Optometrist's Career

Please describe what inspires your decision for becoming an optometrist, including your preparation for training in this profession, your aptitude and motivation, the basis for your interest in optometry, and your future career goals. Your essay should be limited to 4500 characters.

As a young man entering my senior year of high school, my mind races as I try to figure out what it is that I’ll commit my life to. What will be the driving passion, the purpose of my existence, the reason I get out of bed every morning to face another day of this life? Some people would try to encourage me to choose a career simply for its potential to make me wealthy. However, looking at the degenerate lives of the rich and the famous around the world, its apparent to me that the pursuit of earthly riches alone isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. I’d rather spend my days in pursuit of something more fulfilling. As far as I can tell from my

In life, choosing is never easy. Choosing what to wear, eat, where to go, and how to live. Choosing what you want to do for the rest of your life, is as easy as walking to the moon and back. There is no brochure that gives you a sure set of bullet points as to what you would like to do, instead, we are meant to simply discover what we would enjoy doing most. There are over a million different careers, yet I’ve chosen a profession in Dental Hygiene. Believe it or not, my first words were not in fact, “I want to become a dental hygienist”.

Many have experienced an encounter as a young child where they are asked what they want to be when they grow up. Answering that question may be easy as a kid because your mind is filled with thoughts of being the unimaginable. As you grow much older, those ideas begin to depart from the mind and you are suddenly more aware of what is and what is not possible in this world. When beginning the most important years of high school, you stop and rethink your career choice numerous times, stressing on who and what you want to be. Many adults such as teachers, counselors, and parents will emphasize the importance of knowing where you want to be in the future during high school, sometimes even middle school. It became imperative that one chose their

All throughout school, students are ask what we want to be when we grow up. Many of us know or have a pretty good idea, but others have no clue what they want to pursue as a career in life, whether it be furthering their education at a university or attending a technical school. There are other students that plan to start work right out of high school. Either way we all have a plan, and the purpose of this paper is to inform you of mine. I personally struggle in making big decisions like deciding what to do with my life, but then I realized I have been asking myself the wrong questions. Instead of asking what I want to be when I grow up, I asked myself what do I want out of life? what are some of my goals that I wish to achieve? This led

This beginning doctor would have already finished, medical school, MCAT testing, and a residency program. The average salary for this occupation is about $200,000-$300,000 a year. The exceptional salary for an OB/GYN is nearly $190,000 a year. This pay depends on where you are located in the United States and what the demand is for these doctors.

When you graduate high school most of us look forward to going to college and starting a new chapter in our lives. There are many choices of fields to choose from when we enter college. Some of us know right from the start what we want to do and some of us don’t. I have had many ideas of what I might want to pick as my career for the rest of my life. It first started out with wanting to be a teacher, and then it changed to a veterinary technician, and finally with lots of thought and research I have decided I want to be a Respiratory Therapist.

Primary eye care in the U.S. is a huge industry because there is an overwhelming amount of people that demand Optometrists. The demand for Optometrists is at an ultimate high, according to the American Optometric Association, employment will grow at a rate of 33% and is ranked #12 on the list of America’s top 100 jobs. In 2012 there were 40,000 Optometrists and 202 million people in need of vision correction. There is currently one licensed eye professional per 3,500 people and studies show that on average Optometrists see 19.8 additional patients per week if they are completely booked without adding hours to their practice. This means that Optometrists are doing a lot more than they can actually handle. Over the next decade the amount of patients will continue to increase especially through the elderly and those at risk for Type 2 diabetes. Diabetes “is the leading cause of new cases of blindness” and 2000 to 2050 there will be a 165% increase of people diagnosed with diabetes, so Diabetes will be another main reason for the demand of Optometry (Review of Optometry). The ratio between patients and Optometrist care providers are almost quadruple the amount. Vision Web shares that “over the past decade, as the U.S. population expanded 0.9 percent annually, the vision correction population grew at the same rate” (10). This means that as the population continues to grow, so does the demand for Optometry. The demand for Optometry continues to grow and the only way we can manage the amount of people demanding eye care is increasing the availability of doctors throughout the country. We can start doing this by making sure more Optometry schools are available within the medical field. Gonzaga should have an Optometry Program because of its location, Washington needs an Optometry program, and the demand for it will continue to go on a rise. The lack of Optometrists needs to resolved by adding a new

If you attend a community or four year colleges they will most likely offer certificates and associate degrees, from programs in optician technology. Most people recommend that optometry technicians earn para optometric certification to have a chance to demonstrate job skills and enhance professionalism. This will help you get an idea with what you should expect when applying for this position, and informs you with the knowledge that you need.

To be and practice optometry you need to pass a 4 year bachelor's degree of optometry course. After that you also need to apply for optometry programs to get hands on 4 year experience before you can apply somewhere and work on your own. As stated in the article “Optometrist” by Shelly Field, some high school classes that are needed are biology and chemistry, but calculus and physics are strongly recommended as well. After high school an optometrist gets schooling 8 years in total before they are even given the chance to go get a job and legally practice optometry. A stock broker on the other hand only needs a bachelor's degree in accounting, business, finance or economics to become a stockbroker. This means in total only 4 years of schooling is required. Although a stock broker has no required classes that need to be taken in high school to become one, it is almost a necessity that you take some classes to guide you in college. Some of the strongly recommended classes being accounting, management, investments, marketing and finance. In the end a stockbroker would probably be a better choice as of schooling because I could get out of schooling faster and could start paying off my college

Throughout grade school, I struggled with what my future would hold. I had an idea about what I wanted to achieve. For example, I know I did not want to live pay check to pay check, but I didn’t have a clue about how to achieve that. My entire life my mother taught me to work hard for what I wanted, and then I could reap the benefits later. I didn’t want to wait for later. I wanted to have my cake, and eat to. I knew I love books so maybe I could become a writer. The school Counselor suggested I take a career vocational test to determine what would work best for me.

“On belay?” “Belay on!” “Climbing.” “Climb on!” As an ametuer rock climber, I am captivated as I learn the literal and figurative ropes of the sport. Although I am not an adrenaline junkie, my innate characteristics, learned skills, and inquiring mind propel me to excelling in both the gym and crag. These characteristics which draw me to climbing also allow me to become an ideal optometrist. Key components of rock climbing include creativity and attention to detail. Every crevice and rock of the route must be considered in order to ascend the wall. Sometimes, like in optometry, the path may not be obvious and special care must be taken to observe every detail to find the best route of treatment for the patient. In addition, communication is

Following that, a 4- year bachelor’s program preferably in a related field such as biology, chemistry, physics or physiology needs to be completed. Some of the courses that I would study are: English, Introductory to Ethics, Psychology, Biology, Microbiology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Organic Chemistry, Calculus, Statistics and Physics. The next step would be to apply to competitive optometry programs, which take another four years to complete. Upon completion, one must meet their nation and state-licensing requirement in order to become a practicing optometrist. The Canadian licensing exam is the, “Canadian Assessment of Competence in Optometry”

Schooling is obviously key for an optometrist because there is a lot of knowledge needed in just knowing what the eye does. Medicine is one of the more important knowledge based skills for an optometrist, as an optometrist is going to need to diagnose and treat human conditions of the eye. He or she also needs to be able to tell when something is wrong, such as diseases and deformities. Mathematics and biology are important educational values needed for an optometrist. An optometrist uses algebra, geometry, calculus and stats in everyday situations. An optometrist should understand biology, such as tissues, cells, interdependencies and interactions with the environment. Obviously English skills are needed such as, good grammar and spelling are major. One simple spelling error on a prescription could ruin someone's sight or even life. An optometrist should have a good background in physics, knowing the laws, understanding fluid, and atmospheric dynamics. It may not seem important for an

There is no set age you can be an optometrist but by the time you graduate high school you will more than likely eighteen years old. Optometrists must complete a Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) degree program and obtain a license to practice in a particular state. O.D. programs take 4 years to complete, and most students have a bachelor’s degree before entering a program. (“How to Become an Optometrist”) Most Have Been Working in this Career for 10 or More Years. A most common entry into optometry is working or helping at a clinic; volunteering is a good way to learn more about the career. Optometrists must have strong communication skills and need to be empathetic; they are known to have to have excellent customer service, organization skills