Optometrist Salary?

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Harper Quinn

Harper Quinn

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Eyes Only said:
The most reliable souce is imemily, aka otom123, aka optomhopeful123
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Yes, I have it on good authority that iemily/optom123 will actually skip college and OD school to move directly into consulting and sharing her vast knoweldge with very successful practices.

Pick her brain for free while you can.

:spam:/iemily/optom123:spam::troll:
 
Tippytoe said:
Yes, I have it on good authority that iemily/optom123 will actually skip college and OD school to move directly into consulting and sharing her vast knoweldge with very successful practices.

Pick her brain for free while you can.

:spam:/iemily/optom123:spam::troll:
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Excellent advice. I heard rumors that CNN was interested in hiring all of her personalities as senior financial correspondents. Move over Suze Ormon, there's a new financial sheriff in town!

Here's my running tally of the many personalities of our fearless emily:

imemily
optom123
optohopeful123
optometrist123
Kevin L (took me a couple of days to figure this one out, but I'm sure it's her)
WalmartOD

I sense trouble brewing in her psyche - I think she's nearing another personality change so everyone should stand back. Here are some possibilities for the next switch:

MyOATScoreWas123
IHaveTroubleCountingPast123
TheNumberOfUsernamesIHaveOnSDNis123
MyOddsOfGettingAnODare1/23
MyPostsAreAsPredictableAs123
MyIQisApproximately(.5)(123)
I'mIn6thGradeandI'm12.3
TheNumberofGrammaticalErrorsInMyAvgPostIs123
 
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Harper Quinn said:
I'm pre-optometry and have been trying to get a good idea about what can be expected as a salary. I found some good information over at http://www.optometristsalaryhq.net & also found some great information at http://www.optstudent.com

Can anyone recommend other good references in regards to overall salaries of optometrists in the United States?

thanks, Harper
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You probably deserve a serious answer, so here it is. Optometrist's salaries are highly variable and I wouldn't put much faith in these internet sources. Unless you can determine the data source and methodology, I would be skeptical. The AOA does publish survey results, you might want to look at them.
 
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dinkus said:
That's not an average, that's a range.
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That's because.....

Optometry salaries are highly variable.

The average includes part timers, the skew towards higher salaries because of the more experienced optometrists, owners and employees.

So....

Optometry salaries are highly variable.
 
dinkus said:
That's not an average, that's a range.
Click to expand...

Okay I will educate you in 5th grade mathematics.

Take the first number and add it to the second number and divide by 2.🙄
 
Tippytoe said:
Okay I will educate you in 5th grade mathematics.

Take the first number and add it to the second number and divide by 2.🙄
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I think you're the one in need of an education. You provided a range, not 2 numbers, so the average isn't necessarily half the sum of the upper and lower bounds. This is elementary. Just because you're an optometrist doesn't mean you can't be wrong. You're not holy. Next time your mistakes are corrected, perhaps a humble, "my bad, you're right," will suffice.
 
dinkus said:
I think you're the one in need of an education. You provided a range, not 2 numbers, so the average isn't necessarily half the sum of the upper and lower bounds. This is elementary. Just because you're an optometrist doesn't mean you can't be wrong. You're not holy. Next time your mistakes are corrected, perhaps a humble, "my bad, you're right," will suffice.
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You're a bit jumpy. Take a break from the X-box and tell mom to bring you another PB&J and maybe some chocolate milk.

As explained to you by another, there is no average OD salary. To pretend there is one is silly, stupid and wrong. Some make $40,000. Some make $80,000. Some make $120,000. Some make $200,000. Most are not salaried jobs.

You can not arrive at a "TRUE" average because many ODs are self-employed and can make their 'reported' salary be about anything they want.

I tried to give you an educated and honest estimate but you are yet another know-it-all jr. high/high school/college student that likes to stir up trouble because your adderall isn't working or dad left home when you were very young and psycho-therapy hasn't worked it all out yet 🙂.

But if you are hell-bent on finding a 'average' salary, just pick a number out of the blue.

P.S. The $80,000-$120,000 numbers are not ultimate 'highs and lows'. I'm sure there are some ODs making $20,000 and some netting $1,000,000.
 
dinkus said:
:laugh:

The funny thing is you still haven't grasped the concept of an average.
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Emily/optom123.......why another name change? Multiple personality disorders? Man living in a woman's body? Are you really Barack Obama on here to distract yourself from the terrible economy?
 
I guess everyone who exposes your ignorance has to be same person in your delusional world. :laugh:
 
syma said:
That's because.....

Optometry salaries are highly variable.

The average includes part timers, the skew towards higher salaries because of the more experienced optometrists, owners and employees.

So....

Optometry salaries are highly variable.
Click to expand...

Might as well respond to this post since Tippymoron still doesn't get it. Salaries are variable, absolutely. That doesn't mean an average doesn't exist. An average always exists for a set of numbers. Whether there are reporting difficulties doesn't negate the fact that an average exists, known or unknown. The concept of a standard deviation is understood to measure the variability of data.
 
dinkus said:
Might as well respond to this post since Tippymoron still doesn't get it. Salaries are variable, absolutely. That doesn't mean an average doesn't exist. An average always exists for a set of numbers. Whether there are reporting difficulties doesn't negate the fact that an average exists, known or unknown. The concept of a standard deviation is understood to measure the variability of data.
Click to expand...

👍 I enjoyed my statistics course too.

The point is, yes if you were to add up alllllllllll the salaries and divide them by allllllllll the optometrists you would get an average.

And if you were to write down allllll the salaries and then pick the middle one, you'd get another average.

However, and a BIG however, that average is of no value because there are so many different variables involved.

Anywho, google has a plethora if answers, pretty much saying the same thing.

😀
 
You're right. The more variable the data, the less meaningful the mean. No disagreements there.
 
Hopefully the original poster gets it by now.

An average salary would be meaningless because of the high variability.
 
Harper Quinn said:
I'm pre-optometry and have been trying to get a good idea about what can be expected as a salary. I found some good information over at http://www.optometristsalaryhq.net & also found some great information at http://www.optstudent.com

Can anyone recommend other good references in regards to overall salaries of optometrists in the United States?

thanks, Harper
Click to expand...

You should expect six figures and work for nothing less, if you are intending on working full time.

Try spending some time with a corporate doc and learn how much they make, which is usually 80% of what they charge. In private practice, docs take home 30% of what they charge/make, since it is a business with added expenses. If you are just an employee or working for a private practice, expect nothing less than $400/day. But if you want to practice in saturated areas like California, it'll be a bit less.

I've got some examples from speaking to practicing doctors, so let me know if you want real numbers.
 
first, thank you to those of you who provided educated well thought out responses. I appreciate it. Looks like hard work, hustle, and creating solid relationships will in the long run create the desired salary. thanks again. As with all sites I refer to, I take little from each of them.
 
optom123 said:
You should expect six figures and work for nothing less, if you are intending on working full time.
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This is possibly the dumbest advice I've ever seen in print anywhere. You shouldn't even expect a FT job as a new OD, let alone a 6 figure income.

optom123 said:
Try spending some time with a corporate doc and learn how much they make, which is usually 80% of what they charge.
Click to expand...

Wrong. Please don't make comments about topics which you clearly know nothing about.

optom123 said:
If you are just an employee or working for a private practice, expect nothing less than $400/day.
Click to expand...

Fail. Wrong again. Please don't listen to this nonsense. This 12 year-old child has no idea what she's talking about. If you "expect" 400 per day from a PP, you're going to be laughed at. Some will pay that, most won't. Also, if you're an IC vs an employee, your taxes will differ.

optom123 said:
But if you want to practice in saturated areas like California, it'll be a bit less.
Click to expand...

Yeah, like 225/day. Not kidding......and that's if you can even find PT work.
 
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Harper Quinn said:
first, thank you to those of you who provided educated well thought out responses. I appreciate it. Looks like hard work, hustle, and creating solid relationships will in the long run create the desired salary. thanks again. As with all sites I refer to, I take little from each of them.
Click to expand...

We're not messing with you...just frustrated by the constant hijacking of legitimate posts by "pre-opt" trolls.

You can make a good living in this profession but there are several things that will help you get there:

Choose an area to practice that really needs your services.

Keep your student debt as low as possible, this gives you more flexibility when you graduate.

Learn as much as you can about business and plan to have your own practice, or at least partnership.

Regardless of what some people say, private practice is the most lucrative way to practice.

Good luck.
 
Keep your student debt as low as possible, this gives you more flexibility when you graduate.
Click to expand...

Well, that's very difficult to do these days. Practically, you should attend a public opt school and declare residency in the state in which it is located. SUNY is my choice school, hope I get in lol
 
blaba said:
Well, that's very difficult to do these days. Practically, you should attend a public opt school and declare residency in the state in which it is located. SUNY is my choice school, hope I get in lol
Click to expand...

My statement is a relative one. The less debt you have the better. If you need to borrow $150k, that is what you need to borrow. But don't borrow $200k just because you can and buy yourself a new BMW. BTW, this actually happens.

7% interest is significant, and it's paid back over 10 to 30 years.

You'd be amazed at what some students buy with student loan money.
 
WalmartOD said:
I was able to afford more than most ODs my first year out. But that's because I went corporate instead of private.

Many grads should do the same!
Click to expand...

Why does this all sound so familiar...
 
Can SDN do a MAC Address ban plus an IP Address ban because this individual has some severe psychosis.
 
optom123 said:
You should expect six figures and work for nothing less, if you are intending on working full time.

Try spending some time with a corporate doc and learn how much they make, which is usually 80% of what they charge. In private practice, docs take home 30% of what they charge/make, since it is a business with added expenses. If you are just an employee or working for a private practice, expect nothing less than $400/day. But if you want to practice in saturated areas like California, it'll be a bit less.

I've got some examples from speaking to practicing doctors, so let me know if you want real numbers.
Click to expand...

I'm just so happy that you have been banned.
Please take this free time to actually learn about the profession (but I'm sure you'll come back with another poorly disguised sn soon enough)
 
syma said:
👍 I enjoyed my statistics course too.

The point is, yes if you were to add up alllllllllll the salaries and divide them by allllllllll the optometrists you would get an average.

And if you were to write down allllll the salaries and then pick the middle one, you'd get another average.

However, and a BIG however, that average is of no value because there are so many different variables involved.

Anywho, google has a plethora if answers, pretty much saying the same thing.

😀
Click to expand...

Hate to stir the pot, but this thread has become pretty darn funny. The bolded statement defines a median, not a mean (i.e., average). 🤣
 
It's been a long time since I took stats, but I'm pretty sure that the mean, median, and mode are actually three different types of averages. I guess it's irrelevant, though. What really matters is that the mean, median, and mode salary for optometrists......... blows. 😀
 
Jason K said:
It's been a long time since I took stats, but I'm pretty sure that the mean, median, and mode are actually three different types of averages. I guess it's irrelevant, though. What really matters is that the mean, median, and mode salary for optometrists......... blows. 😀
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If you want to get technical... mean, median, and mode are all measures of central tendency. Only the mean is an average.

But since none of us really knows what any of these are for optometry, what difference does it make?
 
Eyes99 said:
If you want to get technical... mean, median, and mode are all measures of central tendency. Only the mean is an average.

But since none of us really knows what any of these are for optometry, what difference does it make?
Click to expand...

Touche! I see you've visited the Wikipedia page for averages. Alright, this will certainly be the last anyone hears from me about stats, but for what it's worth, according to the ever-reputable emathzone.com, the types of mathematical averages are:

1) Arithmetic mean
2) Geometric mean
3) Harmonic mean
4) Median
5) Mode

I have absolutely no clue what a harmonic mean is, but there it is. Apparently, it's Wikipedia's "average" vs. emathzone's "average." 😀 In any case, it's really not relevant since there really is no way to determine an accurate "average" OD salary. There's just too many variables. I think the range that Tippytoe gave is totally reasonable.
 
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Visionary said:
Hate to stir the pot, but this thread has become pretty darn funny. The bolded statement defines a median, not a mean (i.e., average). 🤣
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It was a facetious statement.

But since you love to stir the pot, as far as statistics is concerned median is a type of average.

:idea:
 
syma said:
It was a facetious statement.

But since you love to stir the pot, as far as statistics is concerned median is a type of average.

:idea:
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Sorry, but I have to disagree with you there. As Eyes99 correctly stated above, all are measures of central tendency, but only the mean is the average and vice versa (they are synonymous). An arithmetic mean is, by definition, the sum of a number of quantities divided by that number. Geometric and harmonic means yield different values than the arithmetic mean and are typically used for other types of mathematical calculations than statistics. The median is just the quantity that is in the exact middle of a ranked list of quantities and, when compared to the mean, can characterize the skewness (or deviation from normality) of a distribution of quantities. The mode, for completeness, is the most frequent quantity in said list. That's my statistics lesson for the day. :prof:
 
Jason K said:
Touche! I see you've visited the Wikipedia page for averages. Alright, this will certainly be the last anyone hears from me about stats, but for what it's worth, according to the ever-reputable emathzone.com, the types of mathematical averages are:

1) Arithmetic mean
2) Geometric mean
3) Harmonic mean
4) Median
5) Mode

I have absolutely no clue what a harmonic mean is, but there it is. Apparently, it's Wikipedia's "average" vs. emathzone's "average." 😀 In any case, it's really not relevant since there really is no way to determine an accurate "average" OD salary. There's just too many variables. I think the range that Tippytoe gave is totally reasonable.
Click to expand...

Ha ha...didn't think to check wikipedia, just remember this from my stats classes.

Agree, I think the ranges expressed here are accurate enough.
 
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