Optometry vs. Audiology

[sandst]

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Greetings! I have been lurking around these forums for weeks, and I have finally decided it is time to ask your opinion. I just cannot decide what to do with myself. Here's my story:

I graduated from UNT with my Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree about 6 years ago because I could not decide on a major. Nothing seemed like it was quite for me. The only thing I was halfway interested in was Speech Pathology and Audiology, particularly the latter. Since then, the Doctor of Audiology program has been implemented at UNT, and that interests me a great deal. The audiology field is changing in a way that sounds really exciting to me. With the doctorate degree, the scope of practice is opening up to allow audiologists to be able to have an autonomous practice, much like and optometry works. With that said, optometry has recently been of interest to me also, maybe more so than audiology. So, now I am having a tough time deciding between these 2 fields. The salary thing won't decide it for me, because I am not looking for the highest paid job out there. The most important thing I want in a career is to be able to get up in the morning and not dread the day. I want to enjoy my work (is that so much to ask?) I want to provide a service to the public. I want to do something that is needed. I want to work as autonomously as possible. I want to use my talents. I love both biology and technology, and I would enjoy working with all sorts of equipment. Both of these fields seem to have these qualities. I have no doubt that I have the abilities to thrive in either one of these fields. Academically, though, I still have some things to get done. My undergraduate GPA was 2.97, mostly because of my last semester's case of senioritis (my overall GPA should be over 3 now with some extra classes I have taken since). I took almost none of the basic sciences, though. The 3 or 4 C's I have gotten are in elective classes I cared nothing about. I managed to get through school as an undergrad without even taking Biology! I took things like Geology and Astronomy for my sciences because they interested me. I recently went back to school just to take biology and loved it! I realize it was a mistake not to take more sciences.

So, with that said, to do audiology, all I have to do is take the GRE and do well on it, apply to the same school I graduated from, and hope that my GPA isn't too low. For optometry, though it is appealing to me great deal more, I would have to take the GRE, the OAT, probably 3 or 4 semester's worth of prerequisites for all the science courses I missed, and the big one, be willing to move to another city, as there is no optometry school here. That is quite a commitment. I am a very determined person and would get it done if I knew it was right for me. I would get a Master's Degree to prove my academic worth if I had do. But, how do I really know if this is for me?!! How did you guys decide? Any input would be appreciated! Do you just have to shut your eyes and jump in and hope for the best??

Thanks!

 

[rpie]

Greetings! I have been lurking around these forums for weeks, and I have finally decided it is time to ask your opinion. I just cannot decide what to do with myself. Here's my story:

I graduated from UNT with my Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree about 6 years ago because I could not decide on a major. Nothing seemed like it was quite for me. The only thing I was halfway interested in was Speech Pathology and Audiology, particularly the latter. Since then, the Doctor of Audiology program has been implemented at UNT, and that interests me a great deal. The audiology field is changing in a way that sounds really exciting to me. With the doctorate degree, the scope of practice is opening up to allow audiologists to be able to have an autonomous practice, much like and optometry works. With that said, optometry has recently been of interest to me also, maybe more so than audiology. So, now I am having a tough time deciding between these 2 fields. The salary thing won't decide it for me, because I am not looking for the highest paid job out there. The most important thing I want in a career is to be able to get up in the morning and not dread the day. I want to enjoy my work (is that so much to ask?) I want to provide a service to the public. I want to do something that is needed. I want to work as autonomously as possible. I want to use my talents. I love both biology and technology, and I would enjoy working with all sorts of equipment. Both of these fields seem to have these qualities. I have no doubt that I have the abilities to thrive in either one of these fields. Academically, though, I still have some things to get done. My undergraduate GPA was 2.97, mostly because of my last semester's case of senioritis (my overall GPA should be over 3 now with some extra classes I have taken since). I took almost none of the basic sciences, though. The 3 or 4 C's I have gotten are in elective classes I cared nothing about. I managed to get through school as an undergrad without even taking Biology! I took things like Geology and Astronomy for my sciences because they interested me. I recently went back to school just to take biology and loved it! I realize it was a mistake not to take more sciences.

So, with that said, to do audiology, all I have to do is take the GRE and do well on it, apply to the same school I graduated from, and hope that my GPA isn't too low. For optometry, though it is appealing to me great deal more, I would have to take the GRE, the OAT, probably 3 or 4 semester's worth of prerequisites for all the science courses I missed, and the big one, be willing to move to another city, as there is no optometry school here. That is quite a commitment. I am a very determined person and would get it done if I knew it was right for me. I would get a Master's Degree to prove my academic worth if I had do. But, how do I really know if this is for me?!! How did you guys decide? Any input would be appreciated! Do you just have to shut your eyes and jump in and hope for the best??

Thanks!

Shadow a few OD’s in different practice modes. This will give you a true feeling of what Optometry is and help you make your decision. All professional schools require a lot of sacrifices and commitments. There is nothing worse than finding out later that Optometry is not your cup of tea.

Our receptionist’s daughter shadows our OD’s and OMD’s because she was almost sure she wanted to be an Optometrist or Ophthalmologist. After about a week and a half she changed her mind because, although both fields were interesting and challenging, she just could not see her self “examining patients in a dark room and looking through an upright microscope (Slit Lamp) most of the day” 😱

 

[sandst]

Thanks for your response. Actually, I am currently a Medical Transcriptionist, so I sit for 9 hours a day and type. Doing slit lamp examinations all day with actual people involved sounds really exciting compared to what I am doing now, and what I am doing now isn't half bad. So, maybe I wouldn't mind doing slit lamp exams all day!

 

[chicoborja]

Yeah, shadow both one ore two ODs and AuDs in your local area and get a feel for which one you get best envision yourself doing for the next couple of decades. As your prob well aware, optometry has a scope of practice that includes precribing medication (topical and in some states oral as well) and some minor surgical procedures. If these two really appeal to you, especially the latter, then OD seems to be the choice. Just a little sidenote, there actually is a test in audiology where if you specialize in the area of balance disorders you will be looking at eyes all the time.....nystagmography.

 

[shellabella80]

Yeah, shadow both one ore two ODs and AuDs in your local area and get a feel for which one you get best envision yourself doing for the next couple of decades. As your prob well aware, optometry has a scope of practice that includes precribing medication (topical and in some states oral as well) and some minor surgical procedures. If these two really appeal to you, especially the latter, then OD seems to be the choice. Just a little sidenote, there actually is a test in audiology where if you specialize in the area of balance disorders you will be looking at eyes all the time.....nystagmography.

I would agree with chicoborja; shadow a few practitioners and see where your interest lies. That will definitely give you some insight about where you would like to go🙂 Good luck!