The area I practice in draws from a population of about 100,000. Not what I would consider rural, but still fairly small. As of now I think the town is at a point of market equilibrium for eye care. If somebody new tried to come and set up shop they'd probably be hurting for awhile since both population and demand for services has grown only marginally the past few years. With that being said, I don't think it's necessary to reiterate the statements that the two outspoken doctors on this forum have already mentioned. They exist in smaller markets too. But, I'll try and offer some advice that I felt help me succeed in the few years since graduation.
1. Regional tuition for SCO was low, relatively speaking and cost of living in Memphis is reasonable. Go where tuition is cheap and cost of living is low. I was about $78,000 in the red upon graduation. This leads me to my next point...
2. I got married before graduate school started and my wife got a job that yielded us enough to pay all our bills. Having her companionship, home cooked meals and all my laundry done made getting through school easier too. Find somebody that you love, then mooch off them.
3. Most Friday nights and some Saturdays during college football season I would work as a bartender. Being the gatekeeper to drunk people getting more drinks can be quite lucrative. With this extra money I bought Bud Light or invested in fine silver bullion. You can always find a lame part-time job like swiping library cards or something; even $100 per week goes a long way. If you manage your time wisely working part-time while studying is doable and a smart decision.
4. Keeping in touch with a few doctors in an area I knew I wanted to live in was very valuable. I would stop in during the winter holidays to say hello and invite them to play golf during the summers. I didn't end up working for any of them, but they had the inside information of who was looking for help. Good opportunities aren't listed on the internet. A few students I've written positive letters for keep in touch with me. They are polite, well-dressed and eager to learn and get involved in local societies and politics. I'm confident they will make good assets to the profession. The problem is for every 1 of those, I get 20 lazy, good for nothings that show up wearing jeans, girls with their boobs handing out, guys with scraggly facial hair that think they have a respectable beard, no confidence, no eye contact. These are probably the types on the pre-opt forum that post "Derrr, do you think I can get admitted with my 2.8 GPA and 280 OAT?" I'm always happy to fill out those admissions letters for these types by checking "NO" on all the questions.
5. Here's an obvious but important one...stay out of trouble. A few of my classmates were arrested for doing stupid stuff like drinking and driving, smoking dope, getting in bar fights. The fines, lawyer and court fees drove them further into debt. They also had a fun time explaining their history to the state boards when trying to get licensed. Perhaps almost as stupid, they blew their loan money on unnecessary luxury items like vacations, new cars, iPhones. Don't do that either.
I don't care if people choose optometry as a career or not. I'm not a guidance counselor. What I do care about is if you do decide to pursue it, that you represent yourself and the profession to the highest standards. This is something that, in my opinion, is severely lacking. It has been lacking for quite sometime.
They get to charge REAL market fees for most of their procedures instead of accepting $30 for an exam that cost you $40 in overhead. And people in tooth pain rarely haggle over prices. No way to get a filling or braces on-line and never will be (THATS A KEY!!).
