Optometrist Career Paper

Everyone wants a career full of rewarding benefits and the joy of helping others. Optometrists receive this on a daily basis as a reward for their hard work. Becoming an optometrist, the doctors who test and treat vision in patients, requires years of training, special skills, and high aptitudes in science and math, in order to earn the rewarding benefits and earnings of the profession. The most important step in becoming an Optometrist is the education and training needed for the rewarding career.

To become an optometrist, one must be able to endure the laborious years of schooling and training. Optometry schooling usually takes four years, following the completion of a bachelor's degree, and the passing of the Optometry Admission Test (“Pre-Optometry”).

Optometrists gain a fantastic salary as a reward for their long and enduring years of schooling. As of May 2016, the median annual wage for optometrists averaged around $106,000. In the state of Ohio, the annual wage for optometrists faired higher than the national average at $111,000 (“Optometrists: Summary”). Over time, Optometrists can expect their average income to increase. For example, after 10 years, the median income for optometrists jumps to $148,000, and $169,000 for those with 20 or more years of experience. Private Practitioner Optometrists tend to have better benefits than those who work in a clinic or hospital. Self employed optometrists make around $50,000 more on average than those whose employment involves a large corporation. On the other hand, those who work in group practice tend to make even more than self employed optometrists (Murphy). Optometrists also have benefits besides a great pay. Many Optometrists have excellent working conditions and usually work their own hours. Private Practitioner Optometrists get to choose their own hours and run the business how they would like ("Optometrist", Encyclopedia 670). The field of optometry does not usually cause a high amount of stress due to the lack of emergency situations, and the calm and quiet conditions in the workplace. ("Optometrist", Encyclopedia 671). While this field does provide great benefits and earnings, it also provides great employment opportunities for everyone in the