Advice you wished you knew before entering Optometry school?!
Question: although I was considering optometry, I recently changed my mind. Though my mind is not fully made up. This question is probably off topics, but just wanted to hearthe opinion of those here...
thanks for the advice
Answers: although I was considering optometry, I recently changed my mind. Though my mind is not fully made up. This question is probably off topics, but just wanted to hearthe opinion of those here...
thanks for the advice
It's pretty good for the right people, and it's unsuitable for others...
Optometry is relatively well paid.
Normal hours: it's not one for shift work or "on call" emergencies.
It's a very good prospect for any female planning on having a family: not only is it very open to part-time work, there isn't much of a career ladder. It's easy to come back to after a break.
The technical problem-solving of each case can be interesting.
On the other hand, it's repetitive: unless you are aiming at rarer teaching or research avenues, you are going to be asking the same questions, doing the same tests, many times a day.
The flat career structure means that, unless you're with a big firm and move into management, the day you retire you're likely to be doing pretty much what you did the day you joined the profession. (similar for dentistry...)
Working with the public: the plusses and minusses!
A bity of variety, human contact, you're actually helping people. It's not just shuffling papers.
But they're the public: the poor thought and no thought, the rudeness, the failure to listen*.
On a good day you see a varied range of fascinating people and help improve their eyesight and health, using your observation and problem-solving skills.
On a bad day you're on an eye-processing production line, and the eyes come attached to some seriously uncooperative individuals.
It may be standard middle-aged-itis, but I don't think the profession is what it was when I joined it 28 years ago.
More rushed, more commercial, less personal and individual.
I've taken a year or so's break to move to a different part of the country (UK) and restore my new house.
I thought I'd leave optics completely, but I'm beginning to wonder about going back part-time.
There are much worse jobs/careers out there.
Optometrist, retired (for now)
* I think all practices should be allowed by law to shoot three patients a year, to encourage the others. They probably wouldn't have to: a sign in reception saying "We haven't used our quota yet" would work wonders.
I work for a medical school. And they thought for example they were going to be a dennist and then they changed their mind and came to my school. My advice is shadow!
That is if you are still considering something in the medical field. There are lot of options out there. I tell students, shadow an young and old doctor. Ask lot of questions. How much do you make? How many hours do you work?
Medical doctors have plenty of patients. Optometrists do not. MDs have a referring network. Optometrists do not.
It doesn't matter how smart you are or how frendly, you will not see many patients.
If you do have a patient, he probably won't be back for 3 years unless, of course, he has a problem.
If he has any kind of problem with glasses, he will expect you to do a free follow-up examination and make any corrections that are necessary. This can happen more than once. A patient may have trouble walking with his new bifocals, or his glasses may make his feet look small. He may not like the tint of the lenses and will expect you to change it at your own expense. Teanagers often say, "This is not the frame I picked out." So you have to remake the glasses. If something breaks they will want you to replace it free. They will tell you that their old glasses were better than the new ones. If they are not satisfied they will want to go to a "real doctor." If they don't need glasses, they will not want to pay the examination fee. If they do get glassses they will expect the examination fee to be included in the cost of the glasses. Either way they won't want to pay. They'll steal a frame from one doctor and take it to another for lenses. etc.