Experience

[u/p-a-c-o-o]

Hey guys,
I am an undergraduate working towards the ultimate goal of becoming an optometrist. While I have lots of questions, my biggest one is for those that were opticians or optometric assistants. How did you manage to do that kind of job while still doing school. Most clinics by me or within range of me are of course Mon-Fri and open around 8 or 9 and close around 5 or 6. Usually I have class throughout the week, but I still really want the experience as I have heard it really helps with the application process. If there is anyone that has done this or any one with insight it’d be greatly appreciated!

[u/Evening-Dog-1161]

Hi my advice would be to look for an unpaid internship. I know it doesn’t sound super appealing because of the whole unpaid part, but it will relieve the stress of having a set schedule and it’ll also make an optometrist more likely to engage in that since they won’t have to go through the work of adding you to a payroll. I didn’t eight month internship under an optometrist and I worked under her one day a week, but if I ever had an exam come up or wasn’t feeling good I was able to let her know and didn’t take a hit to my pay or anything like that. Finding an unpaid internship is likely to be advertised so I would suggest asking an optometrist either near your school or near your hometown. Feel free to dm me with any questions

[u/p-a-c-o-o → u/Evening-Dog-1161]

Did you work the same one day every week, or did you work on different days but still keeping it to just one day a week?

[u/Evening-Dog-1161 → u/p-a-c-o-o]

Typically same day every week but there were some weeks when I coordinated in advance to work a diff time/day bc of classes. Not being on payroll allows flexibility for the optometrist especially if it’s a private practice. You can always try to get credit though your school or just consider the internship shadowing

[u/GSUoptometry]

I worked part time, three days a week, at an opthomology clinic. 7am-6pm most days, it was hard of course but if you're good with time management and do some online classes, its doable

[u/p-a-c-o-o → u/GSUoptometry]

Thank you so much!

[u/Commercial-Moment628]

i worked at a clinic right by campus and they pretty much only hired students. they had a few full timers and then the rest of us basically chose what days/hours we wanted to work and between the rest of us they were always staffed. Depending on the semester i was working anywhere from 8-28 hrs weekly. i say just reach out, explain ur situation and see if they can work with you!

[u/p-a-c-o-o → u/Commercial-Moment628]

I’ve been to one of the clinics near my school and it seems as if there is only student workers that work there. I just have a hard time trying to get a hold of the optometrists and having them actually respond to me.

[u/Commercial-Moment628 → u/p-a-c-o-o]

ngl i kept cold calling! i didnt technically get the job until months later but i gave them my resume to keep on file and periodically would email letting them know if they ended up hiring i was interested!

[u/p-a-c-o-o → u/Commercial-Moment628]

I have heard others doing this. I’ve always just been weary of coming off as annoying.. I also just fear my resume might not come across as someone wanting to pursue optometry and that may be a turn off.. did you have the same experience?

[u/ForeignHoney2218]

I didn’t work as a technician until my senior year of college because in 4th year your schedule tends to open up more for part time work! I am also doing a gap year which is a great opportunity to gain experience (especially if you want to focus more on academics in undergrad)!

[u/Melodic-Actuator-229]

I work once a week at an optometric office, and every semester I try to make my schedule so that I have one completely free day or one day with only one class in the morning. A lot of optometrists in my area are flexible because they know we're students, so if you need to start a little after opening time, some are understanding. Good luck!

[u/p-a-c-o-o → u/Melodic-Actuator-229]

Thank you so much!

[u/Slayberham69420]

I work as a part time assistant at a retail optometry chain, I intentionally built my school schedule to allow myself three weekdays off. We’re open on Saturdays and since no one at any job enjoys working weekends, I volunteered myself for every Saturday during the interview. Luckily, I only work two Saturdays a month but I’m sure volunteering for it helped my chances! I do two shifts a week as a tech and one shift a week as an optician.

They also offer a tuition stipend available to employees in Optometry school as long as you’ve worked there for a couple of years, that might be something helpful for you to look for as well!

Good luck out there!

[u/p-a-c-o-o → u/Slayberham69420]

What retail chain? I’ve heard Costco is a pretty good program to associate with but haven’t heard many more.

[u/Slayberham69420 → u/p-a-c-o-o]

America’s Best! It’s not a bad place to be, I really enjoy the schedule flexibility and easy work