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Optometrist

Healthcare

Diagnose, manage, and treat conditions and diseases of the human eye and visual system. Examine eyes and visual system, diagnose problems or impairments, prescribe corrective lenses, and provide treatment. May prescribe therapeutic drugs to treat specific eye conditions.

Allied Health

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Examine eyes, using observation, instruments, and pharmaceutical agents, to determine visual acuity and perception, focus, and coordination and to diagnose diseases and other abnormalities, such as glaucoma or color blindness.
  2. 2Analyze test results and develop a treatment plan.
  3. 3Prescribe, supply, fit and adjust eyeglasses, contact lenses, and other vision aids.
  4. 4Prescribe medications to treat eye diseases if state laws permit.
  5. 5Educate and counsel patients on contact lens care, visual hygiene, lighting arrangements, and safety factors.
  6. 6Remove foreign bodies from the eye.
  7. 7Provide patients undergoing eye surgeries, such as cataract and laser vision correction, with pre- and post-operative care.
  8. 8Consult with and refer patients to ophthalmologist or other health care practitioner if additional medical treatment is determined necessary.
  9. 9Prescribe therapeutic procedures to correct or conserve vision.
  10. 10Provide vision therapy and low-vision rehabilitation.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • OD
  • Optometrist
  • Optometrists
  • Optometry Doctor (OD)
  • Therapeutic Optometrist

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. 2

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. Typical entry

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationDoctoral degree

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

BiologyDraws directly on Medicine and Dentistry — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
ChemistryDraws directly on Medicine and Dentistry — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Additional ScienceDraws directly on Biology — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EnglishDraws directly on English Language — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Additional MathematicsDraws directly on Mathematics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Medicine and Dentistry96%

    BiologyChemistry

  • Biology90%

    BiologyAdditional Science

  • Customer and Personal Service88%
  • English Language78%

    English

  • Mathematics72%

    Additional MathematicsMathematics

  • Education and Training71%

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
  • Leading or coordinating othersHigh
  • Handling conflict situationsOften
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
  • Noisy environmentAlmost never

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

0%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

Growing role in the US

US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, not Malaysian. Shown because it's the only forward-looking demand estimate we have for this job.

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post
See pay for a related career: Dentist

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Asasi / Foundation

One-year runway into a specific university: public via UPU or private direct entry.

12 months

Diploma

Skill-first qualification. Work after, or enter degree Year 2. Polytechnics keep it affordable.

2.5–3 years

Related careers

If this interests you, these are worth a look too.

About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Optometrists

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org