Optometrist Salaries in Florida
Doctors of Optometry, better known as optometrists or eye doctors, provide a wide range of vision care services, including diagnosing vision problems, prescribing eyeglasses or contact lenses and providing other non-surgical vision treatments. As of May 2010, the median optometrist salary in Florida was $111,600, with 50 percent earning between $70,750 and $149,340, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Ten percent earned $44,480 or less, and ten percent earned more than $166,400.
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National Comparison
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Florida optometrist salaries were higher than overall national salaries, which were a median of $94,990, with 50 percent of optometrists earning between $71,630 and $124,610. Florida was among the top nine highest-paying states. The other eight were Alaska, Washington, Nebraska, Kansas, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina.
Salary by Metropolitan Area
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The Florida locations with the highest median salaries were Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater at $152,420, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach at $130,590 and the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach Metropolitan Division at $129,980. The areas with the lowest median salaries were Jacksonville at $99,790 and Orlando-Kissimmee at $66,490.
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Places of Employment
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About 25 percent of optometrists are self-employed, according to the BLS. Optometrist jobs with salaries are mostly available in offices of other optometrists, in offices of physicians and in health and personal care stores. A few optometrists work in hospitals, for the federal government or in outpatient care centers.
Becoming an Optometrist
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Becoming an optometrist requires a Doctor of Optometry degree from an accredited school of optometry. In 2009, 19 colleges of optometry in the U.S. and one in Puerto Rico offered accredited programs, according to the BLS. Admission is highly competitive, with only a third of applicants accepted in 2007. Optometrists must pass a written National Board examination. Applicants for an optometrist license in Florida must also pass a Florida exam.
Considerations
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Optometrists are different from ophthalmologists or dispensing opticians. Unlike ophthalmologists, optometrists cannot perform eye surgery, although otherwise the two professions offer similar services. A dispensing optician is not a doctor, but someone trained to fit and adjust eyeglasses.
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References
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