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Optometrist salary


dreamerman

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  • 1 month later...
Exactly, most optometrists work for chains (lenscrafters, hakim opticals etc) and they usually make 85-100K (as beef mentioned). You'll make more if you open up your private practice.

 

Why don't some of these optometrists just open a franchise like Hakim? Why work for someone else when they can clearly work for themselves after gaining a couple years of experience?

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Why don't some of these optometrists just open a franchise like Hakim? Why work for someone else when they can clearly work for themselves after gaining a couple years of experience?

 

agreed,

 

they can and probably the business-savvy ones will invest their money into an Optician-Optometrist practice where you have the optical + office together (and just hire an optician)

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Why don't some of these optometrists just open a franchise like Hakim? Why work for someone else when they can clearly work for themselves after gaining a couple years of experience?

 

Everyone thinks they can own and run their own business. People don't realize the time, energy and skill required to do so. You have to generate traffic. You have to optimize the process. You have to develop your reputation. You have to stock the shelves. You have to clean up. You have to pay rent. You have to pay for staff. You have to find coverage if staff don't show up. You have to deal with legal issues. You You You. Some people don't want to do it - most people can't do it.

 

Your statement just tells me you have no life experience in the realm of income generation.

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Everyone thinks they can own and run their own business. People don't realize the time, energy and skill required to do so. You have to generate traffic. You have to optimize the process. You have to develop your reputation. You have to stock the shelves. You have to clean up. You have to pay rent. You have to pay for staff. You have to find coverage if staff don't show up. You have to deal with legal issues. You You You. Some people don't want to do it - most people can't do it.

 

Your statement just tells me you have no life experience in the realm of income generation.

 

I don't see why you are taking my question so personally... You just answered my point, there are either 2 people:

1. Person who isn't lazy and is ready to make a lot of money

2. Person who is lazy and who will work for someone else and let them handle everything as long as they get paid.

 

You sound like the 2nd person the way you reacted to my question. Nonetheless, thank-you for answering my question :)

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Why don't some of these optometrists just open a franchise like Hakim? Why work for someone else when they can clearly work for themselves after gaining a couple years of experience?

 

Capital and risk spring to mind - some people also get no enjoyment out of the secondary tasks they would have to do and prefer to remain mobile.

 

I saw a lot of that when I was in software - as a programmer eventually you could go off and start your own company. Most don't because the simply are not any good at things beyond writing the software itself. It isn't that they aren't smart, it is just a different skill set.

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Capital and risk spring to mind - some people also get no enjoyment out of the secondary tasks they would have to do and prefer to remain mobile.

 

I saw a lot of that when I was in software - as a programmer eventually you could go off and start your own company. Most don't because the simply are not any good at things beyond writing the software itself. It isn't that they aren't smart, it is just a different skill set.

 

+1 Good answer.

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I don't see why you are taking my question so personally... You just answered my point, there are either 2 people:

1. Person who isn't lazy and is ready to make a lot of money

2. Person who is lazy and who will work for someone else and let them handle everything as long as they get paid.

 

You sound like the 2nd person the way you reacted to my question. Nonetheless, thank-you for answering my question :)

 

It is not fair to label people who do not have an entrepreneurial mindset as 'lazy'...not everybody wants their work to be their life. Some people are most happy to live with their more-than-enough salary and spend more time travelling, learning new things, spending time with family, etc, etc. And judging by the lifestyles of many entrepreneurs I know, I don't blame them.

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  • 2 months later...

no one's telling them to start up a business right outta school,

 

when ur outta school you're what mid 20s?

 

could probably take some time and just work as an employee for a while.

 

40s or 50s arent too late to start on ur own and probably by that time you got your life experiences and probably can get the ins and outs of starting up a business (legal/accountant etc...)

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  • 1 month later...
I don't see why you are taking my question so personally... You just answered my point, there are either 2 people:

1. Person who isn't lazy and is ready to make a lot of money

2. Person who is lazy and who will work for someone else and let them handle everything as long as they get paid.

 

You sound like the 2nd person the way you reacted to my question. Nonetheless, thank-you for answering my question :)

 

Yet you want to be a doctor which is as unentrepreneurial as it gets, especially FM, so I suppose you'd be labeling yourself as lazy too?

 

You may function as an independent contractor as a physician but it's the gov't who pays your bills.

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Everyone thinks they can own and run their own business. People don't realize the time, energy and skill required to do so. You have to generate traffic. You have to optimize the process. You have to develop your reputation. You have to stock the shelves. You have to clean up. You have to pay rent. You have to pay for staff. You have to find coverage if staff don't show up. You have to deal with legal issues. You You You. Some people don't want to do it - most people can't do it.

 

You are absolutely correct. Operating your own business is another skill set, it has nothing to do with laziness. Renting in the wrong location, agreeing to excessive rent, not having a renewal option clause with a predetermined rent can be killers. I know a fantastic chef who decided to open his own business. He failed and lost lots of money because he did not have the skills to run the business even though he was great in the kitchen.

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You are absolutely correct. Operating your own business is another skill set, it has nothing to do with laziness. Renting in the wrong location, agreeing to excessive rent, not having a renewal option clause with a predetermined rent can be killers. I know a fantastic chef who decided to open his own business. He failed and lost lots of money because he did not have the skills to run the business even though he was great in the kitchen.

 

most businesses fail not because the owner lacks business skills persay but rather because the business lacks capital. It takes a good amount of start-up money to operate the business in the first 1-2 years and most aren't prepared for that, instead thinking that they will open doors and in short time become self-sustainable.

 

The first company I owned (and subsequently sold) I was lucky because I did not need to bring in a salary as my partner and I (now wife) could afford to live off her salary at the time therefore I could easily go months by pouring my would-be salary back into the company as a shareholder loan which created additional capital. Had it not been for the fact my partner and I could live on her salary (in addition to a modest lifestyle) the business would have failed as it was not well capitalized in the beginning.

 

Also worth noting is that the business was a services based business providing statistical business/marketing modeling to corporations so really I didn't have a have a need for a lot of start-up capital and yet I still would have likely failed if not for being able to live on the salary of my partner. If I needed to outlay for product and equipment past a computer and software I would have been really screwed lol

 

Funny how even with a business education you still think you can fly by the seat of your pants even you you know better :D

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  • 1 month later...
My Optometrist owns two of his own clinics and is easily a millionaire.

 

What is great about Optometry is that there is so much insurance money involved.

 

 

the thing is, as an MD or anyone earning >90000 a year you'll have just so much money you won't necessarily use out of your income.

 

and they can easily be your way into investment (whether it be in the field you're working in or not)

 

after working for 10~15 years as a family doc for e.g., you could've easily saved up to ~$1 to 1.5 million. Now if you also invested that money in your own practice or other stuff, it could've been a bit more or less.

 

my thought is that's the advantage older professionals have, but that's not necessarily a good way to gauge how much you'll be making right out of school

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the thing is, as an MD or anyone earning >90000 a year you'll have just so much money you won't necessarily use out of your income.

 

and they can easily be your way into investment (whether it be in the field you're working in or not)

 

after working for 10~15 years as a family doc for e.g., you could've easily saved up to ~$1 to 1.5 million. Now if you also invested that money in your own practice or other stuff, it could've been a bit more or less.

 

my thought is that's the advantage older professionals have, but that's not necessarily a good way to gauge how much you'll be making right out of school

 

I think after 150 is where the whole "you have more money than you are probably going to use" comes from (at least living in the City in Ottawa).

 

An optometrist starts out around 70,000 (usually) which is a great salary regardless of where you are. After a few years, it only goes upwards. And as an Optometrist, you have a HUGE range of cash grabs including different kinds of glasses; sunglasses, regular glasses, reading glasses..you have variations of contacts and sport wear like visors and prescription goggles and on top of that..you have a bunch of insurance money behind you. All of this and you still get to be called a doctor (I know thats a big motivator for the majority of us..although its not an MD). You also don't have to go through the hardships of Medical School and its easier to get into Optometry School than it is Medical School &c.

 

There are a lot of benefits to going to Optometry, I know my dad was seriously considering it. Personally, I can't see myself doing anything but Diagnosing Radiographs..thats my passion. But if someone does, hey..good for them. Its a great job, steady hours and you can be a big part in your patient's lives.

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I think after 150 is where the whole "you have more money than you are probably going to use" comes from (at least living in the City in Ottawa).

 

An optometrist starts out around 70,000 (usually) which is a great salary regardless of where you are. After a few years, it only goes upwards. And as an Optometrist, you have a HUGE range of cash grabs including different kinds of glasses; sunglasses, regular glasses, reading glasses..you have variations of contacts and sport wear like visors and prescription goggles and on top of that..you have a bunch of insurance money behind you. All of this and you still get to be called a doctor (I know thats a big motivator for the majority of us..although its not an MD). You also don't have to go through the hardships of Medical School and its easier to get into Optometry School than it is Medical School &c.

 

There are a lot of benefits to going to Optometry, I know my dad was seriously considering it. Personally, I can't see myself doing anything but Diagnosing Radiographs..thats my passion. But if someone does, hey..good for them. Its a great job, steady hours and you can be a big part in your patient's lives.

 

opticians sell glasses/contacts/prescription goggles not optometrists

 

although it would be smart for an optometrist to own an optician business

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