This is a lie...

[Dr. Dangerfield]

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"The average salary of all optometrists is approximately $141,557."

This is posted on the FAQ page of a prominent optometry school.

Apparently they don't think we're smart enough to use the internet and research it...

I'm thinking they meant to put: "The average salary of all optometrists, in the top 5-10%, is approximately $141,557."

 

[Snakedoctor1]

Is the following bullet point about baby boomers retiring?

 

[Dr. Dangerfield]

Is the following bullet point about baby boomers retiring?

Maybe?

I just think it's a bald face lie at worst, or extremely misleading at best. Considering the Bureau of Labor Statistics has the following info:

Median Salary: $106,000; Mean Salary: $117,580.

So, at best, they need to subtract about $24,000 from that figure. If anything, the median is probably more accurate anyway.

 

[Snakedoctor1]

Maybe?

I just think it's a bald face lie at worst, or extremely misleading at best. Considering the Bureau of Labor Statistics has the following info:

Median Salary: $106,000; Mean Salary: $117,580.

So, at best, they need to subtract about $24,000 from that figure. If anything, the median is probably more accurate anyway.

I agree, I made that post in jest, assuming that if they are inflating the average salary, they are probably preaching a great need for new ODs as well.

 

[E_wen]

Which school was that? Salaries fluctuate a lot, and depend on a lot of factors. In general, people I know make 20-30% more than the estimated salaries online.

 

[Dr. Dangerfield]

Which school was that? Salaries fluctuate a lot, and depend on a lot of factors. In general, people I know make 20-30% more than the estimated salaries online.

Southern College of Optometry. I realize there are a lot of factors, particularly location, but those numbers I mentioned above are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov). My point is, any way you slice it, $141,557 is wrong. According to the BLS the mean OD income for Maryland, which is ranked THIRD highest in OD mean income, is $141,870. I just don't see any scenario where the remaining 47 states OD mean incomes come out to $141,557. It's utterly misleading to any potential students to post that on their site.

"You'll be 220k in debt, but you'll make $141k a year!" No, try $117k a year, if you fall into a "good" job.

 

[Ryan_eyeball]

Last year I made about $120k after 11 years out of school. My third year out of school i made around 225k but working 7 days a week. It would be hard to go back to working that much and wouldn't want to either. I'm so glad we're down to just my student loan and then we are completely debt free. Hopefully 1-2 years left to go depending how well the next year goes. It would be hard for me to go back into Optometry school again if I knew the going debt rate was 220-270k. Insurance payments have hardly budged in the past 11 years and most have cut rates. Vision insurances have rarely budged in higher payments.

 

[Dr. Dangerfield]

Last year I made about $120k after 11 years out of school. My third year out of school i made around 225k but working 7 days a week. It would be hard to go back to working that much and wouldn't want to either. I'm so glad we're down to just my student loan and then we are completely debt free. Hopefully 1-2 years left to go depending how well the next year goes. It would be hard for me to go back into Optometry school again if I knew the going debt rate was 220-270k. Insurance payments have hardly budged in the past 11 years and most have cut rates. Vision insurances have rarely budged in higher payments.

This sounds VERY familiar. I'm with you, couldn't imagine coming out with 2x as much debt as I had when I graduated in the present climate.

 

[Purkinja]

Review of Optometry survey were similar to SCO's numbers."How you slice it" matters and some surveys count just salaried,full and part time respondents.I find those numbers plausible based on all modalities of FULL TIME practice.

 

[20DOC20]

Yes, 141K per year is a lie, well, unless you work 7 days a week in a busy corporate setting.

For a full-time OD 105K per year plus full benefits is closer to reality, but the problem with optometry is underemployment. You're lucky if you can find a 5 day a week job outside corporate optometry.

 

[Dr. Dangerfield]

According to a recent Jobson Optical survey the average income for Owner/Partner ODs is approximately $142,000.
Owner/Partner ODs make up about 18 percent of Optometrists, give or take a few percentage points.

According to the same survey Employed ODs average out to about $109,000.
Employed ODs make up the remaining 82 percent... Remember Employed ODs means other OD offices, MD offices, hospitals, VA clinics, etc.

"The average salary of all optometrists is approximately $141,557."
Nope sorry. Owner/Partner ODs, yes. Everybody else - who make up the majority - No.

 

[Purkinja]

234k and 163k are the partnership/group vs "All" income numbers for 2016 Review of Optometry

 

[Dr. Dangerfield]

234k and 163k are the partnership/group vs "All" income numbers for 2016 Review of Optometry

I'd be interested to see their survey pool size.

Actually I just looked it up and the Review of Optometry survey respondents were under 1000.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics had a pool of around 36,000+.

 

[Purkinja]

Furthermore,ambiguity exists in retirement plans,457,equity from mortgage /equipment payments and other discretionary income that boost net worth in their survey.So "income" would be under reported for private practices in most every case,some more than others.