As a senior in high school, I have been so indecisive to just about everything, especially what career would be best to pursue after graduation. After much thought and research I have finally decided what would be best for me. Optometry is something that interests me, it is something that I feel like I could succeed in. Optometrists are doctors that examine the eyes for both in vision and health care. They prescribe eye glasses and contact lenses. In some optometry clinics/offices they offer vision therapy and low vision care. Some optometrists help ophthalmologists (medical doctor or an osteopathic doctor who specializes in vision and eye care, which are trained to perform eye exams, diagnose and treat disease, prescribe medications and perform eye surgery.) In pre- and post- operative eye surgery.
To start off, an interesting fact that I found is, optometrists see almost 67 patients per week and perform around 52 refractions in a week. (Cognac) You may ask, what is a refraction? A refraction is a test for your vision. It is an examination that tests an individual’s ability to see an object at a specific distance. (What is a Refraction test and Why Won’t Medicare Cover it?) For example, when you go to take your driver’s test, the people working at the desk have you look through a device called a phoroptera to test how good your vision is by reading letters and/or numbers through lenses of differing strength.
The salary to be an optometrist roughly varies by each state, just like any job. The U.S median wage is $115,561 per year; the lowest is $103,376; and the highest being $127,888. The salary for someone with the title Optometrist also depends on the company’s size, location, years of experience, and the level of education received. (Optometrist Salaries and How Key Factors Impact Optometry Salaries) The cost of additional training and schooling would be well worth it, because this career brings in a lot of money. In fact, it is one of the highest paying jobs in America. In 2013, it was ranked the 27th highest paying job, with an income of $108,000. (Best Jobs in America 2013)
In order to become an optometrist you need a Doctor of Optometry degree, which requires the completion of a 4-year program at an accredited school of optometry. Requirements for admission to optometry schools include college courses in English, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. A strong background in science is important, so many applicants to optometry school major in science such as biology and chemistry, as undergraduates. All applicants must take the Optometry Admissions Test (OAT) b. The OAT consists of four tests: the survey of natural sciencesd; reading comprehension; physics; and quantitive reasoning. Optometry programs include classroom and laboratory study of health and visual sciences and clinical training in the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. Courses in pharmacology, optics, vision science, biochemistry, and systemic diseases are included. (3 Critical Things to Know Before Becoming an Optometrist)
As I interviewed Dr. Nibert, optometrist at New River Eye Care in Oak Hill, WV, I learned quite a lot about optometry. He told me that the skills needed to be a successful optometrist is, academic abilities for science and math. You also need to go beyond education and have people and problem solving skills. Dr. Nibert knew that being an optometrist was the career for him by using the process of elimination. Also, his dad was an eye doctor, which, in a way, inspired him, but his dad never pushed him. He just loved the lifestyle that his family had. The thing he liked most about his career was the independence and him getting to work whatever days and hours he wanted to, and having the weekends off. When he first started out, he worked long days because he wanted to make sure that he was doing a good enough job and did not fail. As he got more experienced, his days got shorter and cut weekends off of his schedule. Now the hours he works are 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Dr. Nibert says that being in charge is great, because it gives him more freedom to his personal life. Some of the biggest challenges is the changes in the administration of health care and government of regulations. The most important advice Dr. Nibert gave me was to learn as much as I can about the reality of it, being able to handle the negatives, and knowing that there is more to it than just the education. He also likes being able to work with different people and not have to see the same faces all day, every day, and that he loves helping people, and learning new things. One last thing that I asked Dr. Nibert that I was interested in was knowing the difference between an optometrist and an optician. An optometrist is someone who examines the eyes and prescribes glasses or contact lenses to them and the optician gives the patient glasses. Without an optometrist, an opticianc could never exist.
Currently, in the United States alone there are 33,000 optometry job opportunities. Between 2016 and 2022 this number is expected to grow 24%! This is way higher than average! The expected growth of this industry is determined by many different reasons, but the most important are the amount of people aging, increasing health care coverage, and the enhanced use of technology. As people get older, their vision gets worse and worse, therefor upping the demand for optometrist. Vision typically gets more blurry as you get older. Health care coverage is getting more popular. There are now changes in the ACA (Affordable Care Act). One change is, a fully integrated pediatric vision benefit that offers a yearly eye exam and materials benefit for every dependent up to age 18. Since the change of that one thing the demand for Optometrist has shot through the roof. The enhancement of technology changes this because studies show that some individuals could experience reduced visual abilities, such as blurred distance vision. This can be caused even after working at a computer and if nothing is done to address the problem it could possibly get worse, especially after continuous use of a computer. Studies also show that now is the best time to be a part of the optometry industry. (3 Critical Things to Know Before Becoming an Optometrist)
Some skills that are required to becoming an optometrist is active listening. Active listening skills are very, very important because they will allow you to understand what your patients are telling you so you can respond appropriately. Next, having verbal communication is important so that you can convey information to your patients in a way that they understand you and with good speaking skill that can be made possible. Third, interpersonal skills are good to have so you can persuade and instruct your patients. Last, critical thinking and problem solving are positive skills to have under your belt so you can identify problems and use critical thinking to solve them. (McKay, Dawn R.)
Just like any job you decide to pursue there are advantages and disadvantages. There are more advantages than disadvantages, though. There is never any take home work, it is basically a stress free career, you make good starting salary, you are respected in the community, it is pretty much a 9-5 job and it is rare that you will ever have to work over time, and you have a social life including family time! Some disadvantages are, weekend work, it is repetitive, and there is very little career progression.
Studying for this field of work has opened my eyes to many things. There have been many things that have convinced me to pursue this job after my high school career. Hopefully, there will still be a demand for optometrists a few years down the road like there is now. It is very exciting yet nerve wracking to go for this career but it will definitely be well worth it when I can get my own office setup to start working on patients.