← All 785 jobsFile 51-9083
Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 2.2% more of these jobs by 2035, slower than the 3.5% average.
- Rank
- Joint #685 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +2.2% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $39,460 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 18,600 in the US, with about 2,200 openings a year
The work, 17 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
Still yours: Shape materials to create products13%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Position workpieces or materials on equipment12%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Position materials or components for assembly9%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain medical equipment or instruments8%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Inspect completed work or finished products7%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Clean workpieces, finished products, or other objects6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Read documents or materials to inform work processes6%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 51 conversations, and it got them there 88% of the time. In this job the work is hands-on, so AI can only assist.
AI helps with this: Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment6%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,656 conversations, and it got them there 84% of the time.
Still yours: Fabricate medical devices5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Select materials or equipment for operations or projects5%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 222 conversations, and it got them there 93% of the time. In this job the work is hands-on, so AI can only assist.
AI helps with this: Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance5%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 510 conversations, and it got them there 94% of the time.
Still yours: Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate cutting or grinding equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Join parts using soldering, welding, or brazing techniques3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Prepare industrial materials for processing or use2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate industrial processing or production equipment2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Remove workpieces from production equipment1%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 102 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 2,200 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
The jobs closest to this one. None of them is much less exposed.
- Shares 54% of the workStructural Metal Fabricators and Fitters6% AI does, against 0% here-6.2% by 2035 · $51,330 · High school diploma
- Shares 50% of the workEtchers and Engravers7% AI does, against 0% here-0.7% by 2035 · $43,310 · High school diploma
- Shares 48% of the workCutters and Trimmers, Hand5% AI does, against 0% here-18.9% by 2035 · $38,020 · No formal credential
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the Work front:
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.06, higher than 17% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 51-9083 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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