Walmart Optometry

[Tippytoe]

Something to remember when many of you sign a large part of your life away to Walmart in return for a nice dinner one night in your 4th year of OD school: Overall, Walmart Eye Care gets a 1.25 stars rating out of 5.

My advice, if considering working at Walmart, run, don't walk away. Instead, open a lawn care service and make more per month with much less stress and more respect (and you won't be ashamed when someone ask you where you work). I don't think I've ever met an OD that introduced themselves and said they work at Walmart. They always make something up (like "I work in my own practice" conveniently leaving out it is 'inside Walmart).

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/eyeglasses/walmart_vision.html

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[Gigan988]

Sounds like somebody has a case of the Mondays. Most of the complaints are directed at the optical staff and opticians, Wal-mart employees. Everyone knows that quality is not up to par. The salary is lower at Wal-mart, but most people don't make a lifetime career out of working at one. It's a good place to get your footing for a few years until you can join in or start up your own practice, given the fact that joining a practice is financially difficult right out of opto school.

 

[Optogal]

Why are the reviews on that site so long? Where do they find these people to write such lengthy commentary? The average folk has trouble putting two sentences together coherently when asked for an opinion.

 

[Jason K]

The salary is lower at Wal-mart, but most people don't make a lifetime career out of working at one. It's a good place to get your footing for a few years until you can join in or start up your own practice, given the fact that joining a practice is financially difficult right out of opto school.

You have the right mindset for the optometry of about 20 years ago. Now, and into the future, Walmart (and its equivalents) will be the terminal landing spot for a large majority of new grads. They won't be moving on to bigger and better things since there simply isn't room enough for them. Where do you think the excess new grads are going? When there is a net addition of several hundred new ODs added into the system every year, it creates a bloated system that really has only one relief valve - commercial optometry. With 6 new programs either pumping out new ODs, or within a year of doing so, we've got an even bigger oversupply wave coming.

The days of new ODs getting out of school, starting up their own office, or buying an existing office, are over. Others can disagree all they want, but that's reality. This stuff is not what you want to hear, I know that, but better to get it now than a month before you graduate.

Do whatever you can to be on the life boat.

 

[Tippytoe]

And if you think it's easier to work Walmart for a few years to save up money to buy/start a private practice, please know that this is very rare. There are many burned out ODs in Walmart that had this plan.

As you begin working, you begin to want things.......like a new(er) car, a home, a family--not to mention all the taxes and loans you will be paying back. It will be very difficult to save up $300,000 to buy or start a practice. And it may take you 10 years to do so.

Before you know it, you've been at Walmart for 5 years (if they don't find someone to do cheaper eye exams than you and let you go with 30 days notice).

There will never be a better time to open a optometry practice than right when you get out of school. But even so, it will be extremely difficult.

 

[KHE]

And if you think it's easier to work Walmart for a few years to save up money to buy/start a private practice, please know that this is very rare. There are many burned out ODs in Walmart that had this plan.

As you begin working, you begin to want things.......like a new(er) car, a home, a family--not to mention all the taxes and loans you will be paying back. It will be very difficult to save up $300,000 to buy or start a practice. And it may take you 10 years to do so.

Before you know it, you've been at Walmart for 5 years (if they don't find someone to do cheaper eye exams than you and let you go with 30 days notice).

There will never be a better time to open a optometry practice than right when you get out of school. But even so, it will be extremely difficult.

Let's be a bit fair here.....I don't think anyone in history has ever "saved up" $300,000 to buy or start a practice. Most people save up a modest downpayment and borrow the rest.

 

[Tippytoe]

Let's be a bit fair here.....I don't think anyone in history has ever "saved up" $300,000 to buy or start a practice. Most people save up a modest downpayment and borrow the rest.

Yes, but what I am saying is that people get into involved with living their lives and personal expenses go way up from school. They do not want to live off noodles and drive a 15 year old Corolla forever and live in a small apartment when they are 30 years old. It is extremely hard for most to cut their pay from $5,000+ per month down to $1,000 month while they build up a cold-start practice (that's what I made for the first year in a cold start right out of school).

Purchasing a practice is possible but I believe it will be a 'buyers market' with so many excess graduates. Prices will go up. ADDITIONALLY, there will not be nearly enough practices for sale to allow 2,000++ graduates per year to buy a nice private practice (roughly only about 600 ODs retire/die per year).

 

[Gigan988]

You all make very good and valid points. What I was particularly emphasizing however was buying into a practice, that is, coming on as a replacement in a partnership for an already established practice.

I go to WesternU and I understand that I cannot stay in California for life, most likely, due to over-saturation of ODs. What the future holds for me shall manifest with time I suppose.

 

[310]

I go to WesternU and I understand that I cannot stay in California for life, most likely, due to over-saturation of ODs. What the future holds for me shall manifest with time I suppose.

I would say you're a little pessimistic. California may have a comparatively frustrating market, but, like in any optometry market, there's a lot of variability between opportunities and once you find one you're content with, the possibility of locking into it longterm may exist. Let me put it this way...optometry markets in CA are supposed to be saturated, but there are lots of practices that are not in decline.