Finding a job after graduating

[PhenieMack]

I was a little bit concerned about the viability of a career as an optometrist after reading some of the posts about oversaturation, etc, so I did a search on Monster, Careerbuilder, and Jobster for optometry positions. There was only one in my area, and it entailed joining the army. Thinking that I must just live in an area where there are as few optometry jobs as there are other jobs (five colleges, hoards of recent grads, practically 99% of pop. has a bachelors), I searched Boston. Two results! Does anyone know if positions are generally not advertised, and are filled via word-of-mouth? Or is that it? How does one go about finding a position after graduation?

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[4Eyes]

Not that the job outlook is stellar, but private practice optometrists are notorious about not advertising that they're looking for an associate. I have heard this over and over. IF you find an OD position on sites like Monster and CareerBuilder, it's usually military or corporate. You may have better luck searching www.optometryscareercenter.org, but you have to be an AOA member for that. That resource hasn't gotten the use they had hoped for, either.

As for finding a position after graduation, you can try meeting ODs at society meetings, state association meetings, etc. Or if you're looking to practice in a certain area you could try sending out letters saying you're graduating soon and ntend to move to that area. Several optical labs I've talked to say they're willing to keep a few copies of your CV to give to optometrists looking to add a new OD...since they're in the offices fairly regularly and talk to the ODs they tend to have a better idea who's looking to hire.

 

[odcareercenter]

PhenieMack - I'm the site administrator for www.optometryscareercenter.org, a service of the American Optometric Association (AOA). Access to the site is free to AOA members as a benefit of membership, but it is also available at a fee to non-members. You can also search and preview active listings in your area free (see "Preview Listings" from the homepage) without registering. Our site is slightly more than 2 yrs. old, and listings have more than doubled since we started our advertising campaign last Fall and continue to climb as word gets out. As of today, we have more than 300 active listings posted. Because optometry is such a specialized field, you will be unlikely to find many (if any) listings at the major career sites you mentioned, do not be discouraged. Please feel free to give the AOA office a call at 800-365-2219 and ask to speak to the OCC Administrator (me) and I will be happy to point you in the direction of people and resources that can help you explore optometry as a career option and answer any questions you may have - including how to go about finding a position after graduation, in addition to our site.