[Edit 8/31/2011: If you came from a search engine, you probably wanted to read my article on How to Become an Optometrist.]
I know there are many young people out there aspiring to become an optometrist. Maybe your sight was bad until one day, like magic, an optometrist outfitted you with glasses and contact lenses and voila’, you saw great. Maybe you think optometrists make a good living and your primary goal is to make a good living with minimal stress and inconvenience to your family life.
Well…kill your romantic notions of what it means to be an optometrist and focus on getting a better job.
First of all, what is the image of an optometrist? Perhaps you think it is overwhelmingly positive. Perhaps all of the optometrists you know have, like a clown, a smile on their face and a funny joke to tell. Trust me, they are crying on the inside.
Speaking of a good joke, have you noticed that every optometrist joke is a bad one. By bad I mean dirty. Trust me, don’t do an internet search for eye doctor jokes unless you like vile, base, worse-than-locker-room jokes. The only two clean optometry jokes aren’t even funny.
Seriously, optometrists have a huge PR problem. When ever we’re mentioned, it’s disparaging. Dave Barry goes to the eye doctor and his devoted fans use the comment section to crack wise. People on the internet view you as worse than used car salesman because you try to convince/sell them on the best (and more expensive) contact lenses and eyewear technologies.
Where is the love for optometrists?! Why can’t people respect their eye health enough to be glad the optometrist wants to dilate their eyes?
Doctor, “Can we dilate your eyes today?”
Most Patients, “No, I’ve got stuff to do today, so I can’t be bothered by with making arrangements once every year (or two or five) to have my eyes dilated. Eye exams should be like haircuts, in-and-out. It’s not like this is healthcare or anything.”
And that’s the problem. People value healthcare, but they don’t recognize that eyecare belongs to healthcare. They’ll pay their primary care physician what it takes to manage their kid’s allergies, but for their kids’ myopia, they’ll go to the big box store instead of the private practice optometric physician. They’ll buy their kid uncoated lenses and a no-name frame which only serves to lower his/her self esteem and get their lunch money robbed.
When I was in undergrad, we had a lecture series for students going into health professions. The doctor told the assembly, “If you want to be a vet that’s fine, but animals don’t pay the bills. People do.”
His point was that when faced with a choice to do an expensive procedure on an animal, they’ll opt for the cheaper option of putting it down; however, humans will pay what it takes to stay alive. The same applies to being an optometrist. Go into a profession where people value your services instead of complaining about the cost. Which is funny because optometry offers the best value for the healthcare dollar (according to Williams Group).
So people value healthcare, but they don’t value eyecare. Which is crazy because eyecare IS part of healthcare. “Vision Insurance” is such a bad thing because it makes people think that their vision is somehow unrelated to their whole body medical care. All eye exams should be under medical insurance, even if their isn’t a “medical diagnosis.” People get routine physicals and check-ups all the time without a specific complaint. Why can’t we do eye exams and be reimbursed by medical insurance without a specific complaint other than making sure our eyes’ health is fine and getting an updated glasses Rx?
I’m sure the dentists don’t mind that they’re not usually under the umbrella of medical insurance coverage. They have nice high fees. People value having a great smile. When the dentist does a filling, does he ask you if you would like the worst, cheapest metal implanted in your teeth? When I went in for a check-up, the dentist handed me a tube of Flouride and said to use this. In my mailed bill, there was a charge of $7. Did I contest it, saying I can’t believe you would charge that amount of money! I could have gotten it on the internet for $5!
Heck no.
So why the grief with eyecare services and products? How come people aren’t willing to pay what it takes for quality eyecare and eyewear?
Probably because there aren’t any big box dentists…yet. But why would the dentist go for the big box. They make good money. Optometrists go to big box because the money is there, right then, cash up front. If I’m new out of school and go to work for another optometrist, I might expect to be paid $50,000. Commercial will offer me $70,000-80,000, or if I own the contract of a busy store, I’ll get $100K+. Why in the world wouldn’t a new grad do commercial? Seriously, the only other alternative worthy of consideration is the Indian Health Service working as a PHS commissioned corps officer. If you do that your entire career, the non-contributory retirement more than makes up for not being paid as high a salary in the early years. The only drawback is living in a remote area, but if you and your family are fine with it, then you’ve got it made. Plus, IHS optometrists get to do real eyecare, not just refractions. If you want to diagnose diabetes and leukemia by looking in people’s eyes, then you want IHS. If you want to wear out your fingers writing prescriptions for eye drops and oral meds, then IHS is for you. If you want a full month of paid vacation, then IHS is for you. The patients actually respect you because they know you take care of their eye problems.
People in the city with an acute eye problem go straight to the OMD. It never even crosses their mind to come see you, the optometrist. Besides, you, an optometrist, are not even on their list of providers to see for medical eyecare because their insurance won’t let you, an optometrist, on their panel.
If the only reason you wanted to be an optometrist is because you want good pay and easy hours, then you are wrong on both counts. Pharmacists get paid just as much, if not more, than most optometrists- and they don’t have to sell stuff. The patients come to them with exactly what they want. Optometrists have had to expand their hours to evenings and weekends. Big box optometrists started it, and private practice copies it to stay competitive.
Do yourself a favor and be a software engineer, pharmacist, or anything else. Optometrists’ lifestyle will only go downhill. You’ll end up working Saturdays and Sundays, and during the week you’ll have to work every day until 7 or 8 PM. The student loans are not worth it. Pharmacists have the same pay without the student loan debt of optometrists. So do salesman. Do something else for your own sanity. You’ll end up poor and bitter. In fact, become an ophthalmic products salesperson. They make as much as the optometrists, and you can sell anything to an optometrist. After all, he/she was duped into becoming an optometrist, so they’ll be easy scores for your over-priced products.
Maybe you have had some bad experiences, but the optical industry isn’t that bad. My soon to be wife is an optometrist and loves her job. I know that it is an uphill battle for recognition and people seem to regard eye-health as something foreign to health care proper. If it makes you feel any better, I value what you, as an optometrist, do.
Al
Ahhh…Thanks Al.
I would never go to an Optometrist when there are opthamologists available. They’ve actually been through medical school and would be able to deal with more issues than an Optometrist.
I don’t say that to be snarky, truly.
Nicole isn’t being snarky. She is just uninformed.
I’ll be a little snarky, though. Confusion exists among healthcare consumers regarding who to choose for an eyecare practitioner because of people like Nicole that share this attitude of “ophthalmologists are gods and optometrists are devils.” I’ve met some crummy OMDs and I’ve met some crummy ODs. It’s up to the individual eyecare doctor the level of service and the specialties they choose to practice.
Look at our optometry school curriculum and clinical training, and you will see that an optometrist is empowered to deal with any condition an ophthalmologist can…except the actual surgery. The OMD is just my scalpel. If he turns into my punt returner, then it’s my fault, not my training’s fault.
Someone posted a comment that I accidentally deleted when moderating. The comment was:
“Why so bitter?”
Umm…did you not even read the post?
I’m behind is catching this, but good post. I beg to differ on the student loan issue, though. The PharmD’s (pharmacists) coming out of school are looking at @ $60-80K student loan debt, $100K+ if out-of-state or private school (or even worse, if both). The hours in retail pharmacy (CVS, Walgreens) are just as crappy, too, with standing all day, high volume stress, and patients waiting in line giving you the evil eye if you should have to take a restroom break. Pharmacy in that setting is seen as a convenience, so people think all they need to do is just drop off and pick up and that it should be done lickety-split. Of course, the drive-thru windows that some pharmacies have now just add to the “Burger King Pharmacy” concept (“would you like fries with that”)? However, as with optometry, there are some niches out there that some pharmacists can get into without having to deal with all that headache.
I fully appreciate your value, though. My sister’s an optometrist so I understand.
I have to say that I agree with everything in the Dr Langford’s blog. Just about all healthcare workers, including Pharms AND Rn’s get paid more than OD’s.
Actually he was being nice about it. It is really worse than this in California, where it is IMPOSSIBLE to find work. Full time job with benefits-forget it.
I am working into another field at the moment because it is so bad.
Optometry school was a total waste of time and money.
Holy Cow! Well, I would blame the crazy, communist laws you have in California also. I prefer to live in the land of the free.
My 4th year of oppie school, I looked over the board requirements for getting an optometry license in the People’s Republic of California. The rules are petty and ridiculous. They don’t acknowledge the training that modern optometrists receive.
i was just doing some research on Optometry, cuz i though it was interesting…
hmmm….so many negative remarks…
Man, I wish I would have read this 4 years ago…
Check out
Optometrysucks on Yahoo discussion group
Please see my post entitled I Don’t Hate Optometry.
you sound like you need a hug Dave.
I TOTALLY AGREE WITH DAVID. I’m an optom here in the uk and people gasp in horror when asked to pay £20 for a full sight test which includes refraction, funduscopy and any further tests that may be necessary, yet they will happily go and have their hair done, or pay £50 to get their nails done.
They come to the optometrist once in a blue moon and you can see the idiots running up to the reception deskdemanding to know why the optom is running 5 mins late!!!!!
These ignorant people just do not value the importance of a sight test.
12 years after qualifyng my basic salary is EXACTLY the same as it was when i started (and no, it has not gone up with inflation, so if i was earning £xx back then, I’m STILL on that same amount but now, IM NOT EVEN GETTING ANY BONUS because bonus scheme has changed from the number of sight tests to sales.
Its shamefull, disgusting and i’m extremely embarassed when i tell my friends. They have all excelled and earned promotion in their line of work and chosen careers but me, i’m going backwards and earning alot less in real terms than I was when i started!!
its a bloody joke.
Here in the UK, the actual sight test has been so devalued its unbelievable. These money hungry multiples like SPECSAVERS give out free sight tests if the customer purchases glasses. IT SHOULD BE THE OTHER WAY.
WORSE TO COME- we have retail managers that used to work in shoe shops, telling optoms how to do their job!!! unqualified, unprofessinal money hungry animals.
Hi there…
FIRST OF ALL:
I just went on a site for LensCrafters and looked at the job-posting. There is this website they use which is a national locator for ALL optometry jobs in the US and Canada. They’ll take all optical companies such as Sears Optical, Target Optical, LensCrafters and Pearle Vision and combine them all to find optometrists full-time or part-time work. They also have them listed in alphabetical order in states and specific cities. I was like wow this is excellent. At first, I thought everyone was talking a LOT of bull****.
Then I was thinking about the statistics. I personally went down this list of all open-positions and counted how many part-time positions were available and then how many full-time positions were available.
I found out there were 175 open positions. 59 were full-time positions and 116 were part-time. I was like DAMN… that means on that list, 33% percent were only full-time. Another good friend of mine is also in optometry school and I asked him what his plans were after school… and he said he might try to do his own practice which is risky since he is coming out with a massive educational loan debt. An ex-gf of mine is graduating this year from optometry school and I asked her what she was doing and she said she might do the whole retail optometry thing for a little, then maybe find a partner and MAYBE start her own practice.
I was browsing around for possible jobs when I do graduate in 2 years and I just wanted to see if these claims were accurate. Man, I think you are right about the job possibilites. You would have to work at 2 or 3 different locations to make a decent salary. I don’t mind working at a few different locations as long as I am being compensated for it, but it could get really annoying to do that. It makes me feel that I am being pulled back and forth to different locations.
I worked retail when I was a kid, but I went to optometry school to work with real mature professionals and other scientists. But the thought of working in a mall optometry store with teenaged kids who are volunteering there is not appealing to me at all. The stores look great and all, but the thing is that I don’t want to tell people that I work retail optometry.
We have gone through real tough science courses, let alone the science courses and testing (OAT) we had to take to get to optometry school, and now I feel like I am back to working retail again.
Another thing that I noticed of all the 175 job opening, which is VERY small amount, is the concept of over-saturation of the market. There are 17 optometry schools and I heard they were going to open 4 more schools of optometry. We are already going to be competeing with the already well-established optometrists who have built a solid patient base and we are already competing with each other as new graduates for whatever open positions there are. We also have to think about the brand new gradutes that will be coming out of school EVERY year! There are already 33,000 practicing optometrists right now in the USA. The average class size may be at least 150 students a year and now multiply that by 17 schools.
150 x 17 = 2,550 at the minimum a year. Some schools carry more. Add another 4 schools to that with a class of 150 students then that number increases to 3,155 annual graduates. In a decade, we will have another 30,000 graduates. So of course it is already becoming over-satured which will make it harder too find work, let alone part-time work. I know there are older optometrists retiring because of age or other reasons, but we are still graduating more students than there are openings or people retiring.
I just called some local retail eye glass stores just NOW and pretty much all of them either said they have no opening right now or they just don’t know if they have openings at the moment. They told me to come by and fill out an application and they will forward it to other doctors or the managers.
Even the managers who manage us in retail are not clinicians and they determine who we see, what to do and where to work! Why it MAY seem better to either franchise your place from corporate OR you can start your practice from scratch as a solo person or with a group. I have noticed things wrong:
Franchise = half your sales will go to corporate and you still have to maintain the place yourself with your OWN money and then corporate will re-imburse you for the costs of maintanence and bills to keep the establishment operational. But you are responsible for everything from hiring your own staff and so on.
Solo practice = have to get your own marketing, sales, accounting, financing is expensive, paying the lease, and utilities for the place and so on. Even if you have your own solo practice you WILL be competing with other optometrist offices out there along with the WORST competition. That is the big time corporations that will promise cheaper eye examinations and products. The average American consumer wants to get in, get checked, purchase and get out. I know I do. If you provide an option to a patient they will just say well I’ll go to an opthomologist or their general practitioner.
The most annoying yet truth is that you might have to be working corporate retail for awhile or maybe for a good long time. That way you get paid…pay down the debt and get benefits along with it, again hopefully you land a job right away.
IN OTHER TOPICS:
Also, the lack of respect that optometrists get when being compared to opthomalogists. I know that we are pushing for more practicing rights in Congress. My friend was also telling me how some opthamologist or a group of opthamologists are trying to pass a bill to get rid of the field of optometry as a whole!!!! Which I know will never pass, since I know opthamologists would never do retail work. I could never imagine talking to an MD and him telling me to come see him at my local LensCrafters or Sears Optical. I do agree that optometry has and is becoming more of what pharmacy is. It is all corporate. I think pharmacy have it worse since it is impossible for them to start their own pharmacy practice, so they are stuck doing retail pharmacy unless they work doing research for Pfizer or something.
Since optometrists are known for working in retail environment, they are associated as being just employees and not doctors. The title is there in front of the name, BUT they don’t get that respect. Lots of your sales are primarily reliant on SELLING! Selling glasses, contacts and eye care products. Most of the prophets will not be on just doing eye examinations and refractions.
Optometrists are PRIMARY eye-care doctors so we KNOW that we cannot treat everything, but we are supposed to be the forefront of diagnosing, prescribing and treating. We do VERY basic eye procedures, if allowable and now I heard we got permission to prescribe oral medications. If we cannot do our work, then we can recommend them to go see an opthamologist or general practicioner.
Opthamologists think that we are trying to take their jobs away when in actuality we help them even get more business, but we just take our cut too by doing the basic work and then if needed we provide references. We realize that we are a team of eye care professionals and we should not be working against each other. But that’s NOT the problem of optometry it’s simple capitalism! Everything is competition to make more money.
I heard that opthamoligists have been getting fed up with the field of optometry and would say that if we wanted more rights for medications and surgeries then we should have gone to medical schools and became actual physicians.
CONCLUSION
I told my friend it does get me a little worried about finding work right now. I mean our income could also be hurting since it depends on our sales too. They can get an eye exam and then go to 1-800-CONTACTS for their merchandise, or even go to CostCo or WalMart for cheaper merchandise. We are a sales driven profession. We are also trying to get on more insurance panels as well.
My mom is also a prime example of how consumers are. At For Eyes they charge $75.00 for an eye exam where at VisionWorks they charge about $40.00. It’s not hard math, you’re going to stop going to ForEyes and switch on over easily. There is no customer/patient loyalty. We are a dime a dozen and the customer will find someone else.
I mean my prescription has not changed in 4 years and vision insurance is the cheapest expense. I even say that if my prescription has not changed in 4 years… they most likely won’t change anymore. But I still need the test to get what I want… whether a new contact design or some cool glasses.
I respect the profession, since I am in it…. but I am also a consumer and have to know that as a consumer you still want better rates and not pay as much.
I also looked into California and YES they are very over-satured so there is not that freedom that people think there is to practice anywhere you want to.
Holy long comment, Batman. If you want to put all that time into it, you can have your own blog, link to this page, and it will show up in this comment list as a trackback.
But the aforementioned technical stuff in no way takes away from your content. Well said.
But I am willing to bet that all career fields look saturated in most markets. I mean, who needs another hair salon or pizza place in their town? There’s already an over abundance of those, yet more keep popping up. Somebody is going to have to go out of business if there is truly over saturation, so my bet is that it will be the one who is perceived the most over-priced, least liked, and/or most inconvenient.
But remember what Rush says. Capitalism isn’t a zero sum game. In a free market, the pie keeps getting bigger. If we could only put government back in its place, like Reagan did, we could all grow.
I am in the process of applying for Fall 2010, and I must say this blog made me pause and think – am I making the right choice? But, there is nothing else that I am interested in, besides eyes. So, it’s either optometry or opthalmology, and the later one is so much longer, with so much more debt to accumulate. Forget it! Optometry it is – beats selling Rxn drugs, if you ask me.
Optometry is a wonderful career if you have the right mindset.
Check out my website to actually see some POSITIVE stuff about being an optometry student.
http://www.OptometryStudents.com
Being a student rocks!!!
To bad we all have to move on and make a living…
Hey I’m currently in the process of applying (studying for the OAT and gonna apply in the fall), so I still have time to change my mind. Honeslty, I wasn’t completely sure about what I saw from my shadowing and working at a private office, but the ODs were all such great ppl that I was inspired, and I bought into it for the flexibility and lifestyle. But after reading some of the stuff seasoned ODs (albeit bitter ones too) have said, I’m having serious doubts. PLease answer as honestly as you can, knowing what you know now, would you apply again in today’s economy/healthcare reform/increasing continuing edu hrs, etc…(Oh, and I live in CA). And what advice would you tell your 23 year-old daughter if she wanted to do optometry c/o 2015? I appreciate any feedback!!
@Mary
I would tell my daughter that I’m not sure why she’s spending loads and loads of money on getting a doctorate when her primary goal is to be a full-time, stay-at-home Mom. Her husband better start providing better for her family, or I’m gonna kick his butt. If she’s not married yet, there are plenty of career opportunities with only a cheap bachelor’s degree which allow her to live a comfortable life until her prince comes.
But in your case, I would say being an eye doctor is great as long as you like that sort of thing. Being an optical retailer is not the same thing as being an eye doctor, so if you dislike retailing (and all the slick optical vendors) like I do then steer clear of private practice and work for government (VA, IHS, .mil), chains, OMD, or Walmart.
Hey, I’m currently in the process of studying for the OAT and applying for Fall of 2011. You are right on track with the other optometrists that I have shadowed. They all said they’d have done something other than optometry given the chance again. This blog and their comments have pretty much turned my world upside down. I’ve got a Bio degree and lots of optometry related extra-curriculars. I’ve been studying for months for this test. Like Mary said above, I am very unsure about everything now. In this case, I’m the man and husband to a kindergarten teacher. And yes, I bought into the flexability and lifestyle too. I hate sales!!!!! My only business advice from my dad: don’t go into sales!!!! If I’m not doing optometry, I don’t know where to throw my Bio degree. What should I do? Oh, did I mention, I hate sales.
Wow. I was considering being an optometrist but ehhh…
That doesn’t sound so bad! Although, thank you! I was just regretting not doing it, and this is what I needed to hear!Although seriously, you could totally get baked every day for the rest of your life and go to work(“1 or 2, 2 or 1″), if that’s what you’re into!
I have to say I can’t believe there are not more disappointed optometry grads out there. I have been out of school going on two years now, and guess “lucky” to have found some FT corporate work, although the hours required me to work EVERY Saturday and Sunday for the past year. My weekday hours require me to stay until at least 7pm, and then I live an hour away since I am from a more rural area. I am very unhappy with the choice. It looks great to have a degree that says you are a doctor, but you almost feel like a failure anyways the way you are treated professionally. However, with a lifetime of loans in front of us, I guess I should count my blessings for making a living and making ends meet!
in the real world most people do have to work non-traditional hours. hearing you guys complain about having to work to 7 in the evening is actually quite funny. And a saturday! The horrors. *eye roll* You all really sound like whiney little brats because you have to put in a full days work. I’m a business owner and my spouse hold an uppper managment position at a large natiional company. We work those kinds of hours all the time. Suck it up, put on your big boy underware, and welcome to adulthood.
I’m an optometrist and I love my job! I work in a corporate setting, but 10% of my income comes from medical visits. I get many referrals from past patients for other ocular emergencies/diseases. I make good money and I have very flexible hours. The latest I work is 6pm and I make six figures. And I agree, when patients come in they “look down” on our profession. But during the exam, their minds are changed because I have given them a efficient and educational exam. Maybe I am one of the lucky few to have such good fortune. But I am glad that I can change a person’s view on optometry as a whole, a few at a time.
My advice as an optometrist in uk…..,,, do dentistry!
Optometry’s PR problem comes from optometrists themselves. We have no standard of care that we, as doctors of optometry, adhere to across the board. We let chain employers dictate what we do. The chains don’t tell you specifics. They’re smarter than that. It’s usually put in these terms: “Doctor, you can do whatever you want to do, but you have to see at least 100 patients a week and never turn anyone away.” Sometimes it is more subtle. If you’re not seeing the unwritten number of patients that the chain wants you to, you’re fired. They let the doctor take on all the malpractice liablity and personal heartache if something goes wrong. As one young doctor who works for a chain told me at a recent educational, “There isn’t time to dilate.” As long as ODs continue to let themselves be exploited we will continue to be viewed as less than doctors. Why should the public view our education any more valuable than we do? By the way if you’re not dilating, you’re missing disease. That’s a fact. True story: About fifteen years ago I had a patient return to my practice who had retired and moved away. One day he came into town to visit family. He decided to have me check his eyes at the same time. He told my assistant he didn’t want to be dilated. I asked him how long it had been since his last dilation. He said it had been the last time I saw him, about seven years prior. He said that he had been going to one of the chain stores and “they don’t dilate.” I convinced him to let me dilate him. He had an unmistakable choroidal melanoma in the mid-peripheral retina of one eye. Without dilation I would have missed it, just like the chain OD had. I have seen three choroidal melanomas during twenty-three years of practice. The first I missed because it was at a time when dilation was illegal for optometry in my state. I was fortunate enough that the tumor was large enough to distort the macula. The BCVA in that eye was 20/25 for no apparent reason. I referred the patient on that basis alone. If you are an optometrist, ask yourself if you would have done the same. Why did I miss the cancer? On subsequent visits with dilation I realized the tumor was so large that with direct ophthalmoscopy it was like trying to find an elephant by standing next to it and using only a magnifying glass. I think of that young OD at the education who said there wasn’t time to dilate. Oddly enough, the conference dealt mostly with the peripheral retina. Other than needing the CEUs for her relicensure, the information seemed to be irrelevant for her.
I totally agree with Dave OD. I stopped working for Lenscrafters because it felt wrong. They wanted us to “prescribe” these lutein zeazanthin supplements to anyone over 21 scoring an MPOD of 0.45 or lower. I would recommend it to anyone with other risk factors (older folks, people with a family history) it was just really deceptive. It’s getting rolled out in NorCal and it’s really depressing me. I mean what do I know I’m a newer doc, but my research project was actually on MPOD (with the same quantifeye by zeavision thing theyre installing in every store) and I know one test point isn’t enough to say you have a high risk of getting mac degen. I hear other older docs make people feel like they’re going to go blind unless they take it. I don’t blame them because they have families and mortgages and it’s another new technology they’re just being team players doing what corporate says. Got out and took a risk starting my own practice.
Anyway that’s just my opinion.
Hospital pharmacist here. I nearly became an optometrist, and I thought about it even after getting my PharmD. I have always had respect for optometrists, and I am disappointed to hear about all the depressing reports from the field. This kind of talk goes on in pharmacy too.
Let’s quit listening to what others think. Just BE a professional. Face your vision of how you want things to be. Remember your dream from college and savor those ideals that got you interested in becoming a valuable professional. When I do this, I feel like a million bucks and I get more respect (like magic) from other health care workers.
Best wishes to all those who feel oppressed and unappreciated.
Anyone have thoughts on podiatry? Ive been doing some exploring into the health professions as ive been making my way up to my Bachelors degree.
Ok, I am an OD and this post is flat out ridiculous! I paritcularly like the reply to Nicole ( I think) pertaining to telling his daughter to get an ok job and wait on her prince to provide-WOW…..if this is the advice you give I have NO idea why people would listen to you. Sounds like you would rather your daughter rely on a man (which is really smart with >50% divorce rate in this country). I would say to all who read this CONSIDER THE SOURCE!
@Emily
It was @Mary. (You don’t have to try and remember. I keyed “Ctrl+f” and searched the page to find the exact quote.)
Second, you are either intentionally mis-characterizing my words or you are the product of a liberal-by-default culture. The source is a Christian father who hopes that his daughter will marry for eternity like God intends. If MY daughter’s goal is to be a full-time mother, then why spend tons of money on an expensive, second degree? There are PLENTY of awesome jobs out there that she can love that don’t require her to borrow $150,000+ in student loans. She will choose an education and career that meets her goals.
Don’t imagine that a woman who earns an expensive post grad degree is more valuable than a woman who dedicates all her time to her family.
Again, your goals aren’t necessarily my daughter’s goals, so you can do whatever you want. It’s a free country.
it is the most demoralising job ever. patients fall into one of two catagories, 1 wasting time (perfect vision) or 2 moaning about there specs/previous optician. being trapped in a little box, having zero working relationships, and the repetitive nature 1 or 2 is a sure fire way to insanity. it is unrewarding, contact lens patients dont care about clinical advice, spec wearers want cheapest products. its a brutal brutal sole destroying job
anyone potraying this job as varied and exciting is deluded. by my maths typically an optometrist does 3000 eye examinations a year. given there are probably at absolute max 15 of these are serious eye conditions (retinal det, tumour, uveitis), the other 2985 examinations are run of the mill healthy eyes or a cataract referal. as we can see 99.9% of the time its all much to do about nothing. even if its remotely serious, we cant do anything bar refer to a hospital. it is crap………….forget the money………which can be great, dont be fooled, no amount of money can possible compensate for the mind numbing 1/2 repetition day in day out, with no thanks……………………..unless u love having ur patience tested to breaking point please dont enter into this profession. ophthalmologists, shld be sympathising with opticians not critising us, why wld we want to steal theyre work? mmmmm oh it must be exciting being a glaucoma specialist……..lets look at some field plots, lets check ur pressures, lets burn ur iris or up ur drops…….after 4 patients that must too must become absurd
I am 16 years old, and although it’s not entirely important at the moment, I am trying to find out what I want to be when I grow up. I have considered being an accountant, because I am good at math, but I wouldn’t like being on the computer all day, the repetition of the responsibilities, and not being able to socialize with people. I also thought about being a veterinarian, engineer (software, civil, some others), and finally an optometrist. I decided on optometry because it’s not only something that I think I would like to do, but my mom recommends it for me, and I was looking at this website that seems to imply that optometry could be a good profession. Maybe they are sugarcoating it, and I really shouldn’t be one.
Anyways, I am so glad I read this post, because now I will go into this profession (if this is my final choice) knowing it’s not an easy road, there are gonna be a few haters, and it may not be the exact dream job I was hoping for.
Even with all the negativity about the prospect of being an optometrist, I really think that it’s possible to have a successful and rewarding (not just financially) career. I also think that this is only possible WITH: hard work, discipline, small expectations, a Christian attitude and mindset.
Here is a link to a website that shows some of the positive sides of optometry: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos073.htm
With all of this in my mind, still do you think it would be a good thing to be an optometrist?
HOLY! This is quite a post!
I am also an undergrad student hoping to get into optometry school in the next few years, but after reading this, I am feeling a bit down!
I’m working on a Biology Major with a Biomed concentration along with a Spanish Major, but had no idea where to go or what to do with these degrees…After going to Ecuador for a volunteer trip, I met a few kids in a small poor village that had eye problems just because they couldn’t afford eye exams. It’s sad and pierced me right through the heart. I came back to the United States a month and a half later and was inspired to become an optometrists to help under privileged kids like those in Ecuador. Now though, it looks like I’ve got to go pass grad school first and then get some experience before working abroad if I intend to.
I’m currently working in a retails chain store at the mall and talked to the optometrist who said she has a lot to pay off yet from grad school. She said that she wished she would have gone to a more affordable opt school, but I’m thinking that if you went to an opt school that is farther away, wouldn’t you still owe a lot of money (from travel, etc)?
A few coworkers are leaving for grad school, and I’m motivated to keep going until I get to where they are too–in grad school. I don’t really like the retailing aspect much and would love to work abroad but I guess that’s still a long ways away.
I’m just kind of confused now at what I could do.
All careers have pros and cons. Optometry is not without its major cons, but let’s not forget the pros. Now your eyes can be wide open if you choose to go to into optometry.
One major con right now is the massive student loan debt one acquires before being allowed to practice optometry. I wonder if we should consider some sort of apprenticeship licensing for those that don’t want to borrow huge amounts of money to attend optometry school.
I’m an optometrist and sadly if I had to do it all over again I do something else.
Dr. Langford,
I don’t normally put posts on sites like this, but this article really made me take a step back. I am currently a retail pharmacist I have my Pharm. D. If u want to know what real disrespect is try being cussed out by angry customers because you questioned a lethal dose of a medication and it took more than 15min. I won’t mention the company I work for but we also have an optometrist. When I leave at 9pm and the optometrists has already been gone for 3 or 4 hours its hard to believe that life as an optometrist is so bad. I totally mean no disrespect to anyone but the optometrist at the store where I work makes a lot more money than me and doesn’t work near the amount of hours I do per week. I have to say it all sounds pretty good to me (call me crazy). You were exactly right when you said every job has its ups and downs, and I can tell you after a few years of experience unless you have MD after your name your not going to get any respect (at least that’s been my experience).
Sooooo I’m writing to ask for advice, I’m really thinking about doing the optometry thing. I know what your thinking “this guy is nuts”, but I’ve seen how bad it can be and from what I’ve seen being an optometrist is no where near as bad as my job. May I ask for some advice on what I should do?
Thank you for your time and input.
Chris
@Chris I would say join the Indian Health Service as a pharmacist. The hours are better, and from what I’ve seen, it’s like a party in the pharmacy.
@All Pharmacists I think I was trying to make the point that pharmacy school is way cheaper since you can get in-state tuition while the average income between pharmacy and optometry isn’t that much different. Of course there are down sides to pharmacy like getting a gun stuck in your face.
Hello,
I am a junior in high school, and am considering going into optometry. Like everyone else, after seeing this post I am having to reconsider. I have heard both the bad stories and the good ones, and I think I would be willing to pursue this career anyway. I wouldn’t mind working retail, or the redundancy of one eye exam after another. My only concerns are finding a job after college, and the student loans.
I DON’T live in CA, in fact I live on the other side of the States, so it shouldn’t be as hard for me. Is there a better chance of a job in the southeast?
As far as student loans, I should be able to get a few scholarships to help out with the overall money problem, because of my grades and my ACT score, but does it really cost $115k to get a doctoral for optometry? There is no way I or my parents could afford that…
Can I get a good job as an optometrist in the military, and would that be a better option?
I am reading a lot of comments that suggest going into Pharmacy… I would prefer not going this way, because of the chemistry. Although I made a B in chemistry, I didn’t exactly enjoy it. What are some other options similar to optometry, if that turns out to be impossible for me?
I appreciate your help and advice.
Im a first year OD-1 student in optometry school. I love it!
. Blessings & good luck on your journey to a new job! Hope you fund something you love!
I think optometry is better then pharmacy!! i would chose optometry anyday if i was given the choice to go back and redo my education. Im a retail pharmacist and its horrible. Pharmacists are pretty much like a fast food chain restaurant. They get a prescription and the pharmacist has to dispense it within a minute and deal with all the insurance claims and trouble, you don’t get a lunch break while working 12 hour shifts, you have to sell over the counter medications (as you need to reach sales targets daily) and we have so much responsibilty with so little authority ( we cann’t change a dose or quantity without the doctor saying it’s ok, yet if the doctor gets’s it wrong it’s our fault and we have to catch the doctors mistakes 10 times of 10) so as you can see the grass is not always greener. Atleast with optometry you get to use the clinical knowledge you learn at unversity whereas with pharmacy once your working in retail its just putting the prescription through the computer, counting and labeling, fun stuff!!
I’m not an optometrist but I work very closely with one. My job there involves juggling practically everything there is to do in an optometry practice, except for examining the patient’s eyes (of course).
I’ve been doing this for five years so far and it’s been tough. Not tough in a way like we’re not getting enough business, no. Our practice is doing quite well in terms of the patients we get every day, but the hard and stressful part is the nature of the profession.
As you’ve mentioned, people simply don’t equate eyecare with healthcare. At present, this job has become partly health-related and mostly fashion. It’d be much easier to be a doctor of medicine or to work in a retail clothing store.
*sigh*
I have never ever felt the need to ever respond or give my input on any blog/Internet forums before until now.
I am an optometrist in Ireland, working for the past 3 years. I have changed locations a few times and I STILL HATE IT!! I am on a reasonabley good salary as I qualified just before the recession really hit, but I havnt increased my salary since. A newly qualified optom who just started in the place I work is earning 15k less than me, for the same job. And an optom who is qualified at least 7 years before me is on about 20k more than me a year.
I loved college, loved learning about optometry and all the science and physics behind it. But what you do and learn in college has pretty much no real resemblance to what you will be doing day in day out for the rest of your life!! There are very few ‘interesting’ cases that you will see. Most are just the same problems, over and over again, but different patients. So you end up saying the same things, over and over again, but just to different people. And because eyecare isn’t regarded by most patients as proper healthcare, a lot of them don’t believe you. I am rather good at my job, and although it makes me cry on the inside, I still explain to everybody who is having problems, why it is they are experiencing these problems (if eye related obviously)
That’s great and all, but I promise you after your first 18months in practice you will be fit to pull your hair out.
I wouldn’t take back going to college to do optometry, I learnt a lot and met some of my bestest friends. But I wish I had looked in to it more.
I am 100% certain that I am leaving optometry and going back to college next year to do something completely different. I am very very unhappy in optometry. And no matter how much further you educate yourself within optometry, you are still going to be doing the same thing, you’ll just have more knowledge in a certain area of it.
The only good thing about optometry is the fact that you can go home after a days work and not even have to think about it again until the next day. There is no take-home stress related to the job itself.
I used to love meeting people and helping them with their problems, but now I have started to hate people. Would you go in to a GP’s practice and demand a new prescription without seeing the Dr. because you think ‘nothing has changed’.
Anyway, rant over.
Dont do optometry or pharmacy people. Do dentistry or medicine if you are that way inclined, or a completely different avenue. I’ll be looking forward to my weekends off next year, and Christmas holidays!!
I work as a technician in an eyecare practice in the San Antonio Texas area, and I have considered going to school to become an Optometrist. I am fascinated by the science involved in eye care and can’t help but soak up everything I have seen and assisted with in my 2 years in my current position. I have loved it all, but I get nervous about the idea of being a surgeon, so I have shied from the prospect of Opthalmology. Optometry seems like the right fit for me.
That said what I think is most interesting about my company is that we are not a big box store but a practice of several Opthalmologists and optometrists working together (and some Opticians, and of course a small horde of techs like myself). We have a few branches around the city and the doctors move from one location to another throughout the week in order to increase their patient base. San Antonio is also a PAIN to commute around so many patients who encounter us on emergency referrals in our main branch (near the primary medical district of the city) are pleased to learn that they can see the doctor later at a location closer to their home, if they only call ahead and schedule an appointment on a day the doctor is there.
The optometrists and opthalmologists work well together and have a great respect and friendship for one another, so it surprised me to find out from reading this post that this is apparently not standard in the industry. One of the great things about our practice (which the doctors are fond of mentioning; Opthalmologist or Optometrist, they are all very proud of our work) is that we have several specialists of various kinds in the practice. 2 Retina specialists, one pediatric/strabismus/muscle imbalance specialist, several general opthalmologists and 3 optometrists. Come in for your normal exam and if you have a serious retinal problem we discover, no need to refer you outside the practice for it, you can see one of our associates who will have instant, full access to our notes and records and an easy line of comminication to your previous physician. Many times we handle those kinds of consultations instantly, simply calling another doctor over for a second opinion or a direct hand off of the patient’s care.
Opthalmologists and Optometrists and the specialists all handle eyeglass prescriptions because a refraction is performed once yearly by the technicians before they see the doctor, which the doctor can then review and tweak as needed. However, our general opthalmologists have long since left off handling contact lens prescriptions, and instead refer patients to one of the optometrists in the practice for this. They have plenty to do handling 35+ patients a day for cataracts and LASIK and chalazion excisions and the like that they really enjoy referring CL exams to their partners whom they trust to provide the same standard of care that all the doctors in the company hold themselves to. Consequently the Optometrists know exactly who to give patients to when cataracts have finally grown to impede visual acuity enough that they need to be removed and replaced with an IOL, and even know enough about their partners personalities to refer patients to one doctor over another, knowing that this person will get along with that person better, etc.
I am kind of surprised that this is not more common. However over the lunchroom table I often get into discussions with the doctors (or simply listen in on one already going on) concerning how healthcare is moving away from individual practices vs Corporate to companies a lot like our own, with larger joint practices who can compete with Corporate Opticals in the kind of affordability and services they offer to patients. So, maybe there will be more options available in the future. I certainly hope to sign on with my current employer when I graduate, as I couldn’t imagine working anywhere else. =D
The Healthcare industry is changing a lot, and despite public perception, Optometry is a huge part of healthcare. Even as a technician, I enjoy explaining to patients how important it is that they have yearly eye exams for their health, and how Optometry is one of the few places where we can see Nerves, arteries, and smaller blood vessels. I have great respect for all of you Optometrists out there, and I hope those of you with difficulties will be able to find something better.
I have been a practicing optometrist for fifteen years now. I started out in retail and hated it! After twelve years, I decided to buy a practice from a retiring OD. It has been awfully difficult to keep this practice going with a Walmart Optical, a Sterling Optical, three Lenscrafters, two Pearle Vision Centers, four Empire Vision Centers, a Boscov’s Optical, a Sears Optical, a JCPenney Optical, a Target Optical, and a partridge in a pear tree within eight miles of the practice. I am dangerously close to closing the door, but I will give it one more year. The scary thing is that you would think with all the aforementioned establishments, an optometrist should have no problem finding a job. However, I get a lot of calls from local optometrists wondering if I had any work available for them. One of the calls was from an optometrist friend of mine who is moving to the area. She said none of the retail places are hiring right now.
In addition to the retail competition, optometrists have to deal with poor reimbursement for eye exams from many vision insurance plans. This is a problem which seems to be getting worse. So, don’t take those insurance plans? Well, then you don’t get the patients in the door. You may get a few faithful patients, who will pay out of pocket to see you, even if their insurance plan changes. My experience has been those are very few, and most patients are only as loyal as their insurance dictates.
I have a son and a daughter. I’m almost certain that neither one would decide to pursue optometry as career after witnessing the frustration I have been through. I would encourage this decision. In fact, I would discourage them from going into the healthcare field in general (with the exception of orthodontistry … most don’t take insurance, most kids get braces these days, costs thousands of dollars … you do the math). I have a brother who is a pediatrician, and a bother who is a family physician. Bothe in well established practices. Both struggling now with the continued decrease in reimbursements from insurance companies. At least they don’t have to deal with the same competition, but mark these words “Doc-in-a-Box Retail Clinics” are coming our way. I fear for the future of healthcare.
To all those considering optometry … DON’T. Gone are the Golden Days of Optometry.
How easy it is to lay blame on failiure on others. I have always believed that success lies within each of us. However success does not come automatically with a title. Doctors of Optometry fucntion just like doctors of any other health care specialty. Their success rests on how they conduct themselves. If the doctor can’t find a job it isn’t because of the profession. There are opportunities in all faucets of the profession. All one needs do is open one’s eyes . If one wants to live at the beach, drive a Jag, and expect to pay off their student loans with a salary of an OD , those are unrealistic expectations and you have definitely chosen the wrong profession. Actually you probably would never have chosen the right profession. Success comes with hard work, sacrifice, motivation, perserverence and dedication, among a whole bunch of other things. If you love what you do and you have the drive to be the best at it, no matter what your choice of occupation, you will succeed. Please get real and examine the facts if you are disatisfied with your choice of life’s work. There are too many successful OD’s who have great practices, do good things for their patients from helping children overcome learning dissabilities to co-managing cataract surgeries, saving lives by detecting conditions that might have gone un-noticed, or just teaching a reluctant patient how to use her eyewear to enhance her appearance. There is so much self satisfaction a doctor of optometry gains and the scope of responsibility is almost overwhelming. When comparing the opportunities available, there is no reason to be discouraged. Optometry has grown to become one of the most prestigeous professions in health care. And those of you who are dissalusioned have not been seeing clearly.