optometry or respiratory therapy

[browneyedgirl]

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hello everyone,

So for many years now I have been debating between pursuing a career in either respiratory therapy or optometry. I whole-heartedly believe optometry would suit me more than RT. However, I am VERY concerned about the amount of negativity I have read on SDN surrounding optometry and how the job market is not that great. I live in Canada, so it is obviously extremely competitive to get into Waterloo, and I am not feel too confident. I have good grades and a good OAT score but not good enough for Waterloo. So I would most likely need to go to the states to study to become an optometrist in which I would go into ~200,000$ debt for. Yikes. And when you hear that the job market for optometrists is saturated, that is a pretty scary figure.

RT on the other hand is only 2 more years of school, and I would be in ALOT, quite possibly no debt after finishing. Of course, RT's dont make as nice of a salary as optometrists do but they still make by. I would also be able to stay in Canada for school. (Even if I did study opto in the states I would come back to Canada after) Anyone know what the job outlook is like for RT's? Is it any better than optometry?

Honestly, I am so stressed right now.. going into my final year of school and will be applying in September to optometry or RT, jus not sure which. If anyone can give me some advice it would be extremely helpful. Help me weight the pros and cons here!

Thank you!

 

[tbair200]

Hey,

I know it is stressful but one thing I learned is to take what you read on here with a grain of salt. Seriously. I was really turned off by the posts on here too regarding optometry. But once I talked to doctors and students that are now attending it has made me realized that it is a good choice. I think you should do whichever one you picture yourself doing 🙂 Have you shadowed both fields btw?

 

[Rain Clouds]

Yeah, the negativity on this site is insane. I think the best thing to do is go find an optometrist (maybe a recent grad) in your area who studied in the US, and ask them about what the experience was like and how they are managing their debt. I've found most optometrists happy to talk to students about what it's like after optometry school.

 

[tbair200]

agreed. all the optometrists and students I talked to were always very pleasant.

 

[Jason K]

agreed. all the optometrists and students I talked to were always very pleasant.

There's a big difference between being unpleasant, and being honest about the grim future for young ODs. As I've said before, optometry loves to hide its dirty laundry. If you decide to ignore that fact, it's on you.