The thread about going to Optometry school below got me thinking about this. How many of us would choose the same path now,(OD's and opticians) knowing what we know about this biz. I look back, and see many of my high school friends, they never went to college, took the "s####y jobs", worked fewer hours than me, no nights, no weekends, and now are retired with full benefits and a nice pension in their 50's. I was once told in college that I would never get rich doing this, but I also would never be unemployed. That statement has held true for 37 years. I am fortunate, I entered this when it was a true profession, and have managed to do pretty well, and continue to do so.
If I was 30 years younger, and saw where we are today, I really think I would run like a scared dog. For the Docs, 100k in debt to make what? Pharmacists in my area pull down about 135K on less education, and the Od's nemesis, the dentists, pull down way more than that here, on 4 days. For opticians, working retail hours for 35-40K, is it really worth it? No pension, no health insurance, no job security, just sell GLASSES!
Not trying to start a battle, but I can only presume that a lot of us, with 20 plus years, some even less, might choose a different path today.
As Barry would say, thoughts, discussion?
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