When optometry students graduate and enter the real world, they often start out with a lot of student loan debt, limited business knowledge, and a stigma of becoming a corporate OD. Common myths and complaints around corporate optometry are that you see too many patients, you have to work weekends, and there’s no growth potential. However, these are not all true. A career in corporate optometry can be just as rewarding as operating in a private practice.

This post highlights some of the benefits of working in a corporate optometric practice.

The Benefits Of Working In A Corporate Optometric Practice

Steady Income

When new optometry graduates are ready to start their careers, they typically have amassed $200k in student loan debt. Factoring other possible expenses like a growing family, and car or home loans, there’s a lot of pressure on new grads to start making money.

Fortunately, in a corporate optometry office, you can begin earning a predictable income without all the unexpected expenses of running a private practice.

Work/life Balance

Everyone in every profession wants to establish a consistent work/life balance to disconnect from the office. Some ODs in a corporate setting have a better opportunity to establish a work/life balance than ODs in a private practice because the corporate OD has:

• Minimal administration duties
• Fewer business management tasks
• Consistent schedule

And, while a lot of corporate ODs have to work weekends, many ODs in private practice have started working weekends after learning Saturday shifts can be one of the most profitable for their practice.

Professional Development

One of the biggest benefits corporate optometry provides for new graduates is the ability to build clinical experiences without stressing over administrative duties. As new corporate ODs begin to grow and feel more confident on the clinical side, they can observe how the practice manages the business side and gain insight into marketing strategies. You can also take the opportunity to step out onto the sales floor to learn merchandising, inventory, pricing, and selling strategies based on industry best practices.

Do you work in a corporate optometric practice? Tell us why you love it in the comments below, and subscribe to the blog for more posts like these!