Question for eye doctors?!
Question: Well, I'm in the 8th grade, and like most kids my age, I don't know exactly what I want to be when I grow up. I find eyes interesting and was wondering what kind of things eye doctors do.
What are the different type of eye doctors?
What do you have to be like to be a good eye doctor (nice, friendly, etc)?
How many years do you have to go to school for?
How much money do they make (US dollars)?
What grades do you have to make in middle and high school?
What classes should someone interested in being an eye doctor take in high school?
Thanks =)
Answers: Well, I'm in the 8th grade, and like most kids my age, I don't know exactly what I want to be when I grow up. I find eyes interesting and was wondering what kind of things eye doctors do.
What are the different type of eye doctors?
What do you have to be like to be a good eye doctor (nice, friendly, etc)?
How many years do you have to go to school for?
How much money do they make (US dollars)?
What grades do you have to make in middle and high school?
What classes should someone interested in being an eye doctor take in high school?
Thanks =)
Hi :-)
I am a newly graduated eye doctor so I'd be happy to tell you about my experiences.
1. Optometrists do most eye exams. They write prescriptions for glasses and fit contacts, and they detect, diagnose and sometimes treat eye diseases. In most states, optometrists do not do any surgery. Optometrists may refer patients to Ophthalmologists, who are medical doctors who have specialized in the eyes. They can do surgeries and may prescribe medications that optometrists cannot (I say this because the laws for how much an optometrist can do are different in every state)
2. To be an eye doctor you should like working with people and want to help them. You should be a good communicator. Beyond that though, I have met all kinds of personalities, from very shy to very dominant. We do tend to be type-A personalities though, so organized, independant and perfectionist ;)
3. Optometry school is 4 years, but you will need 3-4 years of undergraduate study before you apply (ie you cannot get in directly out of high school). I did 7 years total. Because ophthalmology is a specialized MD, they do undergraduate, then medical school, residency, etc. Definitely longer.
4. I am in Canada and though I did some work in the States for my training, I am not sure what they make there. More than here, anyway, since some of our population gets goverment health insurance. :)
5. Before optometry school, I did an undergraduate degree in biomedical studies. It only required a 75% average out of high school (I had 95%!). But entry to optometry school looks at your college grades, not high/middle school. Probably at least 85% in college courses, plus essays and character references, as well as a big standardized test called the OAT that everyone must write to apply to optometry school (like the MCAT for med school, or LSAT for law)
6. Sciences, maths, and english for sure.
Hope this was helpful to you. You could ask your eye doctor if you could come in for a day or two to shadow him or her, just to see what their day is like. They would probably be happy to answer your questions. I did this in high school when I was considering optometry, and I'm glad I did!
optometrist and ophthalmologist, one is your regular eye doctor, I believe it is 4 years and they make good money, the other Ophthalmologist is able to operate on your eyes and they make bank,,,
Go to dental school. Same style of education, better hours, less competition, better money. Good luck. If i had it to do over again, I'd be a dentist.