federal optometry jobs?

[Muse600]

are there any federal jobs in optometry aside from IHS, VA, and HHS?

if so, how do you increase the liklihood of getting in?

I know that getting an internship is usually a good way to get experience, your foot in the door, and be able to market yourself...but I don't even see any on google.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Tippytoe]

I would say it would be somewhat foolish for anyone to go into optometry these days with the idea that you will not be working in a retail environment, trying hard to ignore the bleeping cash registers and your high school diploma'd boss.

Breaking away from this future is possible but unlikely. I'd say probably 95% of new grads will be in Walmart or the like. Most all of the 'good' jobs are taken and will be filled for the next 40 years by current ODs, who will work into their 80's.

Sorry.

 

[Jason K]

are there any federal jobs in optometry aside from IHS, VA, and HHS?

if so, how do you increase the liklihood of getting in?

I know that getting an internship is usually a good way to get experience, your foot in the door, and be able to market yourself...but I don't even see any on google.

IHS = great if you don't mind living on the moon. I rotated through an IHS site, and it took me an hour to get to the nearest gas station. You'll either have to live out there or commute in.

HHS = work in a community health clinic seeing medicaid patients all day. Now, this usually sounds glamorous to some who like the idea of serving "the less fortunate," but after your 300th visit with the mom who screams and yells about her $4 copay that she never had to pay before, it gets a little old.

VA = great if you can stand the lower pay. Benefits definitely make up for it, for some. You'll get regular hours, but depending on the location, you might be a glorified tech who does refractions for the ophthalmology dept, or you could be full-scope. It depends. Don't count on getting one of these jobs out of school, the competition is pretty stiff. Just count up the number of VAs with optometrists, and divide it by 2000.

 

[vistaril]

VA = great if you can stand the lower pay. Benefits definitely make up for it, for some. You'll get regular hours, but depending on the location, you might be a glorified tech who does refractions for the ophthalmology dept, or you could be full-scope. It depends. Don't count on getting one of these jobs out of school, the competition is pretty stiff. Just count up the number of VAs with optometrists, and divide it by 2000.

Is VA pay for optos really bad? Less than 85k? VAs tend to pay fairly good, especially for the 'lower paid' providers(which is why many highly paid fields do contract work with VA and are not salaried).....the VA job offers I have gotten for inpt psychiatry are fairly in line with non-VA places(185-195k with a great schedule and light patient load) and higher than academia. There are jobs like social work and respiratory therapy where the pay is definately higher on average than in the private world.

 

[Jason K]

Is VA pay for optos really bad? Less than 85k? VAs tend to pay fairly good, especially for the 'lower paid' providers(which is why many highly paid fields do contract work with VA and are not salaried).....the VA job offers I have gotten for inpt psychiatry are fairly in line with non-VA places(185-195k with a great schedule and light patient load) and higher than academia. There are jobs like social work and respiratory therapy where the pay is definately higher on average than in the private world.

Yes, less than 85K - significantly. I've seen VA listings with starting ranges from 55K. Yes, some VA docs make more, but it's after they've been there for a good while. When ODs grow on trees, as they do now, there's no need to pay more.

 

[vistaril]

Yes, less than 85K - significantly. I've seen VA listings with starting ranges from 55K. Yes, some VA docs make more, but it's after they've been there for a good while. When ODs grow on trees, as they do now, there's no need to pay more.

wow...thats less than most of the VA social workers make.

what about the military as an option? You'd start off after OD school as at least a captain I would figure(thats what many residents are in the military iirc) and their pay(counting things like the various allowances, housing stipend, etc) is generally about 87k I think.....plus after a few years you are over 100k, and the usual bonuses you get depending on your area of health care(most physicians get an extra 30-40k on average...some more)....and then of course there is the benefits and retirement. And no debt of course from school.

 

[Muse600]

but how do you go about getting one of these positions?

I figure an internship would get your foot in the door, but I haven't been able to find any. We even tried calling and leaving messages with VA's

are there any listings anyplace?

 

[Jason K]

but how do you go about getting one of these positions?

I figure an internship would get your foot in the door, but I haven't been able to find any. We even tried calling and leaving messages with VA's

are there any listings anyplace?

https://www.usajobs.gov/

Notice that almost all of these jobs are "continuously open," meaning they are not actually looking for an applicant, but simply leave it open all time. That way, they can continuously collect CVs, and have a large pool to pick from if they ever need anyone.

Doing an internship in a VA probably will not do much more than get you exposure to the VA system. Most hired docs have done residencies at the VA, but doing a VA residency does not mean you've got a shoe in. I know several VA-trained ODs who sought VA hiring, but were unable to find a position. There's quite a bit of competition for VA positions, although I'm not quite sure why.

IHS is probably the best bet for government OD work, since most people are unwilling to live in the environments in which many of the clinics are located.

 

[Tippytoe]

If there is any doubt on which profession to choose, consider the gov't pay rates. For dentistry, you will make 100% more per year for the equivalent training. It's really a no-brainer in 2013. These are up-to-date postings for gov't optometrist and dentist jobs from Jason K's weblink above (as of Feb 21, 2012). The correct phrase is; "Supply and Demand".


Dentist (General)

Department: Department Of Veterans Affairs
Agency: Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration
Open Period: 2/19/2013 to 3/5/2013
Who May Apply: United States Citizens
Location(s): Memphis, Tennessee
Salary: $96,539.00 - $195,000.00 / Per Year
Series & Grade: VM-0680-00/00
Position Info: Full Time - Permanent
Control Number: 338140100
JOA Number: MEM-13-74-842016-AC


Dentist (Chief Health Informatics Officer)

Department: Department Of Veterans Affairs
Agency: Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration
Open Period: 1/28/2013 to 7/26/2013
Who May Apply: US Citizens and Status Candidates
Location(s): San Antonio, Texas
Salary: $120,000.00 - $235,000.00 / Per Year
Series & Grade: VM-0680-00/00
Position Info: Full Time - Excepted Service Permanent
Control Number: 336585200
JOA Number: YJ-13-HLB-831532

Optometrist (Brunswick CBOC)

Department: Department Of Veterans Affairs
Agency: Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration
Open Period: 2/12/2013 to 3/6/2013
Who May Apply: United States Citizens
Location(s): Brunswick, Georgia
Salary: $81,823.00 - $106,369.00 / Per Year
Series & Grade: VP-0662-13/13
Position Info: Full Time - Permanent
Control Number: 337688000
JOA Number: OA-13-840901-NM

Supervisory Optometrist
Department: Department Of Health And Human Services
Agency: Indian Health Service
Open Period: 12/6/2012 to 12/5/2013
Who May Apply: United States Citizens
Location(s): Crow Agency, Montana
Salary: $80,364.00 - $98,445.00 / Per Year
Series & Grade: GS-0662-12/12
Position Info: Full Time - Permanent
Control Number: 332953900
JOA Number: IHS-13-BI-801508-DE

 

[jac43klee]

Yes, less than 85K - significantly. I've seen VA listings with starting ranges from 55K. Yes, some VA docs make more, but it's after they've been there for a good while. When ODs grow on trees, as they do now, there's no need to pay more.

That's a great information to know. Though why is that?

 

[heybrother]

http://php.app.com/fed_employees11/search.php

If you mosey on over to this website you can see the salaries for federal employees (2008-2011). Set the job title to "Optometrist" or whatever you desire. It would appear there are ~900 optometrists employed by the feds.

I suppose the data at the above link should be similar to this: http://www.fedsdatacenter.com/federal-pay-rates/

Enjoy.

 

[SaharaWolf]

According to this link, 2/3 of eye exams were done by non-retail ODs in the last couple of years
http://www.visionmonday.com/ViewContent/tabid/211/content_id/37628/catId/88/Default.aspx

I would say it would be somewhat foolish for anyone to go into optometry these days with the idea that you will not be working in a retail environment, trying hard to ignore the bleeping cash registers and your high school diploma'd boss.

Breaking away from this future is possible but unlikely. I'd say probably 95% of new grads will be in Walmart or the like. Most all of the 'good' jobs are taken and will be filled for the next 40 years by current ODs, who will work into their 80's.

Sorry.

 

[Jason K]

According to this link, 2/3 of eye exams were done by non-retail ODs in the last couple of years
http://www.visionmonday.com/ViewContent/tabid/211/content_id/37628/catId/88/Default.aspx

Two things to consider:

1) The definition of "independent" is pretty loose. This was a survey study, and I know of plenty of "independent private practice" ODs who are actually commercial or retail.

2) Existing OD employment breakdowns have little to do with what current students can expect. That's a MAJOR problem with the situation - students look at existing ODs and assume that they're in the same game. They're not.

What matters is not what the current breakdowns are; it's where new grads are going. They're going into commercial/retail positions.

No matter what is done to try to dress up optometry, the numbers are there. We'll have 2000 new ODs every year, once all the new programs are up and running. That is an irrational number, and it's unsustainable.

 

[q1we3]

Two things to consider:

No matter what is done to try to dress up optometry, the numbers are there. We'll have 2000 new ODs every year, once all the new programs are up and running. That is an irrational number, and it's unsustainable.

But we own 3D!! That will save us.

 

[Jason K]

But we own 3D!! That will save us.

Dori Carlson...."C-dog," as she's known within her posse, was right on with that statement. We really showed the world how critical 3D vision is. Yeah, baby - the .01% of US households with 3D television, and the .5% of those households who have people with BV disorders that interfere with their ability to watch 3D tv, have really been a windfall for optometry, creating literally tens of exams across the nation. It's a good thing too, because we'd really be screwed without that technological innovation

 

[KHE]

For clarification, not all IHS type jobs mean you are employed by the federal government. There are some tribes who get block grants of money from the government and then they hire you directly so in those cases, it's not a direct federal government employment.

 

[ac05]

Clarification - optometrists do not start at $55K in the VA or any federal position. The reason it says that on USA jobs is because the government works on a General Schedule pay scale (GS) each pay grade has 10 steps and step 1 may be 55k, but step 10 may be 90k. This scale is used for all jobs in the federal system, receptionists, IT people, etc. You can look online but most federal jobs have optometrists at least at GS 11, most of the time at a GS 12, so you are looking at a minimum of 85K if not more.

You can also work as an optometrist in the department of defense (army, navy, airforce), usually these are active duty optometrists but often times because of the demand they need to hire civilians. It's full scope, although a much healthier population than the VA (since they are active duty- mostly age 20-40)

wow...thats less than most of the VA social workers make.

what about the military as an option? You'd start off after OD school as at least a captain I would figure(thats what many residents are in the military iirc) and their pay(counting things like the various allowances, housing stipend, etc) is generally about 87k I think.....plus after a few years you are over 100k, and the usual bonuses you get depending on your area of health care(most physicians get an extra 30-40k on average...some more)....and then of course there is the benefits and retirement. And no debt of course from school.

 

[Jason K]

Clarification - optometrists do not start at $55K in the VA or any federal position. The reason it says that on USA jobs is because the government works on a General Schedule pay scale (GS) each pay grade has 10 steps and step 1 may be 55k, but step 10 may be 90k. This scale is used for all jobs in the federal system, receptionists, IT people, etc. You can look online but most federal jobs have optometrists at least at GS 11, most of the time at a GS 12, so you are looking at a minimum of 85K if not more.

You can also work as an optometrist in the department of defense (army, navy, airforce), usually these are active duty optometrists but often times because of the demand they need to hire civilians. It's full scope, although a much healthier population than the VA (since they are active duty- mostly age 20-40)

I know several FT VA docs. A couple of them, who have worked for 15+ years, make just under 100K - not a bad deal with all things considered (benefits+salary). I know a few FT docs who didn't start anywhere near 85K. They're in the low 70s, and they've been there for a while. You can look up any VA doc's salary online, since they're all federal employees. All you need is their name and location.

 

[opto2be]

I know several FT VA docs. A couple of them, who have worked for 15+ years, make just under 100K - not a bad deal with all things considered (benefits+salary). I know a few FT docs who didn't start anywhere near 85K. They're in the low 70s, and they've been there for a while. You can look up any VA doc's salary online, since they're all federal employees. All you need is their name and location.

Do you mean a 100K salary plus benefits or are the benefits included in that figure? I wonder how good the benefits are.

 

[Tippytoe]

Clarification - optometrists do not start at $55K in the VA or any federal position. The reason it says that on USA jobs is because the government works on a General Schedule pay scale (GS) each pay grade has 10 steps and step 1 may be 55k, but step 10 may be 90k. This scale is used for all jobs in the federal system, receptionists, IT people, etc. You can look online but most federal jobs have optometrists at least at GS 11, most of the time at a GS 12, so you are looking at a minimum of 85K if not more.

You can also work as an optometrist in the department of defense (army, navy, airforce), usually these are active duty optometrists but often times because of the demand they need to hire civilians. It's full scope, although a much healthier population than the VA (since they are active duty- mostly age 20-40)

This is not true. I was offered a whopping starting salary (with an FAAO, combat military experience and 6 yrs OD experience) of $62,400 at a VA Hospital. My friend works there and he started at about the same. The workload is caring for a bunch of entitlement grumpy old men who feel they deserve free health care (not to mention free Transition glasses yearly) for life because they sprained their ankle in the coast guard reserves playing volleyball 25 years ago.

 

[ac05]

How long ago were you offered this job? that would be around a GS 10 step 3, which is less than GS 11 which is the minimum for optometry. I would also mention that the salary is location based, there is adjustment for cost of living, so I have been quoting the east coast, NY, NC, etc. In places where there is a low cost of living, i think it could be less than 85,00

This is not true. I was offered a whopping starting salary (with an FAAO, combat military experience and 6 yrs OD experience) of $62,400 at a VA Hospital. My friend works there and he started at about the same. The workload is caring for a bunch of entitlement grumpy old men who feel they deserve free health care (not to mention free Transition glasses yearly) for life because they sprained their ankle in the coast guard reserves playing volleyball 25 years ago.