Lately, this board seems to be bashing the profession:
I want to enter a field where I can make a good living, have job security, am not required to work the crazy hours of corporate America, can have a family and maybe take time off/work part time, and have human interaction

tell me if any of the following are unreasonable for most optometrist

1.You CAN find a job relatively easily everyone in the country except maybe certain areas in cali
2. most make at least $75,000/$80,000 if not more (I'm in Boston)
3. you can find part time work easily if the women out there want kids
4. if you hate working for a chain, then you can at least attempt to go into business with other optometrists or at an opthamologist office
5. you are still respected when you tell people that you are an optometrist or eye doctor even if you feel silly working at a mall
6. not nearly as stressful as other 6 figure jobs
7. work in comfortable indoor office
8. while may be routine, not nearly as routine as sitting in front of an Excel screen with no human interaction for 40 hours/week


It seems like everyone I know complains about the their jobs, starting with-
law being stressful, no barriers to entry into bad schools, bad hours for corporate firms, burned out
MDs complain about their salaries being cut in half
Financial field is extremely competitive and no job security, and may have to face decisions based on morality

So maybe every professional job as good and bad points?
Any opinions, good or bad, welcome. Am a senior deciding between optometry, dentistry, and podiatry.
Thanks

Yes, alot of bashing... welcome to the profession.
If you want some intellectual reading though you might want to try the other forums. Some people around here don't even know how to diagnose a simple myope.

I agree with you about this forum becoming upsetting. But all the optometrists, about 12 that I talked to multiple times and 25+ others that I have talked to once or twice, I have talked with, shadowed, and worked with have all thought it was a great field to currently get into and think it will only become a better field to be in. They also have been honest with me about the troubles they have faced and some of the things they dislike about the field. But you will find naysayers in any field. You just have to decide what is important to you. Also, I think if you want to find out what the job market is like in your area and the feeling of the optometrists there is to just go around and ask to talk them. I recently was searching for a job in an optometry office and I blanked the optometry office in my area with resumes. Many of the Doctors (if not with a patient) were willing to talk to me about my career plans and give me opinions on the field and the schools they attended.

Have you done any shadowing yet? Maybe that will help you decide. I've looked into dentistry and optometry and they're both wonderful professions.

yes, I just graduated and haven't been working in optometry very long... but even with the cons... this is the best job I've ever had ! I love it and can't see myself doing anything else.

Even with shadowing, you never really can tell all that much until you actually work in the field for a couple months. I was going to do some volunteer pharmacy work because that is my second choice after optometry. I ended up getting a part time job in retail pharmacy. It really took about 2 months for me to really be able to tell whether that was something I wanted to do or not. It doesn't seem as easy to get a job in optometry though like this. I wonder if you get the complaints in retail optometry like you do in retail pharmacy.

With any field dealing with the public, you'd get complaints. People in general just naturally like to complain, sometimes justified of course.

One thing my optometrist has made sure to point out to me is that this job is anything but routine. Many times he asked me "we don't just do refractions all day do we?" With the post surg, eye problems, etc that come in; I never knew what to expect.
Just this summer I got to see things from a firecracker burn (after the 4th of course), an alakine burn (one of the worst kinds!), and a pepper spray burn (don't ask). But one that surprised even the doctor and his assistant (who has worked with him for probably longer than I've been alive) was a patient that felt like she had something in her eye. The doctor could not see anything but flipped the upper lid and then held that up (double eversian) and looked under it while spraying it with saline...and out slid a rice hull that had actually sprouted!!! It was several inches long and would not have been found without the saline washing it down.
So, just some examples of how "unroutine" a day in the office of an optometrist can be. : )

SOME QUESTIONS ANSWERED:

1.You CAN find a job relatively easily everywhere in the country except maybe certain areas in cali - HIGH CHANCE YOU GONNA GET PIMPED IN THE EARLY YEARS!
2. most make at least $75,000/$80,000 if not more (I'm in Boston) - YOU NEED ABOUT 150K TO LIVE WELL IN BOSTON, SO MARRY RICH
3. you can find part time work easily if the women out there want kids - ADVISE PPL TO START A PRACTICE PRIOR TO HAVING KIDS, OR ELSE YOU MIGHT REDUCE YOUR CHANCES OF HAVING YOUR OWN SOLO PRACTICE (GROUP-P STILL OK)
4. if you hate working for a chain, then you can at least attempt to go into business with other optometrists or at an opthamologist office - 'ATTEMPT' IS THE CORRECT WORD, I AGREE.
5. you are still respected when you tell people that you are an optometrist or eye doctor even if you feel silly working at a mall - RESPECT IS SOMETHING YOU GIVE YOURSELF, NOT WHAT OTHERS GIVE YOU.
6. not nearly as stressful as other 6 figure jobs - MOST NEW GRADS IN THE MAJOR CENTERS DON'T CRACK THE 6 FIGURE MARK.
7. work in comfortable indoor office - THOUSANDS OF JOBS SATISFY THIS CONDITION.
8. while may be routine, not nearly as routine as sitting in front of an Excel screen with no human interaction for 40 hours/week - INTERACTING WITH PATIENTS IS GREAT! DEPENDS ON YOUR MODE OF PRACTICE AND YOUR PRACTICE DEMOGRAPHICS AND GROWTH STAGE.

THE LONGER YOU WORK, THE MORE YOU'LL AGREE

Lately, this board seems to be bashing the profession:
I want to enter a field where I can make a good living, have job security, am not required to work the crazy hours of corporate America, can have a family and maybe take time off/work part time, and have human interaction

tell me if any of the following are unreasonable for most optometrist

1.You CAN find a job relatively easily everyone in the country except maybe certain areas in cali
2. most make at least $75,000/$80,000 if not more (I'm in Boston)
3. you can find part time work easily if the women out there want kids
4. if you hate working for a chain, then you can at least attempt to go into business with other optometrists or at an opthamologist office
5. you are still respected when you tell people that you are an optometrist or eye doctor even if you feel silly working at a mall
6. not nearly as stressful as other 6 figure jobs
7. work in comfortable indoor office
8. while may be routine, not nearly as routine as sitting in front of an Excel screen with no human interaction for 40 hours/week


It seems like everyone I know complains about the their jobs, starting with-
law being stressful, no barriers to entry into bad schools, bad hours for corporate firms, burned out
MDs complain about their salaries being cut in half
Financial field is extremely competitive and no job security, and may have to face decisions based on morality

So maybe every professional job as good and bad points?
Any opinions, good or bad, welcome. Am a senior deciding between optometry, dentistry, and podiatry.
Thanks

Kiss your weekends and a fair number of evenings goodbye for a few years or more (unless you land a job with an ophthalmologist -- they're still perceived as doctors rather than Costco eyeglass pushers, so they can work professional hours. My advice is to get into a trade -- high pay, job security, no debt, and high demand. Do you really want to be saddled with a colossal amount of debt to make what is a decent, but not exorbitant salary while you spin dials at Wal-Mart or spend what should be the best years of your life begging an amused bank loan officer to open the $$$ spigot so you can try to start your own practice?

Kiss your weekends and a fair number of evenings goodbye for a few years or more (unless you land a job with an ophthalmologist -- they're still perceived as doctors rather than Costco eyeglass pushers, so they can work professional hours. My advice is to get into a trade -- high pay, job security, no debt, and high demand. Do you really want to be saddled with a colossal amount of debt to make what is a decent, but not exorbitant salary while you spin dials at Wal-Mart or spend what should be the best years of your life begging an amused bank loan officer to open the $$$ spigot so you can try to start your own practice?


Some people are just born pessimistic...that's all this boils down to.