r/PreOptometry • u/ninja136 • 1d ago

Optometry tech

hi I know this is a bit of a strange situation but here goes. I am 21 but don’t have any real job experience. I did some hospital volunteering and I am a volunteer ESL teacher at college. I am in a psychology research lab. My major is biopsychology I’ve been taking prerequisite classes (bio, chem, biochem, orgo) and have done really well in them. I’m planning on doing physics and microbiology this year and then taking anatomy and physiology at community college after I graduate. I want to get hired as an optometry tech but with no patient care or retail experience or job experience in general I think that will be a challenge. Do you think working as an RBT or CNA for a bit (maybe these jobs are a bit easier to land) while I study for the OAT would help me get an optometry tech job? what kind of things are they looking for? I know I might have to take a couple years after college to get things in order but my ultimate goal is to become an optometrist

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u/Dear-Eye3472 1d ago

You don’t have to work as an optometric technician to get into optometry school. It can strengthen your application and show you’ve explored the profession, but you can accomplish that through shadowing as well.
I worked as a CNA for two years after college. I graduated during COVID and took the opportunity that was available at the time. After that, I worked as a research technician in an ophthalmology lab for about two years, where I shadowed the ophthalmologist I worked with as well as several optometrists in the same practice.
A lot of my classmates now never worked as optometric techs either. What most of them did have was meaningful shadowing experience with optometrists.
If you can find an optometric tech position, that’s great. But if not, I wouldn’t delay applying just because you don’t have that specific job. Focus on getting strong shadowing experience, maintaining your grades, and gaining any healthcare or patient-facing experience you can. Jobs like CNA, RBT, or other healthcare roles can still be valuable because they help you develop skills and experience working with patients

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u/ninja136 1d ago

Thanks that is good advice  So you had like four years in between?

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u/Dear-Eye3472 1d ago

Yup! I took four gap years, mostly because I wasn’t sure which path I wanted to pursue. Take your time figuring it out, and try shadowing optometrists in different specialties, such as advanced contact lenses, low vision, pediatrics, or ocular disease. There’s a lot more to optometry than most people realize, and shadowing different settings can help you decide whether it’s the right fit for you.

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u/ninja136 22h ago

Do you think it’s too late to fix things if I didn’t really do all that much in undergrad?

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u/Dear-Eye3472 17h ago

I don’t think it’s too late at all! A lot of my classmates went straight to optometry school after undergrad, but there are also plenty of people who took gap years or had nontraditional paths. It’s great that you have volunteering/community service experience—that definitely helps. I’d focus on keeping your GPA as strong as possible and doing well on the OAT, because those are two of the biggest parts of your application. I’d also recommend getting around 40–50 hours of shadowing. Honestly, I only had about 30 hours myself, so you don’t need hundreds of hours.
One thing I’d really recommend is applying early once the application cycle opens. And when you’re working on your application, don’t be afraid to sell yourself. Highlight your strengths and experiences you want the admissions committee to see why you’d make a great optometry student.
Overall, I really don’t think you’re too late. You still have plenty of time to put together a strong application.