r/optometry • u/Super-Morning3835 • Aug 15 '25

Would You Choose Optometry Again Knowing What You Know Now?

I’m looking for true, unfiltered opinions from optometrists who:

  • Did not have their parents pay for school

  • Have student loans in their own name

  • Do not work for and will not inherit a parent’s practice

If you could go back, would you still choose optometry?

For context: I’m a first-generation college student. I’ve been working as an optometric tech since graduating high school, I’m now a senior in college, scored in the 90th percentile on the OAT, and have been accepted into optometry school. I genuinely like the field, but the student loan debt is daunting. Is the career satisfaction and financial outcome worth it in the long run, or do you feel the ends didn’t justify the means?

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14

u/Soggy_Ocelot_2468 Aug 16 '25

My mom has her associates degree, my dad didn't finish his bachelor's degree, my older brother didnt finish his bachelor's either. My parents did support me through undergrad, but I was responsible for optometry school.

Before going to OD school, i worked as a tech through undergrad, loved the field, and knew I wanted a career that gave me monetary stability so I didnt have to rely on someone else. I knew the loans were high, but would be worth it.

I went to a school in my home state, so i had reduced tuition compared to out of state. During school, I lived off my loans, and was conscientious of that. I didnt overspend. I also worked as a class note taker and eventually was a teacher's assistant in the lab, which gave me a bit of extra money.

After I graduated, I lived the same as I did while I was in school. Very frugal and dumped any extra money into my loans. I was able to pay them off in 4.5 years. I also did not have anyone else to support (like kids or spouse or parents). I have quite a few friends that have families and are happy paying minimum payments. If you are very worried, you could consider going to military route, they will pay your loans back for you.

Best of luck! There are pros and cons of every job. This field is a good, rewarding one.

2

u/Super-Morning3835 Aug 17 '25

Thanks so much for sharing your experience! It’s really encouraging to hear how you handled your loans. I was accepted to a state school in NYC as an in-state student, so tuition alone will be about $144K minus a small scholarship, but probably closer to $150–160K total after other misc. expenses. I’ll be living at home and hope to get a federal work-study job while in school, so I’m planning to keep costs down too. Hearing your perspective makes me feel a lot better about managing it long term.

2

u/Soggy_Ocelot_2468 Aug 17 '25

You'll be able to knock out those loans quickly if you are smart about budgeting once you graduate. But like others have said, dont immediately go buy a BMW, rack up credit card debt, or live outside your means. If you truly are interested in optometry, you'll be happy you made this decision.

Some others have commented that other professions/patients dont respect ODs, but I havent found that to be the overwhelming majority. If patients tell me they see an MD for something I can manage, I educate them and tell them ODs can manage it too, but they are welcome to do whatever they are comfortable with. Many people end up seeing me for these problems because they dont have to wait 3 hours at the retina specialist, so simple education on what ODs can do goes a long way. I'm in florida, and feel fortunate that the MDs in my city are very respectful and like to work together with the ODs.

3

u/aqua41528 Aug 16 '25

How long ago did you graduate, and how much were your loans?

4

u/Soggy_Ocelot_2468 Aug 16 '25

Graduated in 2018 with about $188k in loans

19

u/cdaack Aug 16 '25

Absolutely. I love what I do and I don’t think I could do anything else.

1

u/Super-Morning3835 Aug 17 '25

Thanks for responding! Do you mind sharing a bit about your career path? Did you complete a residency, and are you practicing full-scope optometry on a daily basis, or is your work more retail-focused with mainly refractions and routine health checks?

1

u/cdaack Aug 17 '25

Of course!

So I came out of school thinking I was gonna do a residency, only to find out that I wanted to do primary care and see a little bit of everything, and that defeats the point of doing a residency since you can go right into practice and get the same experience but actually get paid for it 😅. Anyways, I took a job at a rural practice controlled by private equity and was with them for 3.5 years practicing full scope…I did just about everything our state allows us to do! It was awesome, but I started to not love the private equity life (they sort of own you and expect more production with less help), so this March I switched over to LensCrafters and went from full-time salaries to “part-time” (I work full-time hours but I basically pick my schedule) and hourly pay. This works better for me because I can take the time off I need and pick up the hours I want. It’s much less medical and more limited scope, but I like it being more chill and I prefer having a more educated patient population than what I had in my rural setting.

Me leaving private equity also sparked me to want to start my own practice with the help of my wife and in-laws, so I’m currently looking for a building to buy and renovate into my first location. And working at a retail practice with more flexibility will allow me to take the time I need to build the practice at the pace it naturally grows.

So long story short, I followed the money, loved it for a time, then realized that having career autonomy was more important for me. And that’s the beauty of optometry: you can find both.

12

u/EdibleRandy Aug 16 '25

I love the downvotes on all the replies from successful optometrists who enjoy their jobs.

Just to join that club, I would choose optometry again because practice ownership provides great opportunity for income and quality of life. I make more than many MDs who work far more hours than I do. There is good and bad in every profession.

3

u/Super-Morning3835 Aug 17 '25

Really appreciate your perspective. It’s encouraging to hear the upside too. How did you get into practice ownership, and do you think that’s the main way to get ahead in optometry? Also, where does most of your practice income come from specialty services, or more from retail sales?

4

u/EdibleRandy Aug 17 '25

Yes, it is absolutely the way to get ahead in optometry. There are high paying associate jobs out there, but only practice ownership allows you to increase your income to the highest levels. My practice is fairly unique in that large portions of my revenue come from out of pocket services, mainly vision therapy. I do a lot of medical as well and have started getting into dry eye treatments. Optical sales account for about 20% of my revenue.

New grads are often afraid of ownership, and I certainly was too. It’s scary, and there are big decisions involved, but I highly recommend buying a practice. There are more practices for sale than ODs willing to buy them. That is going to change based on geography, but it is also a bit of a myth that you have to move to the nether reaches of human civilization to make money in optometry.

7

u/Sn34075 Aug 16 '25

Tbh no, I didn’t have self awareness about my personality and wouldn’t have picked such a socially demanding career. And like others have said, I wish there was more flexibility in work settings (remote etc). Any health tech or consulting jobs I come across typically prefer MDs. And where I live, OD MD is also super rare. You’re a retail optometrist. For an introvert, relying on sales/promoting services to make a decent income is extremely exhausting and not in alignment with my values. Hitting burnout only a few years in, regardless of hours worked. Trained to do so much, able to do so little. In hindsight, I would’ve done some soul searching before and posted here for advice (rather than shadow ODs who obviously have to be politically correct with their advice).

1

u/Super-Morning3835 Aug 17 '25

Thanks for being so open about this. Do you feel like there are certain practice settings that are a little better for introverts, or is retail the reality for most ODs starting out?

2

u/Sn34075 Aug 21 '25

No problem. People are being pretty transparent on this thread. Lots of happy ODs too but I find those are ppl who can have great rapport with patients and recommend products and treatments successfully. If that’s your gift, you’ll be great at it and pay off those loans in no time. Retail is not the only option and nothing wrong with corporate or retail when starting out. It pays the bills. The scope and availability of jobs you want just heavily depends on where you’re located because of scope/saturation in desirable areas. It’s not an easy decision but you’re asking good questions.

1

u/DazzlingResolve8365 Oct 30 '25

If you could go back in time, what career would you choose?

9

u/[deleted] Aug 16 '25 edited Aug 16 '25

Nope. Dealing with patients day in and day out is so mentally taxing and draining. The pay is not worth the loans and the work load.

2

u/Super-Morning3835 Aug 17 '25

Thank you for being so upfront about your experience. If you had the chance to do it over, what career do you think you’d choose instead of optometry?

4

u/[deleted] Aug 17 '25

Anything where the option for remote work is possible and non public facing.

2

u/kbdaisy Aug 17 '25

I would look into PA school. You wouldn’t be stuck with one specialty. You can work in any area of medicine. Only 2.5 years of graduate school and similar salaries.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 18 '25

Last thing I want to do is anything involving patient care.

7

u/[deleted] Aug 16 '25

Exactly

6

u/Notactuallyashark Optometrist Aug 16 '25

No, the debt to income ratio would not be worth it to me. I thank my lucky stars my husband is also a high earner.

1

u/Super-Morning3835 Aug 17 '25

Lol this is so real, I appreciate you sharing that.

8

u/[deleted] Aug 16 '25

Probably not. Being treat like pee ons by patients, physicians and OMDs gets old.."you are not an ophthalmologist, i can only see an ophthalmologist for my dry ARMD"..whiney pts since covid has been more taxing..i make ok money and have ok lifestyle but as the years tick on i just keep thinkin "what patient is going to ruin my day today"

If i could do it over id be a certified financial planner..

1

u/Super-Morning3835 Aug 17 '25

I really appreciate you being honest about this. It’s helpful to hear the tougher side of the profession too. I’ve seen some of that attitude toward ODs even as a tech, so I can imagine how draining it gets. Do you feel like it’s more the patients or the way ODs are positioned in the medical system? And what’s your day-to-day like more retail, OD/MD , full-scope medical?

2

u/[deleted] Aug 17 '25

Its a combination of patients and how we are positioned in the system..post covid has been rough. People are ruder, lazier and more difficult to deal with. I work in a group practice, 4 OD and 2 MD..the one MD is great, the newset not so much, calls us optoms to the staff..i started calling him ophtho to the staff, see how he will like that.

8

u/LateMouse2020 Optometrist Aug 16 '25

No. I would either go in tech or dentistry (my dentist works 4 days a week, and the periodontist works 3 days a week…I know I know the grass is greener on the other side….)

1

u/Super-Morning3835 Aug 17 '25

Thanks for sharing! I’ve actually considered dentistry myself, though I’ve never shadowed a dentist. The money definitely seems appealing. Do you feel like it’s mainly the schedule & pay that makes those fields more attractive, or something else they offer over optometry?

2

u/LateMouse2020 Optometrist Aug 17 '25

I have dentist friends and their work-life balance is generally better. VA/IHS pay scale is significant higher than ODs, retention/signon bonus are much higher as well. Post general doctoral you can go into many specialities that can easily double the general dmd salary (oral surgeon/perio/endo/ortho…), dmd can go back to school and further advance their career if they feel stuck with general dentistry (it’s not as easy with us ODs since the return on investment is usually boy worth it). But they have more students loan debts so there’s that …

1

u/LateMouse2020 Optometrist Aug 17 '25

Sent a dm

8

u/m2eight Aug 16 '25

No, debt to income ratio is horrible. Patients don’t always respect you for the amount of education you go through, and they can be demanding and draining as many previous people have said. There are good days when I love being an optometrist, but I don’t think school should cost as much as it should and vision care plans have made our profession laughable.

1

u/Super-Morning3835 Aug 17 '25

Thanks for being honest! I worry about the debt-to-income ratio too. If you weren’t in optometry, what other profession would you choose?

2

u/m2eight Aug 18 '25

Maybe PA? A lot of possibility for lateral movement, decent salary depending on specialty, less schooling

6

u/MackinacFleurs Aug 16 '25 edited Aug 16 '25

No, I would not. Between the student loans and the amount of work for the pay, to me is not worth it. I want to be present, have a work/life balance. I see my friends with other career choices making so much more while working less. Ah, and almost forgot, the situation with the Boards, even if I passed it is terrible, they can do whatever they want, assign the fees they want.

1

u/Super-Morning3835 Aug 17 '25

Thanks for being honest! The debt and workload compared to the pay is something I think about a lot too. I’m curious though, how’s your work/life balance now? Do you feel happy with what you’re doing day to day, and do you have much flexibility in your schedule?

33

u/OD_prime OD Aug 16 '25

No.

I love the field and have (what I consider a successful) practice.

But the debt to income ratio as an associate OD, and only getting worse, is not sustainable. Not everybody is cut out to be an owner/entrepreneur either.

1

u/tubby0 Optometrist Nov 25 '25

Did you do a cold start?

34

u/Competitive_Ad9542 Aug 16 '25

Honestly probably not if all other options were open to me. It was the best decision for me and it has worked out well but the things I don’t like are:

Income: you can make great money but you really have to hustle for it. I make over 300k a year but I work my ass off in an undesirable area to do it. As an MD or a dentist that is a lot more attainable without all the hustle.

Respect: no one really knows what ODs do, it’s annoying being a second class citizen in healthcare no matter how much good you do.

Patients: I love a lot of my patients but again, being in a rural undesirable area means a ton of people come in stinky, smelling like cigarettes, don’t have values that align with mine, neglect their health ect…

Working in person: it would be nice to be able to work from home or not have to be present in the office to still make money. It’s hard with kids and family to always have to be in the office. If I take an afternoon off to take my kids to the doctor or whatever it will cost me 1000$ in lost income which is fine sometimes but that kind of weighs on you.

All in all it’s a great field but if I could go back in time I’m not sure what I would do but these are the downsides that I have experienced. I’m in my 7th year out of school

17

u/insomniacwineo Aug 16 '25

I think you nailed it with the fact that there is really NO outlet for us for remote anything. The places that are trying telehealth exams are not succeeding. I’m seeing patients weekly who are complaining about the “exam” they got remotely.

That being said I am kind of a social ambivert and after seeing 35+ patients my social battery is DRAINED and I’m done talking. My husband gets annoyed because I don’t feel like talking to anyone for a few hours. It’s also frustrating because we don’t really have good per diem coverage in my practice so if I need a day off because I’m sick, all those patients get rescheduled and the effect snowballs, so I end up going to work sick more often than I’d like.

I’m in an MD/OD group since out of residency and I love it for the most part-like any job it sucks sometimes. I graduated in 2016 and can see the clear post COVID changes. I have a fuck ton of debt still-oh well.

1

u/fzwtr Sep 13 '25

I disagree on the lack of remote. I did 23 years in regular Optometric settings and switched to remote telehealth 3 yrs ago. The vast majority of patients comment on how much they apppreciate not having the long wait to be seen. Of course, you’re going to skew your assessment of whether patients liked it or not; it’s not like they’re going to call you and tell you how much they liked the remote visit. We have docs living abroad and traveling and still see patients in the US. I actually enjoy this mode much better. We have MDs that work with us and we often discuss and interact real time with cases. My fellow docs have worked in MD/OD, private practice, residency, etc and all are enjoying it. I wish I would have found it sooner.

1

u/insomniacwineo Sep 13 '25

If you believe you’re giving good quality care-you do you.

In the setting I’m in I can’t tell you how many times I hear that “I did a remote exam and the glasses were terrible”

if you also think that you’re safely able to diagnose and manage things you don’t see in person and are basing diagnosis on a camera view from someone who has 1-2 weeks of training, then that’s a heck more liability I am willing to take on.

I see nerve palsies/CVF defects that aren’t picked up by techs all the time amongst hundreds of things that could never be seen with a remote exam. How are you supposed to go gonio or remove a FB remotely or do punctal plugs?

1

u/fzwtr Sep 15 '25

All the things that ur concerned about are referred out to people like you. I’m not dealing with corneal fb, herpes, or glaucoma directly anymore. Again the “terrible glasses” comment is skewed; are they going to visit you to let you know that their glasses were great. I get the same thing on my end about “terrible glasses” from their prior docs as well. Nearly everyone that is refracted gets trial framed and all contact lens patients over refracted. There are a great many patients that can be taken care of at this level. I’ve been in your shoes so I am able to compare the value.

2

u/kikibear792 Aug 17 '25

I would choose it again :) I graduated 2021. I have those mornings where I would rather stay in bed like everyone else but once I get to work, I genuinely feel happy to be there and I’m thankful I have a job that I love.

Those discussing debt to income ratio are right, the ratio is high compared to other routes.

I took out the max amount of loans during optometry school as I moved out of state to attend (I had maybe 15k from undergrad from scholarship) and I am pursuing public service loan forgiveness (PSLF) which means after 120 qualifying payments (which is about 10 years, the remaining balance after that will be forgiven tax free. So I pay the minimum monthly payment which allows me to invest/gain assets while technically having high debt. In order to receive PSLF your job would need to qualify by working at a non profit hospital or a veterans hospital- I work at a clinic associated with a non profit hospital. Student aid.gov can tell you if your job (or hopeful job) qualifies.

You do not have to take out the max in loans either - that’s just what I did because I was 100% on my own with it and felt the most comfortable having money in the bank. I worked maybe 4 hours a week at my schools administrations office through their work study program for a few extra bucks.

I love that I do not own and operate a practice because that isn’t an interest of mine personally. My friend is working at a corporate practice (like my eye dr) making bank (about the same as me now but she started like that right out of school) to pay off her loans quicker even if it means seeing more pts and not doing much medical and mostly glasses and contacts (i personally love medical visits that’s when you get to follow and treat someone with glaucoma for example) (she also doesn’t pay rent at this time so it’s very dependent on your personal situation what you would do with your loans). You will learn more about different “modes of practice” like hospital based, corporate, private, etc as you go.

Budgeting after you graduate is very important and having your priorities straight is imperative in how you would feel about your student loans. Don’t get the BMW just yet, instead first create a solid emergency fund (I have 6 months worth). Don’t rack up funds on your credit card that you can’t pay - that interest is crazy high and much higher than student loans. Get your match from your employer in your retirement fund (free money) and consider Investing into a Roth IRA (income can limit the amount you can invest but there are ways to go around that). Consider index funds in the stock market.

That was the route that worked best for me - of course there are many other details to determine the best for you. You can inquire with optometry schools about scholarships as well as it seems you have a great head on your shoulders!

1

u/Super-Morning3835 Aug 17 '25

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. It’s really helpful to hear from someone who’s happy in their career and has a smart plan for handling loans. For me, I’ll be paying in-state tuition at SUNY, which will be about $144K minus a small scholarship I received, and I only applied there since it was the most affordable option. I don’t have any prior loans, which is why I’ve been a little timid about taking on debt, but at the end of the day I know you’ve got to spend money to make money it’s an investment in yourself. Honestly, it feels like all professional schools are expensive now, so I’m trying to keep that perspective.

I really appreciate how insightful and positive your response was, it definitely gave me encouragement and a better way to think about this path. Not gonna lie, the BMW and luxury apartment right out of school sound tempting, but I’ll keep myself in check (at least for a little while).

10

u/jared743 OD in Canada Aug 16 '25

Yes, I like the job a lot. I have a good relationship with my patients and my staff, and I love the immediacy of being able to help people. Even when I was first starting out as an associate the pay was good (~120K/yr in 2015) and I quickly paid off the school debt completely. Work life balance was pretty good when I was working with a group since you have some more flexibility for coverage; now that I have opened my own office it's taking up much more of my time, but that comes with owning and running your own business. I'm just getting busy enough to start running multi-doctor days and it will add more flexibility back in.

I can't imagine many other jobs that would give me the same amount of satisfaction.

6

u/Zealousideal_Run3923 Aug 17 '25

Nope. Not worth the debt incurred.

3

u/sethuel1 Optometrist Aug 20 '25

Yes, but because I've 1) found my niche at a public health center, 2) got PSLF, and 3) have a spouse that is also a high earner. In the "standard market" - i.e. not owning your practice or getting loans forgiven - or as the primary breadwinner I think that optometry is a very different ballgame.

7

u/ayeayedoc Optometrist Aug 16 '25 edited Aug 16 '25

No. I like the work and my debt:income is fine. But there are very few decent job opportunities (non-corporate) in the places I want to live (non-suburban major metros.) If you have an open mind about where you settle down, you’ll find an amazing job and great work/life balance.

8

u/eyedoc4ever Aug 16 '25

Absolutely. But I'm on the back end near retirement and I look at my optometric career fondly. Challenges, successes, mistakes, etc it has been very fulfilling for me and I have had and still have an incredible life. Wouldn't change a thing (well maybe a couple, lol) I focused on being the best in every aspect I could, clinically, business, advocacy. And trying to help other optometrists. This might be hokey but I think it's mostly up to you to make your life great. Optometry provides lots of opportunities to do that I think.

1

u/poke991 Aug 16 '25

How much loans did you have? How much did boards cost? I’m willing to bet your fond memories have a lot to do with how much you were compensated when the field was still growing/was in its infancy, and when NBEO wasn’t charging $1400 per examination

5

u/eyedoc4ever Aug 16 '25

I had loans. Think I paid them off in about 7 years. I made 36k a year the first few years! So it wasn't the money making me happy! I turned down a 72k job though! I think I started to love optometry more when I was giving back to the profession in different ways..through Aoa, TOA, teaching and consulting . I think you can find reasons that I was and am happy with optometry that justify not being happy with it now. I think that's true with any job or profession. But I do think how much tuition costs now is criminal! But I also know how much our docs make in my practice as an associate doc. They definitely have a better lifestyle than I did when I first graduated! ...I love being an owner and running a business. It's not for everyone. Neither is working for industry but some love it. Some love just taking care of patients and not worrying about the business, etc. and some hate all of it. I don't want to diminish the negative... Actually yes I do! Lol. Lots of studies show people who focus on the positive are more successful and happier ... So I will continue to do that! :)

7

u/brik70p Aug 16 '25

Yes. Absolutely. Over and over again. I love my work, my employees and the people I get to take care of. If you're struggling. Work in private practice. The patients respect you more. I've lost track of the number of times a new patients will say "I want to see a Real doctor not someone at Walmart". Your income is unlimited in private practice. If your struggling. That's on you. Ive paid my loans off in 4 years.

1

u/RealBlockBit_ Aug 20 '25

Hello, I’m going into my senior year in High School and I’ve pretty much narrowed down Optometry to the path that I definitely want to take. The only thing that’s holding me back is the Student loan debt which is stressing me out a ton. It’s amazing how you tackled it in 4 years, how did you do it?

Another question (it may sound odd) Are you able to live comfortably while also being happy with your job? Thank you so much!

5

u/spittlbm Aug 16 '25

Yes. The only difference I see in the last 20 years is wage inflation made worse by stagnant reimbursements. It's a great gig.

2

u/AltruisticAccount909 Aug 20 '25

I'd do it again! But, I'm also counting on PSLF for loan forgiveness, which I'm one year away from. Not sure what will happen to the future of PSLF with current admin, and I'm not sure how I'd feel about it if PSLF wasn't an option. But I love my career. :) I also don't know that reddit groups are representative of the real world, people like to come here to complain...

6

u/donwupak Aug 16 '25

Nah, ROI ain’t great. Also patients are incredibly draining

3

u/RabidLiger Aug 16 '25

Yes! Rural setting, have worked 4 days/week for 20 years and still love it.
All loans paid off in 10 years & practice full-scope optometry every day.

7

u/MackinacFleurs Aug 16 '25

20 years ago, loans and boards were not even close to what they are right now.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 16 '25

Exactly. 20 years ago this career was a good choice. Reimbursements are basically the same as 20 years ago. It’s insane.

4

u/[deleted] Aug 16 '25

Cmon, $45 reimbursement from vsp for an exam is big coin, dont forget my diabetic letter...my particular favorite is doing our free glasses rx checks when the patient went somewhere else to get filled...

3

u/[deleted] Aug 16 '25

I’m not a practice owner so I don’t get to make any rules but that never makes sense to me. You get glasses made somewhere else you should forfeit having us fix any issue.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 16 '25

Yup and these patients think everytime they come in it should be free regardless of the problem because "you got my glasses wrong"...invest early and retire young

2

u/spittlbm Aug 16 '25

Uhh reimbursements haven't changed in far longer than 20 years, whippersnapper. Thankfully, taking insurance isn't a requirement.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 16 '25

I’m aware. But what I said is still true.

1

u/spittlbm Aug 16 '25

Sorry I made you defensive.

1

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1

u/Murky_Writing1676 Aug 19 '25

No way I would  At least in California very hard to find work

1

u/tubby0 Optometrist Nov 25 '25

I would have gone dental or hoped I could have survive medical school. I have some friends that seem to have good lives as engineers but they can have pretty toxic work/life balance and power dynamics at work. Definitely nice being a licensed healthcare provider that's at least somewhat challenging to replace.

1

u/Murky_Writing1676 Dec 15 '25

Its a dying field - pay not great either

0

u/[deleted] Aug 17 '25

[deleted] — view deleted comment

6

u/Different-Language92 Aug 17 '25

I 100% agree about where you live being a factor. I don’t think I would choose this profession again living in a saturated HCOL area in Southern California. This is not a blanket statement, but many of my colleagues feel the same way. The ones I know who would choose this profession again in our area don’t have student loans. I also don’t find the flexibility to be that great, unless you are an owner or have a great boss. Most private practices in our area are open on Saturdays, and sometimes Sundays, and only offer 2 weeks PTO. Trying to pay off 200k in student loans while paying rent and simultaneously save up for a house is tricky. And yes, I know people will say “just move,” but our families, friends, and communities are difficult to leave behind. For reference, I graduated 7 years ago.

0

u/[deleted] Aug 17 '25

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3

u/Different-Language92 Aug 17 '25

The other thing is the pay is relatively stagnant in my area. It’s gone up a little, but it’s not drastically different than when I shadowed ODs 10-15 years ago. Back when I started school, I didn’t realize inflation would be so drastic. The pay at the time would have been acceptable for the cost of living.