The Salaries for Optometry and Pediatrics

Education

Pediatricians, like all medical doctors, must earn an undergraduate degree and complete four years of medical school. During the last two years of medical school, students do hands-on work with patients under strict supervision. They get diagnostic and treatment experience in a number of medical sub-fields, such as pediatrics, psychology and internal medicine. As specialists, aspiring pediatricians undergo a seven-year residency program in pediatrics and, after testing, are board certified by the American Board of Medical Specialists. All doctors must be licensed in the state where they work.

Optometrists must attend a four-year accredited optometry program. Prior to admittance, they must pass the Optometry Admissions Test, which covers natural science, reading comprehension, quantitative reasoning and physics. Those who wish to specialize in a sub-field also complete a one-year clinical residency program, according to the BLS.

Optometrists make an average salary of $106,750 as of May 2010, according to the BLS.

The average annual wage of a pediatrician in the United States is $165,720.

Top paying states for optometrists as of May 2010 are Tennessee, at an average annual wage of $135,470; Ohio, $133,310; North Carolina, $133,250; Alaska, $130,000; and Virginia, $127,490.

The states that pay pediatricians the highest salaries are Montana, with an average salary of $234,940; Nebraska, $230,420; Oregon, $211,060; Iowa, $203,590; and Arkansas, $203,370.

Industries that employ the most optometrists are offices of other health practitioners, and these optometrists have an average wage of $104,460 per year, according to a May 2010 BLS report. Those working in a doctor's offices earn an average of $123,690. The average income for those in health and personal care stores is $103,010; for outpatient care centers $118,720; and for universities and professional schools $85,560.

Industries with the highest level of employment for pediatricians, according to the BLS, are physician's offices, with an average salary of $168,730. Those in medical and surgical hospitals earn $159,750; in outpatient care centers $182,090; at universities and professional schools $99,190; and at the offices of other health practitioners $181,010.