My Background: First of all, iam not an UIA student, I just want to share something here. I graduated in 2010. Since then I have worked as an Optometrist for all large chain providers (Most large retail shop in Malaysia). I have also locummed in over 20 practises. I did my research before choosing Optometry including work experience and reading up but after 7 years I have concluded: Optometry in the Malaysia Is terrible career choice. Period. There are many reasons for this which I set out below
#1 You will not be seen as a “eye specialist” Optometrist presented very misleadingly by Malaysia universities: They present it as though will be some kind of “eye specialist who treats eye conditions and checks vision”. Believe me, you will not. 90+ % of Optometrists work in a RETAIL setting where you will be expected purely to sell glasses or contact lenses. The general public do not even think about going to YOU as an optometrist for eye problems/disease. They go to their GP or Hospital A and E and to be fair why should they go to you as an Optometrist?? All YOU can do as an Optometrist is either refer them To their GP or hospital so why shouldn’t they just go straight there? You have no power to given them a prescription of any type of eye medication. These days’ even patients have caught on to the fact that you are just a “glasses salesmen/women “as they often call us.
#2 You will have extreme sales pressure As I said,90% of Optometry graduates will work in retail, and you will have incredibly strong sales pressure thrust upon you by often unqualified managers who have no optical training themselves. Also it is worth adding that even qualified managers or Optometrist practice owners themselves encourage this terrible practise. I have been qualified 7 years and it was basically the same everywhere I went, you will have targets like for example you need to get 70-80% of patients to buy glasses per day. Any Optometrist out there will tell you this is incredibly hard to do most of the time. For example if you see an old pensioner who tells you they can’t afford glasses (which they often do) are you really going to FORCE them to buy glasses when they don’t need them/ or maybe already have glasses in good condition. This is what you WILL be expected to do. And if you do not you will be berated by sales managers. In some places it’s so bad the sales managers come and talk to the Optometrist after every patient they see to ask/berate why they didn’t “convert” the patient (get them to buy glasses). If you say to the sales manager things like “they didn’t need them” or “they couldn’t afford them” they berate you and tell you “YOU SHOULD OF DONE BETTER” In almost all practices having high sales figures is the ONLY way to get a pay rise, In every Interview I have had the first question you are asked is “what is your conversion rate for glasses sales” or “what your current sales targets are”
#3 You will not be not respected by other Optometrists or the public: I can’t tell you the amount of times someone in thepublic/patient has asked me “Do you need a degree to do this job?” These days patients have caught on to the fact that you are mostly just a “glasses salesmen” as they often call us. The general public just do not recognise this is professional job which requires you to complete a tough and challenging degree. Furthermore the lack of unity if the profession is a joke, Optometrists do not respect each other in the slightest, I can’t tell you how many times I have heard one Optometrist bad mouth another in front of patients!!! You don’t really see Doctors bad mouthing each other in front of patients since they have that mutual respect but it does not exist in Optometry – no one cares.
4# You will have to work weekends and on holidays You will be expected to work either Saturday or Sunday or sometimes both. This will likely cause havoc in your personal life as most people (which professional jobs) work Monday to Friday, so forget about ever going out on Friday nights. You could say “so what doctors work weekends?” That’s right they do but their pay reflects that and is higher on weekends, whereas you as Optometrist will not receive any higher pay for weekends, you will just be expected to as that is the norm. Also Doctors/Police etc who work weekends are emergency services which we need – selling someone glasses is not an emergency service (see point #1)
5# You will have repetitive job What you do will be EXACTLY the same from the day you qualify to the day you retire. I have put this point last as to be fair, having a repetitive job isn’t the worst thing loads of jobs are repetitive but it is INCREDIBLY BORING if you’re the kind of person to get bored quickly.
My experiences relates to retail Optometry where I have 7 years’ experience (this is where 90% of optometrists will go), my friends who are locating also tell me the situation is getting worse
CONCLUSION: THINK VERY CAREFULLY BEFORE CHOOSIING TO STUDY/BECOME AN OPTOMETRIST THERE ARE A LOT OF CONS/DISADVANTAGES. MOST QUALIFIED OPTOMETRISTS I HAVE MET BADLY REGRET THEIR CHOICE BUT ARE TRAPPED (LIKE I AM)
– Optometrist
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