A Bachelor in Optometry is a four-year undergraduate course that is specifically designed to allow students to gain the required knowledge and skills for examining, diagnosing, and treating different illnesses connected to the eye.
The word Optometry comes from the word “Opis” which also means view and “metron” which basically means something that can be used for measuring. Traditionally, the understanding of optometry revolves around measuring eyesight, prescribing contact lenses, and detecting eye diseases.
Today, Optometry has come quite far from the traditional understanding and has become an innovative field that involves early diagnosis and painless surgeries using technology. This degree is preferred within the medical field because it is dynamic and also focuses on the specialization at an undergraduate level.
Successful completion of the Bachelor of Optometry program makes students job-ready at the end of the term and most colleges offer placements in some of the top clinics, production facilities, and even other businesses.
In these times, there are many career options that the field of Optometry holds. Let’s have a look at them below.
Career Options Available After Optometry:
After the completion of Optometry, some of the top career options available are Optometrists, Ophthalmologists, and Opticians. Let’s look at the job roles that each of these career options includes. They are mentioned below.
- Optometrists: An optometrist is an independent healthcare provider who specializes in eye care and visual health. He is a medical professional but not a physician and is responsible for focusing on regular vision care while prescribing eyeglasses and contacts. Professional optometrists are responsible for examining the internal and external structures of the eyes.
- Ophthalmologist: A physician who specializes in the medical care of the eye and vision system is called an Ophthalmologist. This professional offers complete eye care services including vision services, medical eye care, surgical eye care, diagnosis, and treatment of the eye including plastic surgery as well.
- Optician: An optician is an important part of the eye care team but is definitely not an eye doctor. An optician uses a prescription written by an optometrist often an ophthalmologist. They are technicians trained to design and verify fit eyeglasses lenses and frames, contact lenses, and other devices for correcting eyesight.
It must be noted that the career opportunities in all of these fields are pretty wide regarding the demand in India and abroad.
Optometrists can often work as post-secondary teachers, occupational and industrial safety programs, and consultants in the eye care industry while also doing research in colleges. They can set up their private clinics and work independently also. They can choose a career in sports vision, public health, and government service or community health centres.
On the other hand, an Ophthalmologist might choose to set up a private practice or even work as a solo practitioner while being a part of the medical group. Being an Ophthalmologist, you can also work as a public health employee, professor in a university, military doctor, and also as an employee of a clinic, hospital, or government agency.
Job Opportunities:
The Bachelor of Optometry students can find many opportunities within the field of eye care and vision care. They are largely hired in government eye hospitals, super specialty hospitals, eye care clinics, and nursing clinics. They can also get hired in optical shops, optical companies, and manufacturing companies related to eye care and vision care.
Some of the top recruiters for Bachelor of Optometrist students are Lenskart, Tata Eye +, Ray Ban glasses, etc.
Conclusion:
The demand for a Bachelor of Optometry has gained wide importance in the last decade or so. With the ever-changing lifestyle of people and prolonged exposure to gadgets, many people have started suffering from eye problems. Hence, the demand for professionals who can treat eye problems has also increased.
Completion of a program in Bachelor of Optometry can be a great career choice. It can help you land lucrative jobs in the field of eye care and also the sectors associated with it.
