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Optometrist starting salary in Australia?

q777

Member
Hey guys.
I am a student at UoA New Zealand and intend to apply for BOptom at the end of this year. I would just like to know what the career outlook of optometrist is in both Australia and New Zealand. From my knowledge, optometrist in NZ has average starting salary around 58K in large cities such as Auckland and Wellington. That is not very high for a degree that requires 5 yrs of study = =... I would like to know what the starting salary for Australian optometrists are? I have seem some threads in this forum stating that graduate optometrist in Aussie can earn as high as 100K a year. I wonder if that is possible because 58K in NZ and 100K in Aus is such a big difference. And also how is the employment opportunity for optometrist in Aus?? NZ optom graduates seem to be struggling finding jobs in urban area.

Cheers
 

q777

Member
How long would it take for the pay to increase to 100K =)? Does pay increase if graduate optometrist moves to rural area??? =>
 

drose1

Regular Member
Personally, i dun really know cuz i'm not an optometrist. Depends if there's a shortage of optometrist in rural area, but i would say the salary may be a bit higher?

good luck ;p
 

dew_angel

Member
Hey q777,

My friend who just finished Optom in Auckland has a starting salary in Chch of 95K. I know of another person who got starting 120k. However they were brilliant people who graduated with honours. But yeah I reckon starting is more around 70-80k. I got an offer for BOptom but dunno what to do :S
 

tx2

Member
Starting salary is around 60K, but a probably a bit less in cities which have an optometry school due to so many graduates in that area. This is probably gonna change in 5-6 years as there has been a new optom school opening up (Flinders Uni in South Australia) and another one (RMIT in Victoria) possibly opening next year.

It all really depends on supply on demand, but atm, it looks like there is plenty of supply coming from the 4 unis (possibly 5). However, if you're willing to move to rural areas, the pay will be soooo much higher, new grad or not, but I believe not many new grads are not allowed to go rural straight away just coz they aren't as equipped yet.
 

q777

Member
Hey q777,

My friend who just finished Optom in Auckland has a starting salary in Chch of 95K. I know of another person who got starting 120k. However they were brilliant people who graduated with honours. But yeah I reckon starting is more around 70-80k. I got an offer for BOptom but dunno what to do :S

Hey dew_angel. 95K for a graduate is awesome!!! If you work hard it shouldn'y be too hard to get honours. Optom is actually my first preference. I did biomed first year just to get into Optom but was rejected due to my poor results = = I have worked hard last year and am confident that I will get in next year lol. Sorry I got a bit carried away. If you are really passionate about Optom then go ahead and do it. Don't just do it for the money. AKL Optom is actually quite good, they offer lots of scholarships for hardworking student =). Unlike biomed degree, even you get all A+ there is not a cent of scholarship for undergraduates. The only problem is that you have to complete a postgrad diploma to prescribe eye medications which means this degree is actually 6 years including biomed first year.
 

q777

Member
Starting salary is around 60K, but a probably a bit less in cities which have an optometry school due to so many graduates in that area. This is probably gonna change in 5-6 years as there has been a new optom school opening up (Flinders Uni in South Australia) and another one (RMIT in Victoria) possibly opening next year.

It all really depends on supply on demand, but atm, it looks like there is plenty of supply coming from the 4 unis (possibly 5). However, if you're willing to move to rural areas, the pay will be soooo much higher, new grad or not, but I believe not many new grads are not allowed to go rural straight away just coz they aren't as equipped yet.

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I am afraid that there might be a over supply of optometrists in Aus by the time I graduate due to opening of new schools. Whereas in NZ we only have one optom school =). If what you said is correct that rural optom clinics are not as equipped then less optom would want to go there which leads to high demand of optometrist and higher pay I suppose.
 

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Kyle

Old Man MSO
Emeritus Staff
Thanks for the reply. Yeah I am afraid that there might be a over supply of optometrists in Aus by the time I graduate due to opening of new schools.

My understanding was that there already is an oversupply of optom grads which is just getting worse. Although this is according to a couple of optom grads who may have a slightly skewed view of it :p .
 

GV

Regular Member
i doubt it would so much of a difference and i dun think fresh graduate earns 100k a year in Australia.

Actually it's quite easy to earn that much if you go rural. I was offered a scholarship which offers me a grad job of 90k a year once I complete my degree and it increases by ~10k a year for three years. Not hard to find.
 

q777

Member
Actually it's quite easy to earn that much if you go rural. I was offered a scholarship which offers me a grad job of 90k a year once I complete my degree and it increases by ~10k a year for three years. Not hard to find.
Thanks Green Vuvuzela. That is great~ How did you manage to find those scholarships? Is it gona continue in the future coz there will be an increase in the number of optom graduates in the next 4 to 5 yrs. Do you know where I can find job opportunities for optomestrsts?
 

GV

Regular Member
Thanks Green Vuvuzela. That is great~ How did you manage to find those scholarships? Is it gona continue in the future coz there will be an increase in the number of optom graduates in the next 4 to 5 yrs. Do you know where I can find job opportunities for optomestrsts?

The Optometrist is rural as I mentioned before and he really has too much work and not enough Optoms (It takes a week or two to get a booking with him).. You could try calling rural optoms because there are a fair few going around, I could also forward you the Optom I know because I think he's looking for another Grad or two so you could apply and hope for the best.
 

Kiwioptom

Lurker
Hi Q777 and dew_angel,
I am a grad working in an Australian city with a salary around 120k. Starting salary in auckland ranges from 65-80k and rural NZ can be anywhere up to 120k. For Oz the starting salary is about 10k on average on top of those numbers. Salary does not depend so much on your grades (I also graduated with honours) but more on the demand for optoms in a particular region and also your personality and what you have to offer to the practice. It is not difficult to find a job either, 96% of my class had job offers before even sitting final exams.
Many of my friends started working in rural practices. As a new graduate you are allowed to work by yourself because you are fully qualified. The final year of optometry is like an intern year where students work under supervision at the university optom clinic and see patients full time.
Auckland uni offers one of the best optometry courses and would be almost on par with Melbourne uni. We did rotations with numerous ophthalmologists in private and public hospitals as well as an extern period of 3 weeks with either a private optometry practice or at a hospital.
Just to clarify a point you made on the duration of the course. Optometry at Auckland uni is a 5 year course all up including the overlapping biomed year. You dont have to do the post grad diploma to be able to prescribe eye medications (therapeutic qualification) as therapeutics is a part of the course. This post grad diploma is only a requirement for practising optometrists who completed their studies prior to therapeutics becomming a part of the course (introduced in Auckland in 2006 i think).
I hope this helps you make an informed decision. All the best! :) :)
 
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q777

Member
Thanks Green Vuvuzela~

Hi Q777 and dew_angel,
I am a grad working in an Australian city with a salary around 120k. Starting salary in auckland ranges from 65-80k and rural NZ can be anywhere up to 120k. For Oz the starting salary is about 10k on average on top of those numbers. Salary does not depend so much on your grades (I also graduated with honours) but more on the demand for optoms in a particular region and also your personality and what you have to offer to the practice. It is not difficult to find a job either, 96% of my class had job offers before even sitting final exams.
Many of my friends started working in rural practices. As a new graduate you are allowed to work by yourself because you are fully qualified. The final year of optometry is like an intern year where students work under supervision at the university optom clinic and see patients full time.
Auckland uni offers one of the best optometry courses and would be almost on par with Melbourne uni. We did rotations with numerous ophthalmologists in private and public hospitals as well as an extern period of 3 weeks with either a private optometry practice or at a hospital.
Just to clarify a point you made on the duration of the course. Optometry at Auckland uni is a 5 year course all up including the overlapping biomed year. You dont have to do the post grad diploma to be able to prescribe eye medications (therapeutic qualification) as therapeutics is a part of the course. This post grad diploma is only a requirement for practising optometrists who completed their studies prior to therapeutics becomming a part of the course (introduced in Auckland in 2006 i think).
I hope this helps you make an informed decision. All the best! :) :)
Thanks KIWIoptom~ Dat was veryhelpful~ Are the salaries for large chain stores (SS, OPSM, etc) or independent practice? I have heard many awful things about SS.... And is the salary likely to increase much after a few years??

Thanks
 
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GV

Regular Member
Thanks Green Vuvuzela~


Thanks KIWIoptom~ Dat was veryhelpful~ Are the salaries for large chain stores (SS, OPSM, etc) or independent practice? I have heard many awful things about SS.... And is the salary likely to increase much after a few years??

Thanks

I'd say those salaries would be for independents.. If you want more information try looking on optomforum.com
 
Salary for OPTOMETRIST??

I am in year 12 of senior school, and I am thinking of the starting salary for an optometrist??? How much could I expect to earn once i finish my degree in uni? Thankyou! (Im a girl, if that makes any difference..)

Please comment if you have any relevant information!
 

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Optometry salary

Hey any optometrists out there that can help me?

What is the starting salary for an optometrist, and does it get higher with more experience:blink:
 

miss_universe

muse.
Emeritus Staff
Hey any optometrists out there that can help me?

What is the starting salary for an optometrist, and does it get higher with more experience:blink:

I have already merged your previous thread and this one with a relavent thread. Please have a serach on MSO before posting a new thread.
 

Obiwan

Lurker
Yeah good luck with that. Unfortunately optometry in Australia now is in oversupply. A recent study stated Australia was in under supply however they based the numbers on erroneous figures from 5+ years ago. They only just admitted this if only I had known sooner! With 2 new optometry schools not far off increasing the number of grads per year to several hundred with less than ten retirements nationally per year demand for new grads is soft. Within the next 2 years salaries will drop to under 50k and stagnate. My advice do dentistry for money, medicine for the passion or physiotherapy for cool. Peace.
 

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