There’s others on here that can answer this better than I can since I am still a resident.
The salary is good to great but starting salary has always been notoriously low. Newly grad comprehensive/general ophthalmologists can expect between 200-300k starting salary for private practice (for hospital based practice, it's usually higher but lower earning potential). The advice I get is that don’t let your starting salary numbers fool you! The better question is what can I expect my compensation to be in 3-5 years as partner. General ophthalmologists usually average anywhere between 300-500k.
Glaucoma will have higher starting salary and so will retina. Retina continues to be the highest paying subspecialty. John Pinto, the leading expert on the business of ophthalmology, has an incredibly informative lecture series on Iowa Eyerounds.
Mid career salaries for various specialties:
General/Cornea/Glaucoma/Refractive: ~300-500k (high volume cataract, refractive, MIGS can make >700k). If you are willing to work hard, you can make more (~millions). Glaucoma is in high demand currently and they sometimes have higher starting salary offers.
Retina: 500k to more than a million. Compensation that averages close to or more than a million is reasonable if you work hard. Overhead is less in retina than in other subspecialties on average.
Oculoplastics: Very variable but probably less than retina but more than General.
Peds: ~200-300k.
Keep in mind that reimbursements for all these subspecialties continues to fall. This is the case for all specialties in medicine, not just ophthalmology. With Medicare having a net neutral budget, a lot of the reimbursement for specialty care is being shifted to primary care. Primary care reimbursement is looking better and better every year! Thankfully, we do have out of pocket procedures that might safeguard us from declining reimbursement.
The job market for ophthalmology (especially comprehensive) has never been brighter. Jobs in both desirable and undesirable locations are wide open!!! There is way more retiring ophthalmologists than new graduating ophthalmologists since the number of residency spots has remained predominately stable over the decade. They need you more than you need them affording you better negotiating leverage at times.
Remember that being an eye surgeon is one of the best lifestyle specialties in medicine with very low burn out rate and incredible career satisfaction in comparison to other specialties. We may not get paid as well as neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, etc. but we do get paid quite well relative to hours worked - hence why ophthalmology continues to be one of the most competitive specialties in medicine. As aforementioned, our reimbursements do continue to drop but this is a theme across almost all other specialties. At the same time, it is our absolute duty to continue to lobby and be advocates for our field so that it continues to be a great profession. It is truly a privilege to do eyeball surgery and try to improve/save vision!