Takeover Tracker
35%medium risk
Opticians, Dispensing
vs

61 shared · 10 different

core competencies

41%medium risk
Ophthalmic Medical Technologists

Side-by-Side Comparison

MetricOpticians, DispensingOphthalmic Medical Technologists
Risk Score34.7%41.5%
Risk TierMedium RiskMedium Risk
Risk Percentile65th84th
Tasks at Risk (>50%)9 / 156 / 15
Median Salary$46,560$48,790
Employment80K174K

Skill Comparison

|

Sorted by largest difference

Medicine and Dentistry
Assisting and Caring for Others
Customer and Personal Service
Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
Monitoring and Controlling Resources
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
Documenting/Recording Information
Administration and Management
Thinking Creatively

Protective Factors

Higher values indicate stronger protection against AI displacement

Opticians, Dispensing

31%

total discount

Ophthalmic Medical Technologists

31%

total discount

Task Risk Comparison

Tasks sorted by AI automation risk — higher means more automatable

Opticians, Dispensing

9 of 15 at risk
88%Maintain records of customer prescriptions, work orders, and payments.
88%Prepare work orders and instructions for grinding lenses and fabricating eyeglasses.
88%Order and purchase frames and lenses.
84%Verify that finished lenses are ground to specifications.
78%Determine clients' current lens prescriptions, when necessary, using lensometers or lens analyzers and clients' eyeglasses.

Ophthalmic Medical Technologists

6 of 15 at risk
88%Take and document patients' medical histories.
88%Calculate corrections for refractive errors.
86%Measure visual acuity, including near, distance, pinhole, or dynamic visual acuity, using appropriate tests.
51%Measure and record lens power, using lensometers.
51%Conduct visual field tests to measure field of vision.

Wage Comparison

Ophthalmic Medical Technologists earns +$2,230(+5%) vs Opticians, Dispensing
Opticians, DispensingOphthalmic Medical Technologists
10th
$34,470$37,290
25th
$37,900$40,740
Median
$46,560$48,790
75th
$59,680$62,280
90th
$73,240$81,290

Premium Head-to-Head Analysis

Displacement Timeline Comparison

Opticians, Dispensing2028–2035
Ophthalmic Medical Technologists2028–2035
20242030203520402045

Opticians, Dispensing has a longer runway before significant displacement, projected 0 years later than Ophthalmic Medical Technologists.

Risk-Adjusted Salary

Salary weighted by displacement risk: salary × (1 − risk%)

Opticians, Dispensing

$30,408

from $46,560

Ophthalmic Medical Technologists

$28,547

from $48,790

After adjusting for AI risk, Opticians, Dispensing offers $1,861 more in risk-adjusted pay.

Transition Feasibility

1%

Skill Overlap

Low overlap — significant retraining needed for transition

0

Unique to Opticians,

0

Unique to Ophthalmic

Combined Protection Strategy

Regardless of which path you choose, focus on these protective factors

Regulatory Barriers
Creativity
Fine Manipulation
Decision Complexity
Opticians, DispensingOphthalmic Medical Technologists
Find transitions from Opticians, DispensingFind transitions from Ophthalmic Medical Technologists