The Importance Of Optometry And Law

From a very early age, I have been asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. I always said I would be an artist, author, or something else creative, yet unstable. Now that I am older, my only requirement is that I want to help people. There are no limits to the ways someone can help others, so narrowing down careers has been difficult. Also, I have to think more practically about my future, since taxes, mortgages, and student loans are all on the horizon and must impact my decisions. At the moment, I am torn between two career possibilities. Both optometry and law are respectable careers; however, optometry would be better suited to the lifestyle I want to live. One of the wonderful things about becoming an optometrist, or any sort

The required courses for the first year of law school include torts, contracts, criminal law, and writing classes (“What to Expect in Your First Year of Law School”). I immensely enjoy studying law and learning how it connects to different parts of our society and history, but I do not have enough confidence in my abilities to be a successful lawyer. Lawyers must be able to speak and write effectively, so writing classes are emphasized because analyzation and precise writing are critical skills. Students have to be comfortable speaking on their toes in front of others when participating in mock trials. During these trials, the professors oftentimes create confusing questions to test the students’ critical thinking skills or trip them up (“What to Expect in Your First Year of Law

The Ohio State University College of Optometry costs $24,408 per year, in addition to the cost of undergraduate tuition (“The Ohio State University College of Optometry”). The Doctor of Optometry program lasts four years and leaves its students ready to successfully join the workforce (“The Ohio State University College of Optometry”). The program costs $97,632 overall, not including undergraduate school. Its acceptance rate is a mere 11%, which, surprisingly, is an average rate for optometry schools (“The Ohio State University College of Optometry”). The competitive acceptance rate must be effective because 99.9% of their students passed all three parts of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry at graduation (“The Ohio State University College of Optometry”). Out of all of the optometry schools, OSU has the leading pass rate (“The Ohio State University College of Optometry”). The average salary for a full-time or part-time optometrist is $144,155 ("How Long Does IT Take to Become an Optometrist?"). To me, the income is not as important as doing what makes me happy. However, it helps that optometry has the career and personal life balance that I want plus a solid salary to support