Experience and Networking

Shadowing Experience

If you are interested but you have not shadowed a doctor yet, you NEED to! You can't base your career decision from one eye exam with a doctor. Personally, my total hours of shadowing was 50. I shadowed optometrists in different modes of practice. Optometrists will practice in a number of settings, depending on the lifestyle you choose and the type of patients you want to see. There numerous modes of practice offered to Optometrists : Hospital, Military, HMO, Corporate, Solo Private, Group Practice, Retail, Clinical (Opthalmologic), and Academic.

You can write a letter asking an optometrist if you can shadow them, or arrange a date to ask them personally. Most Optometrists are more than willing to help you!
Most schools don't require a log of hours; it goes by an honor system. Besides your only cheating yourself by lying. This is for your own experience figure out if this is the correct field for you and also which practice setting you would prefer. For some, you might have to shadow 100+ hours to narrow down which setting you would prefer, and for others, like me, maybe 50 hours is sufficient.

Work Experience

I think the main reason why I did not have a lot of shadowing hours is because I worked so much! I first became an Optometric Technician in the spring semester of my 2nd year at UTSA. I worked for about 20-24 hours per week and I was also a full-time student
(16-17hours). Sounds like a lot to some, but it was very doable. I was able to take part in other extra curricular activities as well. Optometry school's like to see a well-rounded student. This helps the school determine whether or not you will be able to handle a greater course load during optometry school.

My suggestion, be an Optometric Technician before becoming working in retail!!! I think if you start off working in retail, it might deter you from the field. Right now, I am enjoying my year off before I start Optometry school in August. During this time, I have been working in sales at Lens Crafters. Although I can still pre-test patients, it is not the same experience as when I was pre-testing patients in a private setting. I will go into that more if anyone has any questions about retail.

Networking

Living in San Antonio, made it easier for me find a job. I worked at the doctor's office next to Eye Masters in North Star Mall for 3 years. While I worked there, I got to know a total of 5 doctors very well. You build relationships when you work with the doctors and you being to network. When you finish optometry school, if you plan to practice in the same city, you can find jobs more easily.