Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

79.2k

Average Age

42.3

Average Salary

$40,423

Average Male Salary

$47,525

Average Female Salary

$34,264

About

Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians are most often employed by the Medical equipment & supplies manufacturing industry. The average yearly wage for Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians was $40,423 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians by wage are Miscellaneous metal workers & plastic workers, including multiple machine tool setters, Bookkeeping, accounting, & auditing clerks, and Photographers.

Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians are part of the Production Occupations, along with Firstline supervisors of production & operating workers, Electrical, electronics, & electromechanical assemblers, Engine & other machine assemblers, Structural metal fabricators & fitters, Other assemblers and fabricators, and 55 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians are Murfreesboro City PUMA, TN, Irvine City (Central) PUMA, CA, and Elmore, Autauga, Montgomery (Outer) & Lowndes Counties PUMA, AL. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians are Murfreesboro City PUMA, TN, Anaheim City (West) PUMA, CA, and Elmore, Autauga, Montgomery (Outer) & Lowndes Counties PUMA, AL.

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians and on wages and locations for those in the field. Medical equipment & supplies manufacturing is the industry that employs the most Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians, by average wage, is Electronic component & product manufacturing, n.e.c. . Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians are paid most in Draper (Northwest) & Sandy (South) Cities PUMA, UT but are relatively concentrated in Murfreesboro City PUMA, TN.

Yearly Wage

$40,423

AVERAGE SALARY

± $2,701

In 2020, Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians earned an average of $40,423, $15,531 less than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Photographers make somewhat more than Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians while Miscellaneous metal workers & plastic workers, including multiple machine tool setters make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.319

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.319, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians.

Most Common

The most common industries employing Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians, by number of employees, are Medical equipment & supplies manufacturing, Offices of dentists, Offices of physicians, Health & personal care, except drug, stores , Offices of optometrists, General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, Outpatient care centers, Professional & commercial equipment & supplies merchant wholesalers, Not specified manufacturing industries, Other health care services, and Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians, by average wage, are Electronic component & product manufacturing, n.e.c. , Navigational, measuring, electromedical, & control instruments manufacturing, and Miscellaneous manufacturing, n.e.c. .

Industries by Share

79.2k

2020 Workforce

± 6,907

−1.56%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 12.5%

The number of people employed as Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians has been declining at a rate of −1.56%, from 80,449 people in 2019 to 79,197 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians employed by various industries. Medical equipment & supplies manufacturing employs the largest share of Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians at 36.3%, followed by Offices of dentists with 17% and Offices of physicians with 14.5%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians in the US. The average age of male Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians in the workforce is 43.8 and of female Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians is 41, and the most common race/ethnicity for Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

36.8k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 4,708

42.4k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 5,056

53.6% of Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians are Female, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians

White (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)
Asian (Non-Hispanic)

60.4% of Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 11.2% of Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians, White (Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians.

Age by Sex

43.8

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.86

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 1.59

The median age of Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians is 42.3, and Male employees are generally 2.81 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians is Health but a relatively high number of Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians hold a major in Parks, Recreation, & Leisure.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians need many skills, but most especially Quality Control Analysis, Active Listening, and Critical Thinking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians need more than the average amount of Repairing, Equipment Selection, and Equipment Maintenance.