Would anyone here recommend post-OD degrees in similar/related fields? A Ph.D. in vision science, for instance? Or an MD? (lol, but seriously wondering.) Means more schooling, I know, but I'm just wondering..
Only if you're planning a career in academia.
If I were to go for a post-OD degree, I'd go for a Master's Degree in something like Nutrition, making sure the program is approved by the American Dietetics Association, and then go for Registered Dietician certification. That way, you can pursue a path in optometric academia OR, when optometry implodes upon itself, you can get a job as a Registered Dietician and make equal or more $$ doing that.
I haven't decided if I should continue being an optometrist until I retire OR if I should quit in the next few years and pursue something else.
As it is - you can't open cold anywhere without a sub-specialty such as VT. I have friends who didn't make profit in their new optometry practice until they'd been open for five years. They really struggled. Almost went bankrupt several times. They were questioning whether they could even make a living being optometrists. And now, finally, they're making as much as as a waitress or a bartender. And that's considered success in this profession.
I mean WHY would anyone invest so much time and money just to starve? Why even goto college? Where's the motivation?
Looking 20 years down the road - I don't think optometry will be a viable way to make a living. I mean, the optometry schools and the AOA have sold us out by pumping out 1000 new graduates every year. We're a dime a dozen.
I'm saving $$ for college tuition.
If I were to return to school, I'd either pursue becoming a Nutritionist OR going into the field of Botany, horticulture or landscape design. If you had the stomach for it (and I don't) a great field that's in demand is Lab technicians (the people in hospital labs who analyse feces, blood, plasma and who draw blood). That's probably because of high risk of needle-sticks and because it's absolutely disgusting.
I could qualify for Medical School. I had a high undergrad gpa. Believe it or not ... I never even applied for Med school. I actually wanted to be an optometrist! Seriously. But now, I wouldn't goto med school unless the government paid ALL my tuition, ALL my books, my housing, health insurance and food and a healthy stipend for my residency training -- and that's because of Obamacare. They'd have to kiss my *ss ROYALLY to get me to goto med school, now!
Hey ... if they did pay for ALL OF IT ... I'd consider med school. But I'd have to exit med school 100% debt free because drs don't make money anymore. If I'm going to work for breadcrumbs, my education had better be free.