Series 0662

Optometry

Optometrists who examine eyes, detect eye disease, and prescribe glasses and contact lenses. A doctor of optometry degree and state license are required. Most jobs are at Veterans Affairs and military clinics.

Plain-language description based on the OPM series definition.

0600 Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Public Health Group · General Schedule

See open 0662 jobs on USAJOBS Compare with another series Back to Series Directory

At a glance

Job postings, last 12 months: 129
Open now: 22
Trend (last 3 months vs. 3 before): Rising (+11%)
Demand score: 64/100
Remote opportunity score: 5/100
Veteran opportunity score: 93/100

What these scores mean

Grades and pay

Typical grades

GS-11 to GS-13

Most common promotion potential: GS-12

GS pay plan, used by 52% of this series' postings.

Typical posted salary range

$124,308 to $185,885 per year

Median of the yearly salary ranges in posted announcements.

Who can apply

Share of job postings in the last 12 months, by who the announcement was open to.

Open to the public: 81%
Federal employees and other special groups only: 19%
Listed a veterans hiring path: 19%
Telework eligible (open now): 5%
Fully remote (open now): 0%

Who is hiring and where

Top hiring departments

Department of Veterans Affairs (69)
Department of Defense (33)
Department of Health and Human Services (25)
Department of the Air Force (1)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (1)

Top states

Arizona (22)
New Mexico (18)
South Dakota (18)
North Dakota (14)
Florida (13)

Hiring patterns

Based on job announcements since Mar 2017. How patterns are calculated

When this series usually posts jobs

Postings are spread fairly evenly through the year, so there is no clear best month to look.

Typical postings for series 0662 by calendar month, compared with an average month
Month	Compared with an average month
January	5% above average
February	14% above average
March	8% above average
April	7% below average
May	6% below average
June	About average
July	About average
August	About average
September	About average
October	About average
November	15% below average
December	6% below average

Postings by fiscal year

The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. Fiscal years 2025 and 2026 include the government-wide hiring freeze that began in January 2025.

Job announcements for series 0662 by fiscal year
Fiscal year	Postings
FY 2018	151
FY 2019	136
FY 2020	113
FY 2021	114
FY 2022	154
FY 2023	172
FY 2024	152
FY 2025	121
FY 2026	114

Postings by month, last 12 months

Job announcements for series 0662 opened each month
Month	Postings
Dec 2025	2
Jan 2026	13
Feb 2026	10
Mar 2026	10
Apr 2026	14
May 2026	13
Jun 2026	7
Jul 2026	17
Aug 2026	9
Sep 2026	11
Oct 2026	21
Nov 2026 (month to date)	2

0610 Nursing 12,357 postings in 12 months
0679 Medical Support Assistance 4,719 postings in 12 months
0602 Physician 4,362 postings in 12 months
0620 Practical Nurse 2,718 postings in 12 months
0640 Health Aid and Technician 2,395 postings in 12 months

About this data

Job numbers come from the USAJOBS API: 244,223 job announcements opened from December 1, 2025 to November 15, 2026, plus 12,260 announcements open on November 15, 2026. Canceled announcements are not counted. Series descriptions summarize the OPM Handbook of Occupational Groups and Families.

These figures describe posted job announcements, not hiring outcomes. Always read the official announcement and its qualification requirements before applying. How the scores are calculated.