Why not to do Optometry. an alternative view

[nlwestover42]

I just quit optometry school. I was going to IUSO two years in. I wanted to help people, change lives, and have an easy rewarding career. This is everything they sell the middle class students wanting to pursue this career. Yes, it was a respected career 40 years ago. But that was before they attached the Dr. title to it, and try to make you a primary care physician. Ophthalmologists are always going to hate and disrespect you, unless of course you are piping a steady stream of referrals their way. Starting your own practice sounds great. However, unless your pops pays for school and already owns a practice you are going to be in debt for life. If your lucky you'll be in positive by 55-60. Not my goal. Optometry school is not easy. If you think your in the clear after the obnoxious application process think again. Courses are 10x harder than under grad and often you do NOT get a second chance. You could end up with a mountain of debt, wasted years, and piss all to show for it. There are careers that are rewarding and pay off. This is no longer one. Use your head. The "competitive" entry process is nothing more than a creative sales pitch. Did I mention you will have to purchase ~10K in equipment? And that is not included in tuition. That goes for most schools. Steer clear. If you really want to help people and do good i would recommend PA school or becoming a nurse practitioner.

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[nlwestover42]

Just food for thought. Our class was around 82 strong. Average 160K per student after four years which is a very liberal figure. That is in the MILLIONS after four years. This is very profitable.

 

[Prehealth1011]

When I was looking at this career years ago, I was swayed away from it after hearing how graduates often had to find multiple part time opportunities to make the “full-time” income. How much of that is still true today?

 

[Optogal]

I just quit optometry school. I was going to IUSO two years in. I wanted to help people, change lives, and have an easy rewarding career. This is everything they sell the middle class students wanting to pursue this career. Yes, it was a respected career 40 years ago. But that was before they attached the Dr. title to it, and try to make you a primary care physician. Ophthalmologists are always going to hate and disrespect you, unless of course you are piping a steady stream of referrals their way. Starting your own practice sounds great. However, unless your pops pays for school and already owns a practice you are going to be in debt for life. If your lucky you'll be in positive by 55-60. Not my goal. Optometry school is not easy. If you think your in the clear after the obnoxious application process think again. Courses are 10x harder than under grad and often you do NOT get a second chance. You could end up with a mountain of debt, wasted years, and piss all to show for it. There are careers that are rewarding and pay off. This is no longer one. Use your head. The "competitive" entry process is nothing more than a creative sales pitch. Did I mention you will have to purchase ~10K in equipment? And that is not included in tuition. That goes for most schools. Steer clear. If you really want to help people and do good i would recommend PA school or becoming a nurse practitioner.

Are you better off wasting those 2 years of fees and lost income potential or just plowing ahead and finishing your degree?

 

[Optogal]

With your logic, every med student with high board scores should pursue the most lucrative specialty, regardless of interest.

I asked him a question specific to his situation. I wasn't implying any sort of personal "logic".

If you took the time to actually read the OP, you would've noticed that the entire gist of his argument can be summed up with this:

Use your head.

He didn't say "Use your heart". He said he attended OD school for 2 years then decided it wasn't worth it financially in the long run. He didn't say he quit because he didn't enjoy doing eye exams. So given his careful dissection of why the OD career doesn't match up to other professions, I thought he could opine on his particular situation, given that he's already sunken 2 years of life and costs towards a degree. If we accept his argument that the OD is an inferior route than other professions, I want to hear his case that attending OD school for two years, then bailing, is still a superior route than doing another profession.

It's better to quit something that makes one miserable than to finish it just because.

See, your opening sentence shows you missed his point. You are attempting to contradict a "Use your heart" argument. That wasn't my argument nor was it the OP's. The OP himself says to "Use your head.". So using his head, I'd still like to hear him explain why/if attending 2 years of OD and having only 2 more to finish and becoming an optometrist, is still worse than starting another career from scratch.

 

[Optogal]

(just want to mention that there was a post from user "onlyonestudent" that separated my above two consecutive posts, that was presumably deleted by him)

 

[brockopto]

I just quit optometry school. I was going to IUSO two years in. I wanted to help people, change lives, and have an easy rewarding career. This is everything they sell the middle class students wanting to pursue this career. Yes, it was a respected career 40 years ago. But that was before they attached the Dr. title to it, and try to make you a primary care physician. Ophthalmologists are always going to hate and disrespect you, unless of course you are piping a steady stream of referrals their way. Starting your own practice sounds great. However, unless your pops pays for school and already owns a practice you are going to be in debt for life. If your lucky you'll be in positive by 55-60. Not my goal. Optometry school is not easy. If you think your in the clear after the obnoxious application process think again. Courses are 10x harder than under grad and often you do NOT get a second chance. You could end up with a mountain of debt, wasted years, and piss all to show for it. There are careers that are rewarding and pay off. This is no longer one. Use your head. The "competitive" entry process is nothing more than a creative sales pitch. Did I mention you will have to purchase ~10K in equipment? And that is not included in tuition. That goes for most schools. Steer clear. If you really want to help people and do good i would recommend PA school or becoming a nurse practitioner.

With all due respect to your reasonings, I find many of your points to be invalid.
1- Optometry school is a Graduate program, so obviously the curriculum is going to be much harder than undergrad. Students should know that beforehand.
2-The Dr. title for optometrists isn't a gift given to them, its an earned title because optometry is a Doctoral degree..... Also, optometrists are the primary eye care professionals, you should know that by now.
3-You talk about how Ophthalmologists are always going to hate and disrespect you, even if that is true, optometrists have multiple choices of practices with many that don't involve working with Ophthalmologists at all.
4-In regrads to debt, most of optometrist that I know make $120k-$170k yearly, and have paid their debt within 10 years, so your whole being 55 yearls old is really out of the equation.
5- I think you will be the one having trouble paying the debit of two years of school with no career after all, either way good luck to you!!

 

[percyeye]

Someone just seems salty because they quit school.

Majority of my friends and classmates I've talked to are making good money and happy with their careers.

 

[nlwestover42]

Someone just seems salty because they quit school.

Majority of my friends and classmates I've talked to are making good money and happy with their careers.

There is definitely some salt indeed. I decided that 200k with insane interest is not a great idea. No amount of shadowing and research could have prepared me for reality. I did not want to discourage, or run this career into the dirt. Simply offering some inside perspective to someone who may think like me.

 

[nlwestover42]

Are you better off wasting those 2 years of fees and lost income potential or just plowing ahead and finishing your degree?

If it is something that will make me miserable for the rest of my life I would say burn the bridge and quit while I am behind. There were several 'non-typical" students in my class. Changing career choices or life direction is an option. I will not be enslaved by the idea of no alternative.

 

[nlwestover42]

With all due respect to your reasonings, I find many of your points to be invalid.
1- Optometry school is a Graduate program, so obviously the curriculum is going to be much harder than undergrad. Students should know that beforehand.
2-The Dr. title for optometrists isn't a gift given to them, its an earned title because optometry is a Doctoral degree..... Also, optometrists are the primary eye care professionals, you should know that by now.
3-You talk about how Ophthalmologists are always going to hate and disrespect you, even if that is true, optometrists have multiple choices of practices with many that don't involve working with Ophthalmologists at all.
4-In regrads to debt, most of optometrist that I know make $120k-$170k yearly, and have paid their debt within 10 years, so your whole being 55 yearls old is really out of the equation.
5- I think you will be the one having trouble paying the debit of two years of school with no career after all, either way good luck to you!!

I really hope you are correct. And I have seen success in this field. I am not concerned with title. I have seen many who have earned the title Dr. I sure wouldn't want them poking around my eyes. I was interested in the freedom and rewards of this career, not potential for ego.

 

[Optogal]

nlwest

I wish you luck on your career. Your OP was obviously pessimistic but probably the reality for some people. Not everyone will do well (but not everyone does poorly). You have chosen to be pessimistic about your chances in optometry. That's a decision you made for yourself and it was up to you. I hope you are able to find a workable career alternative.

 

[MUTD]

So what is your plan now? if you don't mind me asking.

I think optometry is still a great field and will continue to be. you quit after two years of work and tuition just because you heard negative comments here and there.
There are pros and cons to every career.
The optometrist I work with makes no less than 300K in his private practice ( some of that will go into paychecks and supplies for sure, but still...). People love, trust, and respect him. They come back every year for check-ups and we get just as many medical issues. We refer patients out frequently and do post-ops. In return, we get a lot of referrals as well. It's all about making connections and improving your business.
He's passionate and he made me love the field and I became confident about pursuing it if I have the same passion and of course the business mind to manage a private office. And on top of that, the schedule is very flexible, clean office no mess no stress. Do you know the amount of work and hours nurses go through for 50-60K? nothing comes easy.
So my point is you should've looked more into it before quitting. Also, how do you go into professional school thinking it would be easy and graduate with no debt?? Trust me no one would mind a rich daddy but sometimes you just can't have it all. That's life, not just optometry.
However, if it just wasn't your passion then good for you! you should do something you love.

Wish you the best of luck.

 

[RyuTatum]

With all due respect to your reasonings, I find many of your points to be invalid.
1- Optometry school is a Graduate program, so obviously the curriculum is going to be much harder than undergrad. Students should know that beforehand.
2-The Dr. title for optometrists isn't a gift given to them, its an earned title because optometry is a Doctoral degree..... Also, optometrists are the primary eye care professionals, you should know that by now.
3-You talk about how Ophthalmologists are always going to hate and disrespect you, even if that is true, optometrists have multiple choices of practices with many that don't involve working with Ophthalmologists at all.
4-In regrads to debt, most of optometrist that I know make $120k-$170k yearly, and have paid their debt within 10 years, so your whole being 55 yearls old is really out of the equation.
5- I think you will be the one having trouble paying the debit of two years of school with no career after all, either way good luck to you!!

Well said

I personally think the OP went into the career for all the wrong reasons. Whatever high postgraduate degree you do, you'll still have to go through most of these problems.

 

[EyeMan999]

We all see a lot of these posts in different careers... But FOR SURE... in any of the threads I've ever read in the past four years with similar stories. 99% of the time it's because the profession was chosen for the wrong reasons. That's by your own taste. And here's how I decipher the hogwash written:

I just quit optometry school. I was going to IUSO two years in. I wanted to help people, change lives, and have an easy rewarding career. This is everything they sell the middle class students wanting to pursue this career. Yes, it was a respected career 40 years ago. But that was before they attached the Dr. title to it, and try to make you a primary care physician. Ophthalmologists are always going to hate and disrespect you, unless of course you are piping a steady stream of referrals their way. Starting your own practice sounds great. However, unless your pops pays for school and already owns a practice you are going to be in debt for life. If your lucky you'll be in positive by 55-60. Not my goal. Optometry school is not easy. If you think your in the clear after the obnoxious application process think again. Courses are 10x harder than under grad and often you do NOT get a second chance. You could end up with a mountain of debt, wasted years, and piss all to show for it. There are careers that are rewarding and pay off. This is no longer one. Use your head. The "competitive" entry process is nothing more than a creative sales pitch. Did I mention you will have to purchase ~10K in equipment? And that is not included in tuition. That goes for most schools. Steer clear. If you really want to help people and do good i would recommend PA school or becoming a nurse practitioner.

“Have an easy rewarding career” – This is the biggest red flag out of your entire post. You thought this was going to be easy!?!? WTF? The first line of research going into opto & dental is how BRUTAL and academically intense the FIRST TWO years are. You QUIT at the start of 3rd year with boards right around the corner!?!? Not to mention that 4th year is not really an academic year and is by the far the most favored because YOU JUST MADE IT THROUGH THE WORST!

“Everything they sell the middle class students” – Sheesh… How many self-made optometrists there are that came from nothing… this and any other profession? You bought your own lie here. You fell for whatever marketing scheme you think they placed on you.

“Turn you into a Primary care physician” – Eyes are a significant part of human health and other medical conditions. How was this realized halfway through school? You were or did not pay attention to any legislation, changes in the field, or how much more an optometrist is doing medically.

“Courses are 10x harder” – As they are in any other grad school program!

“Competitive entry process” – You took the seat of somebody who really wanted this. You were privileged with admission and are blaming others for your lack of research, career pathway, and true understanding of optometry.

“10k in equipment”- Hello? DUH!?

“Piss all to show for it” – Congrats you did piss it all away.

You’re upset because the profession and or optometry school experience you had did not meet your “ThiS WiLL bE eAsY aNd MaKE $” reality. You were not prepared for choosing this career. Not one bit.

I understand by writing this reply, this may seem as an attack against you and your feelings, but much of this is truly absurd. I hope you find success and love whatever you do just as much as you hoped this would work out for you.

 

[deleted989644]

Well said

I personally think the OP went into the career for all the wrong reasons. Whatever high postgraduate degree you do, you'll still have to go through most of these problems.

Yeah. The expectation (I would think) that any doctorate program will be hard - it's the highest degree one can get in the academic world. If you want the lucrativeness of a doctorate degree, then you'll have to work for it - one way or another.

 

[benruitz98]

Yeah. The expectation (I would think) that any doctorate program will be hard - it's the highest degree one can get in the academic world. If you want the lucrativeness of a doctorate degree, then you'll have to work for it - one way or another.

I don't know if you could call this lucrative. Veterinarians have a doctorate yet some of them are starting out making $60-80k and max out at 100k. Even with residency they rarely hover higher than 120-150k - with the same debt as medical students.

Lucrative to me means $200+/hr. It means a 30 hr work week 11 months a year can make you $250k+. This is accomplished in many medical specialties (Gas, rads, EM, all surgical subspecialties (have to work long hours early in career tho), and even some hospitalists). It means that if you choose to work 60+ hours a week you'll see 400-800k guaranteed, and doing that for 3-4 years can wipe away any debt and build a nice nest.

 

[deleted989644]

I don't know if you could call this lucrative. Veterinarians have a doctorate yet some of them are starting out making $60-80k and max out at 100k. Even with residency they rarely hover higher than 120-150k - with the same debt as medical students.

Lucrative to me means $200+/hr. It means a 30 hr work week 11 months a year can make you $250k+. This is accomplished in many medical specialties (Gas, rads, EM, all surgical subspecialties (have to work long hours early in career tho), and even some hospitalists). It means that if you choose to work 60+ hours a week you'll see 400-800k guaranteed, and doing that for 3-4 years can wipe away any debt and build a nice nest.

Of course, all of those specialties are tied to medicine, which means you'll need to get into medical school and achieve high enough to get into those residencies.

I guess six figures is comfortable? In some areas though, it is considered poor in terms of cash flow.

 

[benruitz98]

Of course, all of those specialties are tied to medicine, which means you'll need to get into medical school and achieve high enough to get into those residencies.

I guess six figures is comfortable? In some areas though, it is considered poor in terms of cash flow.

Getting into DO school these days is on-par or easier than vet school. And getting a 3-3.3 + >497 MCAT and doing it through a DO SMP (some have guaranteed linkage) is also viable and I'd say the same difficulty as OD or PT school. I guess you could say that no amount of money is worth it if someone isn't passionate about their career. But then again that passion quickly wears off in many cases and some would rather be making $150+/hr rather than 40-60.

 

[deleted989644]

Getting into DO school these days is on-par or easier than vet school. And getting a 3-3.3 + >497 MCAT and doing it through a DO SMP (some have guaranteed linkage) is also viable and I'd say the same difficulty as OD or PT school. I guess you could say that no amount of money is worth it if someone isn't passionate about their career. But then again that passion quickly wears off in many cases and some would rather be making $150+/hr rather than 40-60.

I suppose. DO school admissions is just as crapshoot as MD school admissions though.

Medicine admissions in general is crapshoot.

 

[Whysoez]

Getting into DO school these days is on-par or easier than vet school. And getting a 3-3.3 + >497 MCAT and doing it through a DO SMP (some have guaranteed linkage) is also viable and I'd say the same difficulty as OD or PT school. I guess you could say that no amount of money is worth it if someone isn't passionate about their career. But then again that passion quickly wears off in many cases and some would rather be making $150+/hr rather than 40-60.

Oh man this guy got banned, he was really entertaining with his warped view of medical school admission.

 

[Snakedoctor1]

I decided that 200k with insane interest is not a great idea. No amount of shadowing and research could have prepared me for reality.

But a five minute google search probably could have. Sounds like you were weeded out by the rigorous course load. You call it a grift, I call it the process working.

In all seriousness though, ophthalmologists will hate you? Give me a break. That feud exists politically, not on the ground. Not between normal professionals. It's one of my favorite myths I see thrown around by pre-opts and students on this site. It does not reflect reality, and optometry exists independently of ophthalmology. Good doctors are respected by their patients, whose lives they have improved. Do you care about what obstetricians and nurse practitioners think about you too?

There are plenty of awful jobs in optometry, and many new grads do find themselves working multiple jobs right out of school. That's because they can't bear the thought of leaving southern California. There are plenty of lucrative and rewarding opportunities out there for those who have the foresight to do some research, and you don't have to live in the middle of nowhere to make a great living. I'm sorry the recruiters got the best of you, and to be fair, OD schools do make a lot of money. But you're tossing the blame elsewhere, when it was always your responsibility to understand what you were getting yourself into.

 

[deleted989644]

But a five minute google search probably could have. Sounds like you were weeded out by the rigorous course load. You call it a grift, I call it the process working.

In all seriousness though, ophthalmologists will hate you? Give me a break. That feud exists politically, not on the ground. Not between normal professionals. It's one of my favorite myths I see thrown around by pre-opts and students on this site. It does not reflect reality, and optometry exists independently of ophthalmology. Good doctors are respected by their patients, whose lives they have improved. Do you care about what obstetricians and nurse practitioners think about you too?

There are plenty of awful jobs in optometry, and many new grads do find themselves working multiple jobs right out of school. That's because they can't bear the thought of leaving southern California. There are plenty of lucrative and rewarding opportunities out there for those who have the foresight to do some research, and you don't have to live in the middle of nowhere to make a great living. I'm sorry the recruiters got the best of you, and to be fair, OD schools do make a lot of money. But you're tossing the blame elsewhere, when it was always your responsibility to understand what you were getting yourself into.

Aren't there pretty good opportunities in Southern California if you head for the rural areas?

 

[Snakedoctor1]

Aren't there pretty good opportunities in Southern California if you head for the rural areas?

Certainly, and I don't mean to disparage the area. It just happens that extremely populated areas see a general decline in opportunity/wages for new optometrists. Much of this can probably be avoided by networking early and forming connections. What you want to avoid is graduating with zero prospects, then entering the job market and looking for the first thing that comes available. That's when you're more likely to end up making sub-par wages without any guarantee of a buy-in or wage increase.