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- Jun 14, 2005
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Dr. Ken,
Do you still stand by your words of not recommending students to start a path in optometry? two years isn't a very long time, I am just curious if your opinion has changed?
I have always recommend optometry to students and potential students with caution. As I mentioned recently in another posting, if you know what you are getting into, are comfortable with that, and you are practicing in an area where access to medical insurance plans is not an issue then I believe that optometry can still be a rewarding career.
However, with 3 and possibly 4 new schools coming online to already exacerbate the current oversupply problem which the AOAs OWN STUDIES admit we have, I believe that that the outlook for optometry has dimmed and will continue to do so.
I still believe that optometry is rapidly heading down the same road that pharmacy went down many years ago. The overwhelming majority of ODs are going to end up employed by large corporations working in retail setting and working retail hours. The number of independent ODs is going to be very small, much like the number of independent pharmacists. That is not to say you won't make a good living. You will make an above average salary. You will not starve. You will not default on your loans. But I think that the goal of independent private practice is going to rapidly fade. I seriously hope I'm wrong about that.