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Original post by fg45344
Try any Boots/ ASDA pharmacy that is in a big supermarket/ town centre.


Ive been to those too, and theyre all happy :h:
Reply 61
Original post by ALittleLost25
Ive been to those too, and theyre all happy :h:


lol

You would make a great manager....."All my staff are happy, everyone is happy, i'm happy, they are happy, the whole world is happy, happy, happy, HAPPY!"

I think this is more of a case of you needing to work in pharmacy rather than just observing us from outside. We had the same amount of work inside to do as outside, but you wouldn't know that. You wouldn't know how long it takes to label a massive prescription or what pill boxes are....or how popping 200 pills is not exactly fun. Or putting delivery on shelfs, 4-5 full boxes at a time, you've never done that so you wouldn't know.

But anyways my place is how it is, I do my shift, take an ibuprofen and go to sleep. Just telling you the truth from my side, someone who has actually worked in a pharmacy.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by LavenderBlueSky88
Couldn't read it all as it was a bit of a mess

One point I wanted to address. Having worked in a large high street opticians, a wearer of glasses and friends with optoms I'm pretty sure that the optometrists had/have little input into the decision to buy glasses beyond simply stating the results of the exam. They would generally merely test their eyes and give them a perscription - if it was a mild - or + *they would say it's up to you. Even the people on the shop floor NEVER had any pressure to sell to people who didn't need them. Are you actually accusing optometrists of going against their duty of care and forcing glasses onto those who don't need them? *I know several people who have been for eye tests to be told they don't need glasses - despite them even thinking they did - so why wouldn't in this case the optometrist take advantage of the situation and recommend glasses?

As for the other points they're a bit first world problemy - working on weekends and bank holidays, Β£27k starter salary. Behave, it's a bloody good job compared to what a lot of graduates are on. Don't like it? Train in another field.*
*


This x1000.
Ive grown up having multiple eye exams. Only when it was obviously needed, like 1 dioptre out, will the optom advise i get glasses, but that goes without saying anyway. I've never felt hurried either, especially in a hospital setting.
My personal optom is the kindest most patient bloke i've ever met. His calculations for my tricky prescription are also spot on every time.
As i said before, its important to note the OP has changed job every year. Must look terrible on the CV, wonder if he was fired?
Reply 63
Original post by ALittleLost25

Must look terrible on the CV, wonder if he was fired?


Lol, openly bittching. Grow up.
Original post by fg45344
lol

You would make a great manager....."All my staff are happy, everyone is happy, i'm happy, they are happy, the whole world is happy, happy, happy, HAPPY!"

I think this is more of a case of you needing to work in pharmacy rather than just observing us from outside. We had the same amount of work inside to do as outside, but you wouldn't know that. You wouldn't know how long it takes to label a massive prescription or what pill boxes are....or how popping 200 pills is not exactly fun. Or putting delivery on shelfs, 4-5 full boxes at a time, you've never done that so you wouldn't know.

But anyways my place is how it is, I do my shift, take an ibuprofen and go to sleep. Just telling you the truth from my side, someone who has actually worked in a pharmacy.


You do realise that to work for a living you have to, well, work?
The more experience/qualifications/skills you have, the more valuable you are to a company. As a result you get paid more and potentially have more flexibility in what projects you take on and what kind of work you want to do.
Bottom line is you're doing the kind of job that Single Mum Stacey down at the pub could do, so it might be a little more physical work than say, a marketing executive.
Your apparent allergy towards work will definitely rub off on employers once you have your PhD, and you will eventually realise that it won't be worth the paper its written on unless you wind your neck in, get your head down and put in some graft.
Reply 65
Original post by ALittleLost25
You do realise that to work for a living you have to, well, work?
The more experience/qualifications/skills you have, the more valuable you are to a company. As a result you get paid more and potentially have more flexibility in what projects you take on and what kind of work you want to do.
Bottom line is you're doing the kind of job that Single Mum Stacey down at the pub could do, so it might be a little more physical work than say, a marketing executive.
Your apparent allergy towards work will definitely rub off on employers once you have your PhD, and you will eventually realise that it won't be worth the paper its written on unless you wind your neck in, get your head down and put in some graft.


Have you held a job in retail? And if the answer is no, I don't want to hear anything you have to say, as you have no idea what hard physical work is.
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 66
Original post by ALittleLost25
You do realise that to work for a living you have to, well, work?
The more experience/qualifications/skills you have, the more valuable you are to a company. As a result you get paid more and potentially have more flexibility in what projects you take on and what kind of work you want to do.
Bottom line is you're doing the kind of job that Single Mum Stacey down at the pub could do, so it might be a little more physical work than say, a marketing executive.
Your apparent allergy towards work will definitely rub off on employers once you have your PhD, and you will eventually realise that it won't be worth the paper its written on unless you wind your neck in, get your head down and put in some graft.


And again are you doing a higher qualification like a masters/ PhD, if the answer is no, again I don't want to hear anything you have to say.
Original post by fg45344
Have you held a job in retail? And if the answer is no, I don't want to hear anything you have to say, as you have no idea what hard work is.


Have you held a job in construction? And if the answer is no, I don't want to hear anything you have to say, as you have no idea what hard work is.

See what i did there?

Put it another way, an employer has 2 interviews today:

Person A is fully qualified for the role, knows all there is to know about the job position, but wants to pick and choose what work they do and if they don't get their own way, start moaning about it, rubbing everyone else the wrong way and feeling entitled because they have said qualifications.

Person B has no qualifications in the field but is completely dedicated to learn on the job, accept any and all overtime and additional projects and will thrive on the experience.

I know who i'd hire, and it wouldn't be you, Person A.
Reply 68
Sorry if im coming across as a *****, but i'm annoyed that people are talking about things they know nothing about

1) neither have they worked in hard retail
2) neither do they have a higher qualification to tell me how much of gods professors are
Reply 69
Original post by ALittleLost25
Have you held a job in construction? And if the answer is no, I don't want to hear anything you have to say, as you have no idea what hard work is.

See what i did there?

Put it another way, an employer has 2 interviews today:

Person A is fully qualified for the role, knows all there is to know about the job position, but wants to pick and choose what work they do and if they don't get their own way, start moaning about it, rubbing everyone else the wrong way and feeling entitled because they have said qualifications.

Person B has no qualifications in the field but is completely dedicated to learn on the job, accept any and all overtime and additional projects and will thrive on the experience.

I know who i'd hire, and it wouldn't be you, Person A.


How old are you if you mind me asking?
It's very noticeable that opticians are under pressure to sell. I had an eye examination at the beginning of the year and my eyesight is good from what I understood (-0.50 and -0.75) and my optometrist confirmed that it was good yet she still prescribed me glasses for the small defect. I hardly wear them because My vision is quite good (only wear them for driving/tv/ looking at boards etc) also I hate wearing glasses! I feel like I was prescribed them for no reason, however what do I know?
Original post by optometrist123
My Background: I graduated in 2008 and qualified as anOptometrist in 2009, I have been qualified 7 years. Since then I have worked asa resident for all large chain providers (Specsavers, vision express, opticalexpress, boots, Tesco). I have also locummed in over 20 practises. I did myresearch before choosing Optometry including work experience and reading up but after 7 years I have concluded: Optometry in the UK Is terrible career choice.Period. There are many reasons for this which I set out below:

#1 You will not be seen as a β€œeye specialist” Optometryis presented very misleadingly by UK universities: They present it as though willbe some kind of β€œeye specialist who treats eye conditions and checks vision”.Believe me, you will not. 90+% of Optometrists work in a RETAIL setting whereyou will be expected purely to sell glasses or contact lenses. The generalpublic do not even think about going to YOU as an optometrist for eyeproblems/disease. They go to their GP or Hospital A and E and to be fair whyshould they go to you as an Optometrist?? All YOU can do as an Optometrist iseither refer them To their GP or hospital so why shouldn’t they just go straightthere? You have no power to given them a prescription of any type of eyemedication apart from Chloramphenicol which they could easily just buy from aPharmacist without you****unless you study independent prescribing for 2 years postgraduate – which less the 5% of Optometrist do as it is a lot of hard work andresponsibility and will get NO extra pay for doing it compared to a normalOptometrist, so why would most people bother? – They don’t. These days evenpatients have caught on to the fact that you are just a β€œglasses 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 incrediblystrong sales pressure thrust upon you by often unqualified managers who have no optical training themselves. Also it is worth adding that even qualifiedmanagers or Optometrist practice owners themselves encourage this terriblepractise. I have been qualified 7 years and it was basically the same everywhere I went, you will have targets like forexample you need to get 70-80% of patients to buy glasses per day. AnyOptometrist out there will tell you this is incredibly hard to do most of thetime. For example if you see an old pensioner who tells you they can’t affordglasses (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 β€œconvert” the patient (get them to buy glasses). If you say to the sales manager things like β€œthey didn’t need them” or β€œthey couldn’t afford them” they berate you and tell you β€œYOU 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 β€œwhat is your conversion rate for glasses sales” or β€œwhat your current sales targets are”


#3 You will not be not respected by other Optometrists orthe public: I can’t tell you the amount of times someone in thepublic/patient has asked me β€œDo you need a degree to do this job?” These days patients have caught on to the fact that you are mostly just a β€œglasses salesmen” as they often call us. The general public just do not recognise this isprofessional 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 bank holidays Youwill be expected to work either Saturday or Sunday or sometimes both!. Thiswill likely cause havoc in your personal life as most people (whichprofessional jobs) work Monday to Friday, so forget about ever going out onFriday nights. You could say β€œso what doctors work weekends?” That’s right they do but their pay reflects that and is higher on weekends, whereas you as aresident Optometrist will not receive any higher pay for weekends, you willjust 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 not be wealthy or have a comfortable lifestyle:Pay in Optometry is terrible, it is now common for newly qualifiedOptometrist in/around London to start on 27k or lower, and there is no yearlyincrease like you get in other jobs. I know Optometrists who haven’t had a payincrease in 5 years or even longer and the only way to get pay increases inmost places is by having high sales figures, which apart from beingimmoral/unethical is extremely difficult to do. On average after 5 years qualifiedyou will be on about 40-43k which is of course higher than the UK average butyou will need to work very hard for it. This includes severe sales pressure(point #2) never having weekends off (point #3). On the other hand had I havefriends who didn’t even go University and work in fields like recruitment whoalready earn more than that. The reason = pay is so low is two things: 1. too many Optometry graduates for what was always a niche field. 2. Large multiples like Specsavers pushing down salaries



6# 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 experiance (this is where 90% of optometrists will go), my friends who are loccuming also tell me the situation is getting worse locum rates going lower and lower (there is actually a recent petition about this – I have no experience of working hospital Optometry where tiny minority will go but from what I understand pay is often lower then retail optometry. Also most hospital posts are part time so you would need to string together a hospital job and maybe a part time retail one to make a decent living.


CONCLUSION: THINK VERY VERY CAREFULLY BEFORE CHOOSIING TOSTUDY/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)


I agree. IT IS tough out there after graduation. I've looked into other health-care careers, and finally decided on Pharmacy career path. However, the job opportunities for Pharmacists is drying up rapidly...lots of graduates are having a hard time securing jobs. I'm still unsure on which career path to take. Any help would be appreciated.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by MagentaAzure
I agree. IT IS tough out there after graduation. I've looked into other health-care careers, and finally decided on Pharmacy career path. However, the job opportunities for Pharmacists is drying up rapidly...lots of graduates are having a hard time securing jobs. I'm still unsure on which career path to take. Any help would be appreciated.


physio
To anyone interested i just emailed a guy who graduated 3 years ago and has seen to me once.
He basically said he has never been under any sales pressure, but says he might be the exception.
He says its similar in terms of progression as pharmacy. The job is very repetitive and you will find yourself doing and saying the same things every day.
He ended by saying its something he has always wanted to do so he's happy.

I think i'll rule it out as a career for me. The most off putting thing is the degree is useless in every other field, so you study 3 years to do one thing, and if you get sick of it, its back to square 1 like OP has discovered.
I'm glad i didnt just dive in
I know exactly what it's like to despise all the low points about your job but feel an obligation to stick with it because it's what you've started training for and have nothing if not for this. I read the whole OP but I think it's important to mention that this kind of mistreatment from your seniors, low pay, poor working environment etc is common in all the healthcare professions. You mention Medicine a lot but the grass is definitely not greener on the other side. Doctors have no control over their working hours and now (especially hospital doctors) will be forced to work weekends virtually for free. It's also horrible to see the value of your profession being constantly undermined by the government who slander doctors in the newspaper, lie to the public and create these BS "Physician Associates" who earn twice the pay of doctors for half the study time and a fraction of the work. Locum rates are also going down for doctors like they have for pharmacists and optometrists. Basically if you want a well-paid job with decent hours, it looks like it's only Finance and corporate jobs that allow you to do that. Or, like someone else mentioned, I would strongly suggest you become self-employed with your own optometry practice and then you can escape your bad experiences with retail. There's always a light at the end of the tunnel. I might have had a horrible experience with Medicine - first making it halfway through the degree, getting screwed over by my uni and now having to go to Eastern Europe to finish it - but I think I'll regret it if I don't finish what I started. There's always a decent job waiting for any healthcare professional, it's a shame we all just have to wade through a load of **** to find it in the first place. And if not, if you really want to escape, then you have a decent career to fall back on. If it's not in the UK, optometrists will surely be valued much better in other countries like doctors are, so maybe you should consider moving abroad too. The world is your oyster - I salute you for having finished your degree already and got through 7 years of work. That's an enormous achievement - move on if you have to, but keep your head high and be proud of what you have so far. :smile:
Reply 75
Original post by asif007
I know exactly what it's like to despise all the low points about your job but feel an obligation to stick with it because it's what you've started training for and have nothing if not for this. I read the whole OP but I think it's important to mention that this kind of mistreatment from your seniors, low pay, poor working environment etc is common in all the healthcare professions. You mention Medicine a lot but the grass is definitely not greener on the other side. Doctors have no control over their working hours and now (especially hospital doctors) will be forced to work weekends virtually for free. It's also horrible to see the value of your profession being constantly undermined by the government who slander doctors in the newspaper, lie to the public and create these BS "Physician Associates" who earn twice the pay of doctors for half the study time and a fraction of the work. Locum rates are also going down for doctors like they have for pharmacists and optometrists. Basically if you want a well-paid job with decent hours, it looks like it's only Finance and corporate jobs that allow you to do that. Or, like someone else mentioned, I would strongly suggest you become self-employed with your own optometry practice and then you can escape your bad experiences with retail. There's always a light at the end of the tunnel. I might have had a horrible experience with Medicine - first making it halfway through the degree, getting screwed over by my uni and now having to go to Eastern Europe to finish it - but I think I'll regret it if I don't finish what I started. There's always a decent job waiting for any healthcare professional, it's a shame we all just have to wade through a load of **** to find it in the first place. And if not, if you really want to escape, then you have a decent career to fall back on. If it's not in the UK, optometrists will surely be valued much better in other countries like doctors are, so maybe you should consider moving abroad too. The world is your oyster - I salute you for having finished your degree already and got through 7 years of work. That's an enormous achievement - move on if you have to, but keep your head high and be proud of what you have so far. :smile:


Great post but paragraphs!
Original post by asif007
I know exactly what it's like to despise all the low points about your job but feel an obligation to stick with it because it's what you've started training for and have nothing if not for this. I read the whole OP but I think it's important to mention that this kind of mistreatment from your seniors, low pay, poor working environment etc is common in all the healthcare professions. You mention Medicine a lot but the grass is definitely not greener on the other side. Doctors have no control over their working hours and now (especially hospital doctors) will be forced to work weekends virtually for free. It's also horrible to see the value of your profession being constantly undermined by the government who slander doctors in the newspaper, lie to the public and create these BS "Physician Associates" who earn twice the pay of doctors for half the study time and a fraction of the work. Locum rates are also going down for doctors like they have for pharmacists and optometrists. Basically if you want a well-paid job with decent hours, it looks like it's only Finance and corporate jobs that allow you to do that. Or, like someone else mentioned, I would strongly suggest you become self-employed with your own optometry practice and then you can escape your bad experiences with retail. There's always a light at the end of the tunnel. I might have had a horrible experience with Medicine - first making it halfway through the degree, getting screwed over by my uni and now having to go to Eastern Europe to finish it - but I think I'll regret it if I don't finish what I started. There's always a decent job waiting for any healthcare professional, it's a shame we all just have to wade through a load of **** to find it in the first place. And if not, if you really want to escape, then you have a decent career to fall back on. If it's not in the UK, optometrists will surely be valued much better in other countries like doctors are, so maybe you should consider moving abroad too. The world is your oyster - I salute you for having finished your degree already and got through 7 years of work. That's an enormous achievement - move on if you have to, but keep your head high and be proud of what you have so far. :smile:



Hey for the advice cheers buddy thats a nice post :smile:
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Tsrsarahhhh
It's very noticeable that opticians are under pressure to sell. I had an eye examination at the beginning of the year and my eyesight is good from what I understood (-0.50 and -0.75) and my optometrist confirmed that it was good yet she still prescribed me glasses for the small defect. I hardly wear them because My vision is quite good (only wear them for driving/tv/ looking at boards etc) also I hate wearing glasses! I feel like I was prescribed them for no reason, however what do I know?


exactly my point - they are all under immense sales pressure and many face disciplinary action if they dont meet their spectacle targets - absolute joke and disgusting

btw your eyesight is really good - I wouldn't prescribe less then a -1.00 unless the patient is really bothered by their vision - but this is where sales pressure and conflict of interested come into it
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by ALittleLost25
To anyone interested i just emailed a guy who graduated 3 years ago and has seen to me once.
He basically said he has never been under any sales pressure, but says he might be the exception.
He says its similar in terms of progression as pharmacy. The job is very repetitive and you will find yourself doing and saying the same things every day.
He ended by saying its something he has always wanted to do so he's happy.

I think i'll rule it out as a career for me. The most off putting thing is the degree is useless in every other field, so you study 3 years to do one thing, and if you get sick of it, its back to square 1 like OP has discovered.
I'm glad i didnt just dive in



" I emailed a guy" "has seen to me once"
Look I dont wanna get into a long discussion here but it doesn't sound like you know this guy well. He himself said he hasnt been under sales pressure "BUT SAYS HE MAY BE THE EXCEPTION" - doesn't that tell you everything

This is what I mean - alot of people you dont know well/universities etc will just sugar coat it
Original post by optometrist123
" I emailed a guy" "has seen to me once"
Look I dont wanna get into a long discussion here but it doesn't sound like you know this guy well. He himself said he hasnt been under sales pressure "BUT SAYS HE MAY BE THE EXCEPTION" - doesn't that tell you everything

This is what I mean - alot of people you dont know well/universities etc will just sugar coat it


He didnt sugar coat it. He said its swings and roundabouts, its not a glam job but he always wanted to do it so he enjoys it.
Why cant you comprehend that other people may enjoy things you dont?
You still havn't explained why youve changed job every year

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