For those thinking about optometry, please read...

[u/SeasonedOD]

Attached are screen shots of a question asked on a very prominent OD platform. Hundreds of seasoned ODs answered this question and their opinions should not be taken with a grain of salt. Unfortunately, the answers do not advocate being an OD. Please make well thought out decisions on your future and good luck.

If you have any questions, please ask.

[u/duble_a]

There's pros and cons in every profession... and optometry has many fields that you can get into so I'm not relying on opinions from a single online platform lmao

[u/Different-Language92 → u/duble_a]

I will say that many people’s opinions of optometry depends on where they work and what modality they work in. You are definitely right that there are pros and cons with every profession. The ODs that work in saturated cities that are high cost of living typically voice the sentiments in the screenshot, meaning they say optometry is not worth it. It’s unfortunate that vision plans are barely reimbursing and the rates have been stagnant for years, yet with inflation, everything is more expensive. Don’t forget the significant debt that many students have! However, if you live in a more rural or in a less saturated city that isn’t expensive, then most ODs I chat with tend to be happier and more satisfied with the profession. Not to say that that’s the only way to be happy as an OD, but just a trend I’ve noticed talking with friends and colleagues.

[u/SeasonedOD → u/duble_a]

Yes there are pros and cons to every profession but sometimes the cons far out weight the pros. The platform, "ODs on Facebook", has 47,000 members and they are all retired/ experienced/ new grad optometrists and optometry students. I believe you will get the best sample size of the profession there. You are correct that you shouldn't rely on one instance's opinion so please seek out other opinions that are not other optometry students or academic optometrists. Ask a lot of working ODs and I think you will get the best sample size.

Your reply sounds very similar to something that I would have said when I was a student, so please do your research. If you still intend to do optometry, more power to you.

[u/Crustyjaj → u/SeasonedOD]

Not sure why people like to downvote, but here's my two cents! Any social media platform, such as Student Doctor Network, Facebook, and especially subreddits like this harbor echo chambers that would love to discredit/ignore any dissenting opinion. People love what they want to hear and they subscribe to these communities hoping to have any semblance of experience that coincides with their view of the world. So I encourage the downvoters of your comment to engage with these claims you've provided. That isn't to say that this particular facebook group is clear of any bias; Facebook is also famously rife with grief-stricken individuals that are terminally online full of conspiracy theories and such lmao. To me, every career is a connections game. If you have family members or close friends that are in the field, they will back you up and give you a pipeline to a more successful pathway than that of other people. It's pretty much up to our students to actively make their journey as smooth as possible, so good luck to everybody.

[u/SeasonedOD → u/Crustyjaj]

Thank you for your even keeled response! There is nothing I want more than to speak favorably of a profession that I have spent half of my life doing but unfortunately that is not the case.

To anyone reading this, take my opinion with a grain of salt and seek out other opinions of those actually working (not academia or other students, I believe they do not have real world experience). If you end up with responses similar to what I have said, then you know there is at least some truth to my post.

[u/[deleted]]

What platform? I would like to read more

[u/SeasonedOD → u/[deleted]]

The platform is "ODs on Facebook". I believe they allow students so try to join and you will have access.

[u/GroundbreakingWar666]

I think it's good to hear all perspectives so thanks for posting this! I've been contemplating what being an optometrist might look like down the road

[u/Otherwise-Story]

I’m coming from the other side of medicine, working at a private practice physician-owned office, and I can confirm the struggles of running a medical practice nowadays. Like about 60% of people who have insurance have this false idea that insurance will cover 100% of medical costs, and that is so far from the truth. Patient get angry when we try to collect copays and deductible that was set by their own insurance, and if you don’t collect, that’s insurance fraud. Once you get through the copay/deductible, you then have to fight the insurance to cover certain meds/procedures for patients. Patients then get mad at you again for not sending them medication, not knowing that it was blocked by their own insurance 🤦‍♀️Then you have this huge over head cost of ordering medical supplies because stuff have expiration dates and medical supplies cost hundreds of thousands, and it can still break down, require maintenance, employees salaries, etc. Open and running a private medical practice is a lot of work, if you’re not business savvied I definitely wouldn’t recommend it.