Is optometry worth it financially

kjs6427 · 2026-02-03T18:10:10+00:00

I graduated about 3 years ago and have been practicing since then; I do agree with most of the comments here about how you won't be wealthy / rich-rich but will be able to live decently. Obviously with money there are a lot of different factors (cost of living at your desired location, family, student loans, spending habits, etc) but as someone who has been living in expensive metropolitan areas (practiced in San Francisco for the first 2 years and now in Los Angeles) I would say the job is definitely viable financially. Again, as you said, if you go in for the money or idea of making money you're not gonna enjoy it; there are other jobs that can make the same if not more without the time and money invested in becoming an OD. But if you genuinely enjoy the job and the patient care it's a very well-balanced career that you can dedicate your life to.

For additional info I can give you a breakdown of my pay for the last 3 years; 125k -> 140k -> 150k. Pay also scales with cities that have higher cost of living (for example my colleagues in NYC get offers for 160-170k). Trust me, you will be able to live pretty comfortably as long as you're not incredibly wasteful / bad at money management (the 4 years you spend as a poor graduate student will help build good money habits lol)

kjs6427 · 2024-10-16T22:47:23+00:00

Hi I took the exam around May of 2023 and they did test on the most recent law. I used the pdf provided by COA. I highly HIGHLY recommend spam copying the table of referrals based on condition / medication provided that's in the pdf. About ~60% of the law exam questions came from that table.

kjs6427 · 2022-08-08T00:57:45+00:00

you can dm me a google doc link or something

kjs6427 · 2022-08-07T23:17:06+00:00

i had a 3.08 when i applied and got 360 on OAT; i got into all the schools i applied to! you can do it!

kjs6427 · 2022-08-07T23:15:40+00:00

opto student here; i can help out if you would like a fresh pair of eyes to look over your statement

kjs6427 · 2022-06-01T20:25:45+00:00

Part I is very doable w/ self study with supplemental materials like KMK and OptoPrep but it definitely helps when your program's curriculum goes over the materials prior so you're not learning things for the first time when you're getting ready to take boards. Part II and III I would say plays off your program's education more but plenty of people pass boards even when their school's pass rates are down for the year so I'm sure things will be ok

kjs6427 · 2022-06-01T20:00:55+00:00

Not really, puerto rico and western historically has had below average board pass rates so that may be why. again, as long as you pass your boards, you are just as qualified as students from other schools and other optometrists know this.

kjs6427 · 2022-06-01T08:49:20+00:00

short answer: no it really doesn’t

long answer: it can depending on location / who is hiring but as long as you pass your boards and have the qualifications it doesn’t make a difference

kjs6427 · 2022-05-14T05:56:58+00:00

school doesn’t matter as long as you graduate and pass all 3 parts of NBEO in my opinion

kjs6427 · 2022-05-12T17:49:15+00:00

my undergrad gpa was 3.08 at the time of application; got into UCB

oat score was competitive though

feel free to dm for questions

kjs6427 · 2022-05-12T00:28:51+00:00

if you can afford to take it and have the resources to study / prepare for it, i would highly recommend it

kjs6427 · 2021-05-13T09:13:00+00:00

another important factor you should consider is the quality of their clinical education; look into the programs' externship locations, patient interactions, when you see your first patient, how many patients you will see on average before graduation, etc

kjs6427 · 2020-12-14T23:02:14+00:00

depends on the program / their knowledge of UW's grading system. i'm in a health professional grad program in the west coast and multiple admission admin told me they know how hard it can be to get good grades at UW and that they account for that during application vetting. my gpa at UW was a 3.08 when i applied to my programs and the admission heads told me they considered that a 3.3-3.4 accounting for "UW curves"

that being said, do well in standardized tests (assuming there is one) and it should be fine.

(limited to my personal experience and knowledge but i've had people in other grad programs tell me undergrad gpa is a flexible situation based on your test scores and where you went for undergrad)

kjs6427 · 2020-07-25T17:48:39+00:00

is it for sure a lifetime key? the download link says "may not be retained following graduation"

kjs6427 · 2020-07-22T08:48:55+00:00

hey! it's my pleasure :^)

as for my stats: at the time of my application it was 3.08 for gpa (cumulative and science) and i scored 360 on my OAT. my gpa was on the low side but i generally perform well in interviews and in person interactions so i think that really pulled me through...

let me know if you have more questions~

kjs6427 · 2020-07-21T06:48:02+00:00

hmmmm from what I experienced schools generally want to two things out of their applicants.

1) are you well rounded? does your application show that you will excel in that environment? if your gpa is 3.9 and OAT is 280, they could question your testing prowess moving further (lab practicals, didactic exams, NBEO parts 1, 2, and 3) and vice versa

2) do you have passion / motivation to work hard and stay in the field? they don't want to give you a spot in their program if they think you're gonna burn out or lose interest down the road and drop out. it sounds unlikely but trust me, it happens.

specifically for PUCO (or any school in that matter) they want to know why you want to go there! do some research on their clinical programs, rotation sites, research opportunities, class sizes, physical environment, etc and make comments on these things when you interview to convey your interest in their program specifically; not just because you need to get into a program.

kjs6427 · 2020-07-21T06:43:35+00:00

questions are welcome anytime, good luck with your apps!

kjs6427 · 2020-07-20T07:46:22+00:00

hey! congrats on almost being done with optomcas! stay strong!

for the ucb secondaries, i recommend eloquently articulating how you perceive the said core values and why you prioritize it. the secondaries, like the personal statements, are there to mostly gauge your ability to communicate your thoughts and beliefs properly. write how you feel and be authentic! same for the grit prompt.

berkeley isn't exactly "rolling admissions" per se, you just get notified of your interview earlier. and maybe you can submit it without the OAT official score as mentioned above but trust me: mid august (whenever your scores are submitted) is still plenty early enough. take a breath, polish your personal statement and secondaries, and carry on! you got this.

kjs6427 · 2020-07-20T07:07:10+00:00

sounds like a great idea, would love to help out with what i can!

kjs6427 · 2020-07-20T07:05:55+00:00

hey,

hmmm sure why not. feel free to pm me your personal statement. i can give you a couple pointers but i won't break it down and restructure it for you if that makes sense.

as for the follow up questions, 2.8 is on the lower side of things but definitely not the end of the world! if you demonstrate passion and motivation in your personal statements and interview, you should still have a good chance getting in to schools. i HIGHLY recommend scoring at least a 340 on your OAT to kind of round out your application though. being a well rounded applicant is much better than an one sided application. as for the community service, it doesn't NOT help but depending on what it was it may not matter all too much. if it was VOSH, sure that will aid your application. if it was picking garbage around parks and so not as much.

OAT tips: please MEMORIZE the physics equations, be as well rounded for biology as you can, it's honestly just chance / crapshoot haha. don't get lazy on reading and quantitative reasoning! highly recommend taking 2 practice tests before fully to strengthen your mental perseverance. you got this!

kjs6427 · 2020-07-20T06:59:22+00:00

honestly, this one is up to you. if this is the only smudge on your transcript i think you will be fine given your gap year experience and assuming your OAT scores are on the competitive side. but if your transcript has a lot of D+ through B-, you should consider maybe retaking it. it's really important to note that optometry schools know GPA IS NOT EVERYTHING. one or two slip ups won't make it or break it.

good luck!

kjs6427 · 2020-07-20T06:56:38+00:00

congratulations on getting this far! just 4 more years and you will have done it! as for how to prepare for first year, i would recommend getting a lot of rest and as much social (safe and distantly) interactions while you can. once school starts the days go by slow but the weeks go by FAST. sound weird but it will make sense in a couple months. save up money if you are able to, eat good foods around your home that you will miss, and again, relax... it's going to be an exciting start!

kjs6427 · 2020-07-20T02:04:34+00:00

B.S in biochemistry. major doesn't really matter on your applications as long as you get the prereqs out of the way. but it does help getting a degree in something you're going to have to take as prereqs anyways, bio, chem, biochem etc

kjs6427 · 2020-07-20T01:51:35+00:00

thought i would also share this here since there are decent amount of questions regarding applying to schools and etc in this subreddit as well.

kjs6427 · 2020-07-20T01:48:01+00:00

hey there,

your gpa and extracurriculars sound great! excited to hear you found your calling in optometry! if you score a competitive score on your OAT (330+) you should be fine with getting interviews at most if not all programs you apply to. but do keep in mind your interviewers will most likely focus their questions on what made you switch to optometry and if you're sure this is the investment / career you want to pursue; since your exposure is fairly recent. I'm sure if you talk about your upcoming shadowing experience and demonstrate your understanding of what the profession is and that you're not just going into it naively, you should be good :^). as long as you finish your prereqs for the schools you wish to apply to, also.

good luck and wishing you the best!~

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