Optometrist Salary
An optometrist is a medical doctor who specializes in the treatment of eye and vision problems and prescribes eyeglasses, contact lenses, vision therapy and arranges ocular rehabilitation programs. Other duties can include prescribing medicine and treatment of eye disease and allergies.
An optometrist’s chief duty is the examination of his or her patient’s eyes. Generally speaking most patients who come in for an examination will suffer from either myopia (nearsightedness) or hypermetropia (farsightedness). From there, the optometrist will then prescribe lenses or eyeglasses. The optometrist is also called upon to identify a wide range of other less common eye ailments.
An optometrist’s primary instrument to perform examinations is the usually the ‘Retinoscope’ which allows an optometrist to observe the reaction of patients with different strengths of lenses. This will allow an optometrist
to prescribe the right strength of either contact lens or glasses. It can also allow them to see if their patients may be suffering from a variety of things such as astigmatism.
An Ophthalmoscope is another instrument that a optometrist will need to be proficient with. It gives the ability to see the inside the patient’s eye. If an optometrist discovers a serious eye problem that may require surgery they will often refer their patient to an ophthalmologist.
Optometrist Salary
In the United States, an optometrist’s salary is on average $103,868 a year. According to a survey about 10% of total optometrist in the US get $89,740 annually, 15% get $93,106 per year, 50% get $110,890 per year, 15% get 135,067 per year and the remaining 10% get more than or equal to $144,827 in annual basis. The lowest salary is usually around $50,000 and the highest possible salary somewhere in the realm of $166,000. With the increasing demand of optometrists, the future is looking bright for optometrist salaries to rise even higher.
Education or Training Needed
First things first four years of college are needed, bachelor’s of science being the usual route. Then, in order to become a certified optometrist one has to undergo and complete a four year program in an optometry school. If you want to obtain further expertise in optometry and want to become a specialist in any specific field of optometry such as vision therapy, partially sighted etc – you need to complete a masters or doctorate in your desired field. Beside this, one year residency program in any specific field will also help you acquire further specified expertise. In order to start practice, you need to be licensed. To obtain an optometry license, you need to pass both a written optometry examination held by a national board of examiners and a clinical board exam. Specific requirements vary from state to state.
Job Growth Outlook For Optometrists
With the aging of the baby boomer generation happening demand for quality eye care will grow fairly quickly. In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics optometry jobs will grow at a very fast rate of 28% between 2008 and 2018. This is way faster than the average job in the U.S. And should present a bright future for those wanting to become optometrists.
Another reason why growth is expected to be so high is the fact that more and more health care plans are including eye care and this is leading to more optometry job openings.
Also because of the fact that there are only 19 schools of optometry in the United States this leads to a limited number of graduates to fill up the ever increasing demand for quality trained optometrists. These graduates are simply not expected to meet the demand.
If that wasn’t enough of a spark to get you excited about optometry as a career path, listen to this. According to the American Optometric Association, near one quarter of all practicing optometrists are approaching retirement age!
This is certainly a well paying career that has a lot of potential. Be sure to do some further research online in terms of education possibilities. Good luck!
No related posts.