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)

Investigative 6.2
Social 5.5
Realistic 4.4
Conventional 3.7

Wages & employment

U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)

13k202413k2034 (proj.)+4.3% · About average
Projected U.S. employment, 2024–2034 (BLS Employment Projections). A labor-market forecast for the occupation, not an AI-impact forecast.
10th percentile $104,240
25th percentile $181,490
Median (50th) —
75th percentile —
90th percentile —
People employed 12,110

Industries that employ this occupation

Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.

Industry Workers National median pay
Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector 11,800 —
Offices of Optometrists · National industry 690 $232,870
Retail Trade · Sector 150 —
Educational Services · Sector 120 $80,000

Where this work is most concentrated

Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).

Industry Concentration Workers
Offices of Optometrists · National industry 57.59× 690
Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector 6.5× 11,800
Retail Trade · Sector 0.12× 150
Educational Services · Sector 0.11× 120

Part of the Healthcare & Human Services career cluster.

Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.

What you can do with this

Options the data surfaces for Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.

Skills that travel

Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.

Adjacent roles

Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.

Paths in

How people typically prepare for this work.

Zoom out

See where this work sits in the bigger picture.

Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation

Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric show 44th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 300 annual U.S. openings

  • Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric rank in the 44th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
  • The occupation is projected to see about 300 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
  • BLS projects employment to be about average (+4.3%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
Copy the whole kit
Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric show 44th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 300 annual U.S. openings

• Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric rank in the 44th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE)
• The occupation is projected to see about 300 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34)
• BLS projects employment to be about average (+4.3%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34)

Source: Singulariki — "Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-1241-00
Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.

AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom

Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-1241-00

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-1241-00

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-role-29-1241-00,
  title  = {Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-1241-00}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.

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