Doing some research on the average salary or range for your job title is a good idea before interviewing for new jobs, hiring a new staff member, or entering an industry. We know you want to position yourself as an attractive practice for top-skilled candidates, so we're here to help.
We hope this can be a good jumping off point for any pay raise discussions or those who are opening a new practice. As with all salaries, these vary based on the median income of the location.
We used Glassdoor and LinkedIn to research these ranges. We suggest you check those sites for your specific city, state, or company. Let us know if you have any hiring tips or tricks in the comments below.
How Much Should You Pay Your Optometric Staff?
Optometrists
$147k national average
Our estimate is that your ODs should be making between $105k to $180k annually. Although this is a wide range, the salary expectations increase with years of experience and cost of living in the area of the practice. For example, practices that are able to charge a higher price for exams due to inflation can afford to pay their ODs more.
Overall, you should ask all OD candidates what their salary expectations are. Depending on other employee benefits, the starting salary or consequent bonuses can be discussed.
Optometric Assistant
$36k national average
Your optometric assistant performs a mixture of technical and administrative tasks that dictate their pay. Although we estimate their salary should fall between $21k to $36k annually, there is a lot of wiggle room based on experience and expertise. If your OA is well-versed in EHR and practice management technology or medical equipment, they could make up to $50k and even be considered a part-time technician.
Therefore, we recommend making all salary expectations transparent early on in the recruitment process and clearly communicated during performance reviews.
Opticians
$36k national average
While we estimate opticians earn between $27k to $40k around the US, we think this number could change based on commission and sales aptitude. As we've said a few times, opticians should act like salespeople. This could mean you offer opticians a percentage of all frame sales in addition to a baseline salary. While this is totally optional, it's an effective way to insure your frame sales stay at the level you need them to.
Office Managers
$50k national average
Your office manager keeps everything flowing, efficient, and optimizes processes that aren't working. We estimate they should be paid $34k to $57k, but those that manage large practices definitely earn more. Sometimes, your office manager can also act as your human resources, accounting, and marketing department, too. We suggest looking around at comparable positions in your area to see what salary they're offering for better context.
Billing Specialist
$42k national average
Medical and vision billing is a niche role that not many professionals can fill. Although we estimate your billers earn between $30k-$48k, their salary is definitely higher when they have years of experience in the eyecare industry. Ideally, you would want to pay your biller less than it would cost to outsource their responsibilities to external claim management services like VisionWeb's RCM. However, you have to strike the proper balance between an inexpensive biller and an effective biller.
Technician
$40k national average
Optical technicians should know their equipment backwards and forwards, but also be familiar with evolving and emerging eyecare technology. With salaries ranging from $27k to $50k on average, there is a lot of room for growth in the field. If you hire a newbie technician, you can make it clear that there is room for pay rises for those who adapt to technology and help with implementation or training for the rest of your staff. Having a member of staff who is tech-savvy is useful for your marketing campaigns, data security, and onboarding process.
Figuring out the best management style and perks and benefits can be tricky. Read our Staff Management ebook for some tips.
