Salary

This forum made possible through the generous support of
SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Get help with your application

Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.

girlscallmepogi

Member
10+ Year Member
5+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
I was wondering what the salary of optometrists are. First off, yes I searched, and I looked online but the salaries range from 40k-150k a year(average). Now that's a big difference.

I know that money shouldn't be everything, and it ISN'T, but it is important, and I do admit that if I went to school for eight years and worked full time for 40k a year, I'd think of something else to do. I do understand that living on the coast is cheaper than living in TX and generally self-employeed optometrists usually make more than salaried, but I was looking for a nice ballpark figure.

Thanks.
 
I just read somewhere that acording to 2001 data, the average earnings for a salaried optometrist, which is what most start out as, is 80-90K. I think the lower figures like 40K are for optometrist that are working part time. I know some OD's will choose to work part-time for life-style reasone like raising a family, but I'm concerned that some recent grads have difficultly finding fulltime employment.
 
girlscallmepogi said:
I was wondering what the salary of optometrists are. First off, yes I searched, and I looked online but the salaries range from 40k-150k a year(average). Now that's a big difference.

I know that money shouldn't be everything, and it ISN'T, but it is important, and I do admit that if I went to school for eight years and worked full time for 40k a year, I'd think of something else to do. I do understand that living on the coast is cheaper than living in TX and generally self-employeed optometrists usually make more than salaried, but I was looking for a nice ballpark figure.

Thanks.
The new grads that I employ make approx. $40/hr. before taxes.
 
girlscallmepogi said:
I was wondering what the salary of optometrists are. First off, yes I searched, and I looked online but the salaries range from 40k-150k a year(average). Now that's a big difference.

I know that money shouldn't be everything, and it ISN'T, but it is important, and I do admit that if I went to school for eight years and worked full time for 40k a year, I'd think of something else to do. I do understand that living on the coast is cheaper than living in TX and generally self-employeed optometrists usually make more than salaried, but I was looking for a nice ballpark figure.

Thanks.

that's just an average. it's usually 80K after a few years