Optometrist Salaries?

[PHARMD_Maybe?]

This is a post to verify what I read in an earlier post (christie 4/14/04) in this forum. I read in this forum earlier that an Optometrist in an Opthalmologist's office can earn up to $125,000 a year and an average OD makes $132,000. I have considered Optometry in the past and even worked as an assistant but decided not to go due to the potential job market saturation and wages of only around $75,000. So, are those dollar figures anywhere near accurate and what do you other students and OD's think about the current and future job market? I really enjoyed the field because of the close patient interaction and not having the pressure of a slip during surger permanently messing up someone's life. Thanks to anyone that can offer insight.

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[NDESTRUKT]

go to salary.com and look it up according to zip code you'll find most of them under 90K

 

[maxwellfish]

Salary.com is usually lower than other sources... I feel that the US dept. of labor is most likely pretty accurate... with around 86K as an average for SALARIED ODs. The mean jumps pretty good when self-employed ODs are included.

Those high numbers of 125k and 138k, I think came from an article in which a smaller sample was taken, but I don't think they are at all imposable incomes... very achievable if you work hard!!

 

[basilisk312]

many optometrists chose to work part time...this could contribute to low salaries shown on websites. from what i make of it, the more hours you work, the more money you get

 

[Potato!]

many optometrists chose to work part time...this could contribute to low salaries shown on websites. from what i make of it, the more hours you work, the more money you get

Only if you have enough patients to fill your hours. In many places, O.D.'s can't fill up their day because there just aren't enough patients to go around. If optometry school's really cared about the future of the profession, they'd stop pumping out so many grads. But that beef is for another thread...

 

[connorkearns]

Only if you have enough patients to fill your hours. In many places, O.D.'s can't fill up their day because there just aren't enough patients to go around. If optometry school's really cared about the future of the profession, they'd stop pumping out so many grads. But that beef is for another thread...

potato,

you must be one of those people who got into UW and only after you got in, started saying stuff like "they should lower the admission acceptance number"

i'm sorry, but i'm so glad they are increasing the number slowly but surely. having only one school of optometry in canada is plain stupidness.

 

[chair]

actually connorkeans,

there are two optometry schools in canada; the other one is montreal (french-speaking)

just curious, are you canadian or american?

potato,

you must be one of those people who got into UW and only after you got in, started saying stuff like "they should lower the admission acceptance number"

i'm sorry, but i'm so glad they are increasing the number slowly but surely. having only one school of optometry in canada is plain stupidness.

 

[xmattODx]

The University of Montreal school is not really an option for most Canadians. I couldn't imagine having to do all my course work in french! Also the disparity between U of Waterloo and U of M. was pretty signigicant. U of M is a five year program out of high school I think. No OAT requirement (its only in English) no Canadian boards required to practice in Quebec.

In the US there are far too many grads each year. I'm not sure that there are too many grads from the Canadian schools but with all those Canadians who study in the US and then go back there still might be a surplus but I'm not really sure. ...I'll stop talking now because I have no idea what I'm talking about.....

 

[Potato!]

Hey Connorkearns,

Obviously, I'm not complaining about Canadian schools having too many optometry students, that would just be ridiculous. I live in Canada, but I'm American and would be attending an American O.D. school. I guess I should have specified. Anyhow, the job market is less saturated right now in Canada, but Canadian optometrists have a far more limited scope with which they can practise than the US. As computerized refractions improve and site-testing opticians are legalized throughout various provinces, O.D.'s might eventually run out of patients...even in Canada. Only time will tell.

This being said, I spoke with one optometrist who said that optometry was all "doom and gloom" back when he entered O.D. school 40 years ago. Obviously the profession has stuck around long enough for him to make some good money. So who knows...

 

[jd4me]

One of the reasons why UW is ramping up the number of students that they accept every year is to reduce the number of canadian students that head to the states for their optometric education. There is some concern in Canada regarding the increase in age of both the general population and practicing optometrists and the strain that this will soon be placing on the profession.

There had been talk of opening up a second english-language optometry school in canada a while back, but I don't think it had progressed very far and instead UW decided to increase the number of students they will accomodate each year. They plan on maxing out at 90 students, I believe, and for september 2004 I think that there will be 75 students.

 

[basilisk312]

regarding salaries, do chain store optometrists make around 70k, while optometrists working in a private practice make 100k+???? and are the only options after graduating from opt school chain stores and private buissiness??????

 

[r_salis]

regarding salaries, do chain store optometrists make around 70k, while optometrists working in a private practice make 100k+???? and are the only options after graduating from opt school chain stores and private buissiness??????

Another option is a group practice (I'm not sure if you included that in your "private practice category") with a group of ODs or OMDs/ODs. You could also work for a VA hospital or go military (the armed forces offers good scholarships).