What is the optometry field like? (1 Viewer)

[BlueGas]

How hard is it to get in optometry? How does one become an optometrist anyway?

 

[polskicygan]

In NSW, the only school of vision sciences/optometry is located at UNSW (at an undergraduate level) so you would need to achieve an ATAR of 98.00 (if you use 2016 cut-offs as a baseline - this could change in the future). Unis in other states would have comparable cut-offs and to be competitive for entry you would need an ATAR of 95 and upwards. Not sure if this is the case nowadays still, but you used to have to sit a UMAT exam for optometry (so you might have to do that too).

https://www.optometry.unsw.edu.au/future/admission-requirements

Assumed knowledge includes physics, chemistry, adv. English and Mathematics.

To become an optometrist (and because this is a professional field) you would need to gain professional accreditation to practice within Australia.

 

[Queenroot]

Saturated

 

[Igglesnoop]

If you wish to work in a glorified retail job, then this is the career for you. You will feel like you worked hard just so you can be pushed around and told you are performing poorly as you are not reaching your conversion target which is the percentage of glasses sold out of all the patients seen each day. Also you are expected to help out the front and deal with crap from customers all the time. Think wisely before choosing this.