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M281384 said:
That's incorrect. I PERSONALLY know of 2 in my own city that make >500,000 a year. Albeit they have multiple practices and hire ODs to work for them at a reduced rate.
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that' fantastic, you just quoted an exception.

"hey i want to move to hollywood and become an actor"
"prob not a good idea for longterm career planning"
"what are you talking about??? i know of an actor named George Clooney that did that, he is now a multimillionaire, new woman every 5 months, good looking, and top actor in the field, it can be done"
fast forward 5 years later, working in mcdonalds and banging some pig on the french fry machine in the back

ever heard of a guy named Usain Bolt? I am run fast too, not likely to win at the olympics. see where this is going? you gonna apply the 0.001% of people to the whole OD profession or any other is not gonna work.
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yes, looking at all the other responses, mine is pretty consistent with what others think. very difficult question to answer. depends on 1)location 2)your ambition 3)luck. maybe do a little research in the area that you plan to practice?
 
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hey you guys inspired me to create a blog where optometrist students and new professionals can go to get info on salaries and careers. love for your input and if anyone wants to contribute that would be great. check out the site here!
Hope to get some good advice and comments. thanks
 
Hi All,

The Canadian perspective....

There are only 2 OD schools in Canada. One of which is at University of Waterloo. On its admission's page they list the average Optomitrist salary in Canada as "$70,000 – $80,000 per year, excluding benefits." Of all the organizations out there stating OD facts, believe me when I say they would NOT want to understate this figure.

http://optometry.uwaterloo.ca/future-students/doctor-of-optometry/fast-facts
 
I start people out at 65-70K...After five to eight years they get to about 125K. Hope that helps.
 
mclem222 said:
I start people out at 65-70K...After five to eight years they get to about 125K. Hope that helps.
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I hope they are getting benefits and incentive to generatie you/them more. Assuming your associates are working 5 days a week and 48 weeks a year, 65K comes down to $271.00 a day or $34/hour.
 
they get 30% after they collect 3x their salary...no health,dental...thinking about starting a 401K. They get 2 weeks vacation. They work 5 days a week but each must do 2 sat a month. Just being honest... and i recently interviewed about 15 people for one position....
 
maybe they were interviewing you
 
Jibslider said:
I hope they are getting benefits and incentive to generatie you/them more. Assuming your associates are working 5 days a week and 48 weeks a year, 65K comes down to $271.00 a day or $34/hour.
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No wonder people are going corporate.

If you want to hire an associate and cannot afford one, then perhaps hire them PT basis with intention of FT. They can fill-in at a nearby corporate office or private office. But pay them at least the 'average' fill-in rate. $271 is awfully low unless you're in saturated california.

The 15 interviewees must be students STILL in OD school.
 
I shadow a guy at LensCrafters. He said he grosses $420,000 and takes home $155,000
 
luckyfeet said:
I shadow a guy at LensCrafters. He said he grosses $420,000 and takes home $155,000
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During my residency, I worked in an office in which the owner grossed about 2 Million and he took home about 600K. I know because I saw his tax returns. It means nothing - those days are over for new grads. What matters is what new ODs will be able to do from now on. They won't be doing impressive numbers anymore, for a variety of reasons. Luxottica is taking back many of its franchise leases and turning them corporate. They're also dumping crap locations like poorly performing PearleVision stores on gullible new grads. Target is being dumped completely by the brand. They're pulling in their resources and ODs are certainly not going to benefit.

It's easy to forget that older ODs aren't playing the same game you guys are. That's where you guys get sidetracked, seemingly every time.
 
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Jason K said:
During my residency, I worked in an office in which the owner grossed about 2 Million and he took home about 600K. I know because I saw his tax returns. It means nothing - those days are over for new grads. What matters is what new ODs will be able to do from now on. They won't be doing impressive numbers anymore, for a variety of reasons. Luxottica is taking back many of its franchise leases and turning them corporate. They're also dumping crap locations like poorly performing PearleVision stores on gullible new grads. Target is being dumped completely by the brand. They're pulling in their resources and ODs are certainly not going to benefit.

It's easy to forget that older ODs aren't playing the same game you guys are. That's where you guys get sidetracked, seemingly every time.
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This seems unlikely. Why would any employer or owner OD show a resident his tax returns?
 
KHE said:
This seems unlikely. Why would any employer or owner OD show a resident his tax returns?
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He didn't just show it to me, he showed it to all three residents who worked at his office. The guy was not humble, to say the least, and he was using his returns to show us how to use tax returns to evaluate a practice. None of us even asked to see them, it's just something he does. Some people are not shy with their income.
 
Its not about not affording one...its about what they are willing to work for. There is a big difference...Free market...This isn't the USSR.

I have had new grads ask for 50K for the year just to get a job...

Maybe when you are done you can come work for me :)...Its either that or Lenscrafters baby...
 
mclem222 said:
I have had new grads ask for 50K for the year just to get a job...

Maybe when you are done you can come work for me :)...Its either that or Lenscrafters baby...
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Lol so despo. Do you live in/near a big coastal city? or near an OD school? I'm not surprised by this especially b/c of the low negotiation drive/relocation desire of a certain type of OD new grad
 
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mclem222 said:
Its not about not affording one...its about what they are willing to work for. There is a big difference...Free market...This isn't the USSR.

I have had new grads ask for 50K for the year just to get a job...

Maybe when you are done you can come work for me :)...Its either that or Lenscrafters baby...
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That's nothing to brag about. All these new grads mean more competition for you-More private practices and America's Best and "free eye exams". Your bottom line will be affected regardless if you have a "high end practice" or even a special niche.

If are doing so well, maybe you should consider selling the practice at its high point or risk losing it slowly and painfully.
 
mclem222 said:
Its not about not affording one...its about what they are willing to work for. There is a big difference...Free market...This isn't the USSR.

I have had new grads ask for 50K for the year just to get a job...

Maybe when you are done you can come work for me :)...Its either that or Lenscrafters baby...
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This sicko gets some sort of immense pleasure by watching others suffer. Look at the way he is throwing these numbers like it is something to be proud of. What did these ODs do to you personally that you enjoy so much about the fact that they might have to work for half of what they should be. Weren't you a young OD once? How would you feel if you were in their shoes?
 
q1we3 said:
This sicko gets some sort of immense pleasure by watching others suffer. Look at the way he is throwing these numbers like it is something to be proud of. What did these ODs do to you personally that you enjoy so much about the fact that they might have to work for half of what they should be. Weren't you a young OD once? How would you feel if you were in their shoes?
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I don't think he's getting his kicks 'throwing numbers out'. He's simply showing you what to expect when you graduate. The days of a new ODs walking out of school and getting close to a six figure salary is long over. $50,000-$60,000 for a starting salary is not unexpected in today's market.

Thank all the new school administrators but don't hate the messenger just because your hopes and dreams don't agree with him. The facts are what they are and if you choose to follow the OD path, you must learn to live with them.
 
Tippytoe said:
I don't think he's getting his kicks 'throwing numbers out'. He's simply showing you what to expect when you graduate. The days of a new ODs walking out of school and getting close to a six figure salary is long over. $50,000-$60,000 for a starting salary is not unexpected in today's market.

Thank all the new school administrators but don't hate the messenger just because your hopes and dreams don't agree with him. The facts are what they are and if you choose to follow the OD path, you must learn to live with them.
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I am not blaming him for the oversupply or asking him to pay 100k to any OD. But, that doesn't mean he has to make a mockery out of these ODs or future ODs. I am questioning his over excitement and enthusiasm over these low salaries.
 
$50K is a sad number, I really hope this isn't actual pay he's quoting.
 
A while back I posted a job offer offering to pay any graduate who wants a job in private practice 22% of what they bring in. No risk. No rent. We will provide all the equipment and staff. The practice is located in central Connecticut. You can work as much or as little as you like.

The average per patient revenue in our office was $375 last quarter.

That means to make $100,000 in a year you would need to see approximately 1200 patients in a year or about 23 a week. For a 5 day work week, that comes out to 4.5 patients a day.

Can you come up with 4.5 patients a day? If you think you can, send me a PM.
 
KHE said:
A while back I posted a job offer offering to pay any graduate who wants a job in private practice 22% of what they bring in. No risk. No rent. We will provide all the equipment and staff. The practice is located in central Connecticut. You can work as much or as little as you like.

The average per patient revenue in our office was $375 last quarter.

That means to make $100,000 in a year you would need to see approximately 1200 patients in a year or about 23 a week. For a 5 day work week, that comes out to 4.5 patients a day.

Can you come up with 4.5 patients a day? If you think you can, send me a PM.
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If the OD decides to open his own practice in the future can he take the patients with him. Since he brought them in I am assuming all the records are his to keep. What about the phone line can he pay for his own separate line at the clinic?
 
q1we3 said:
If the OD decides to open his own practice in the future can he take the patients with him. Since he brought them in I am assuming all the records are his to keep. What about the phone line can he pay for his own separate line at the clinic?
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He can take the records but a reasonable non compete would apply.
As far as a phone line goes...if he wants to install his own phone line and pay for it, I don't really care. Not sure why you would want to do that though.
 
KHE said:
He can take the records but a reasonable non compete would apply.
As far as a phone line goes...if he wants to install his own phone line and pay for it, I don't really care. Not sure why you would want to do that though.
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Plan would be to transfer the same number to the new location making it much easier to retain patients, if opening your own practice later on.

I do think this a great offer for a new graduate who don't have the experience and neither the funds to open a new practice. One can work part time in commercial, which should be easy to find, to have a fixed income initially while trying to establish a patient base at Dr. Elder's clinic. Too bad I am not an OD yet.

I mean 25 patients a week shouldn't be too hard, just have to offer services that is not at the clinic already. I residency trained OD in surgical co-management, vision therapy, low vision, or geriatrics should have no trouble appealing to a slightly different demographic. This all assuming that the area is already not super saturated with all types of OD services.
 
What's wrong with going "corporate" and making some ca$h? It allows you to focus on your art in your free time FFS.
 
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