MD Parents or any other "professional" parents other than OD?

[bobsacamenoh]

I was just wondering if anyone out there has a parent that is an MD, DDS, PharmD, etc. What are their opinions on your choice to pursue optometry? I think optometry is a great profession, but it seems to be "looked down upon" (i.e. they don't think it is prestigous enough) by some people I've come across. I've told people that I am interested in going into optometry and often times they passively hint that I should go into dentisty or become a physician.

Anyone also considering dental school or medical school? I want to look into these too before I make a huge decision. Anyone considering professions outside of the health careers?

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[basilisk312]

my dad is an MD and he doesn't care what profession i choose as long as its in the health field. Its not looked down upon in my family. i am not considering any other health profession other than optometry. i read in parade magazine some time ago, i don't remember exactly when but i do remember it was shortly after the economy faced a recession because of the stock market high execs. it must have been 1 or 2 years ago. anyway the magazine said that the only profession which will not loose any buisiness is anything in a health field because people will always have heath problems and need different types of doctors.

 

[r_salis]

If you enter a profession for its "prestige", what do you do later on if you find out you don't like what you're doing? Maybe it's enough to have your money to keep you warm at night, but it's *your* life -- you're going to be doing this stuff for the rest of it -- so make sure it's something you love, not something your family/friends/society loves you for choosing.

 

[chemgirlie]

I can give you a little more insight into both the fields of medicine and dentistry, they were both careers I was interested in before I made my decision to go on to optometry school. The reason I did not choose medical school was basically because I shadowed several MDs, both GP and surgeons and I asked every one of them if they had their life to do over again would you still go to med school. Every single one said absolutely not. That spoke a lot for the profession as far as I was concerned. If you didn't have to pay outrageous malpractice insurance and worry about sue happy patients and attorneys it would be a much better career.
Dentistry was much more appealing with good work hours, you can own your own business, and prosper monetarily; however, the main turnoff for me was that after school you will be in debt some $250,000 to $300,000 (for me anyway) and if your parents aren't dentists what are you going to do? The banks are not very keen on loaning you several hundred thousand dollars to start your own practice when you are that far in debt. I know quite a few new graduates who are in this situation and they are working at places like Sears making far less than they should. That wouldn't be that big of a deal if you could easily get a job right out of school, but most dentists have their own practice which leaves new graduates with not many options out of school (or at least in my state). But it is a good profession for the right person, and if you have ample funding it is even better I choose optometry because right out of school you will most likely have many jobs to choose from, and the average indebtedness for some private schools is around $90,000 (SCO). And let's face it, optometry is a great field, virtually no malpractice, you most likely will not kill anyone, and the patient attitude is sooo much better than that of dentistry. No, you probably won't make as much money as MD or DMD's make, but so what? If you enjoy your job (as all the optometrists I've spoken to do) and make a good living, then you'll be happy with your choice. I encourage you to ask around your area, talk to new graduates from all the fields you are looking into and get some advice from them. As for me, I love optometry!!

 

[edinOH]

On the flip side, my dad is an OD.

For the longest time as a child I didn't understand that some people's fathers actually had to go to work before 10 a.m. Seriously!

He has a solo practice. First pt. at 10a.m. Off noon to one for lunch. Back at it until 5 pm or so.

I think he sees about an average of 8 pts a day and makes around 70-80K.

He's happy and will probably do this until the day he dies. He's already been doing it for 30.

 

[acurael]

70-80k....is this what most optometrists make? i thought it was more like a 100k, especially if you go private

 

[J.opt]

I?ve always heard that ODs in private practice make more money than ODs who work in retail stores. But do retail docs make more than optometrists who work for other ODs?

 

[Tony.]

I think optometry is a great profession, but it seems to be "looked down upon" (i.e. they don't think it is prestigous enough) by some people I've come across

is anyone else here getting this vibe about optometry? please speak up....

 

[rpames]

Private ODs make more than chain ODs, usually. As far as the example above about making 70-80k/yr, that's low for an OD in practice for 30yrs, but it is also rare for an OD to have his first patient at 10am and last at about 5pm. Most ODs see a few more than 8 pts/day. But on that same line of thought, how great is it that he is able to pick his own hours and live his live the way he chooses and still make a better living than probably 70% of the world?


"is anyone else here getting this vibe about optometry? please speak up...."

Some people don't think of ODs as real doctors, that is there problem. But I also guess it is up to us to show them that we are highly trained doctors that do a lot more than say, 'one or two.'