Here we go again...
Yes, an optometrist is a doctor. They are a Doctor of Optometry and receive an OD, not a MD or DO.
Like medstud said, ODs go to school 4 years beyond undergraduate. After those additional years (8 total, just like MDs) they can begin to practicing optometry. If they want, they can go to an optional one year residence and specialize in primary care, low vision, ocular disease, refractive surgery and anterior segment disease, and a few more I can think of off the top of my head. Again, the residency is optional, unlike ophth who are required to go through a 3-4 year residence where they learn how to perform ocular surgery and learn about ocular disease.
As far as salary, about 100k is right, but if you go into private practice you can make a lot more than that, like over 200k (200k is on the high end). This is not as much as the average MD, but still a pretty nice life.
ODs treat ocular disease including diabetic retinopathy (spelling?), macular degeneration, pink eye, allergies, remove forign bodies (eg, metal fragments), ect. Depending on the state, OD can perscribe a range of medications. There are few states who limit thier Rx rights to ocualr drops, but no oral medications. However. there are a lot of states who basically allow any Rx. These "unlimited" Rx rights allow the OD to prescribe any med as long as they can justify is purpose for ocular use.
ODs do have better hours than ophth. As far as no calls, that is not true. If you are in private practice, you can expect a call at home perhaps 2 times a month. That is not a lot, but you do receive them. These can a forign body removal, a bad eye infection or inflamation, any number of things.
ODs can basically do anything an ophth can, except surgery. The two field work well together generally, but there are some conflicts.
Look at both options, they are both great choices.
Here are some site you may want to look at about optometry:
http://www.theaosa.org/main.htm
http://www.opted.org/
