4 Non-Clinical Optometry Jobs and Career Ideas

The optometry industry is largely focused on clinical services to patients. However, there are jobs related to optometry that don’t require you to be a clinical optometrist. Your medical knowledge and education can be put to use to pursue success in different careers outside of direct patient care. Let’s take a look at a few of these non-clinical optometry jobs and see how you can apply your skills in ways aside from patient care, as well as the boons and drawbacks of each.

No. 1: Optometry Franchise Owner

Purchasing an optometry franchise, like Pearle Vision, may be your best option for a non-clinical optometry job. While it may seem that if you purchase an optometry franchise, you need to see patients, that’s only one option. With franchisors like Pearle Vision, you can partner with or hire a practicing optometrist to perform the clinical work. You can put your experience and understanding of an optometrist’s needs to manage the franchise, focusing on local marketing, staff management, and strategic planning.

Joining Pearle Vision has several benefits. First, you’re provided with a market-tested, proven business model. You also receive support from your franchisor with market research, IT services, site selection and high-level advertising. Having an established brand to operate also provides you with a built-in reputation to encourage customer loyalty. Finally, Pearle Vision’s scalable business model gives you the option to grow your business to maximize profits in an industry with a market value of $23.4 billion reports IBISWorld.

There are some challenges to overcome with opening an optometry franchise. As a franchisee, you won’t have complete autonomy in your business practices, since you must meet the brand’s standards and your responsibilities as laid out in your franchise agreement. Also, while you can benefit from the good press and reputation earned by the brand, if it gets a bad reputation, it can affect patients’ opinions of your franchise too. This makes it important to choose a franchise with a good reputation; Pearle Vision, for example, has a solid history of successful franchising since 1981, with patient reviews to back it up.

No. 2: Optometry Consulting

Another alternative to clinical optometry is advising clinic owners. Medical consulting allows you to provide your knowledge and experience to those willing to pay for your advice and evaluations of their practices. Your scheduling is flexible within both your needs and those of your client(s), and you’ll collaborate with your clients to help their practices operate smoothly, and efficiently, and provide the best quality care possible.

There are some drawbacks to consulting. While your schedule can be flexible, you may be called on to provide guidance outside of normal business hours, especially in an emergency. You’ll also need to determine what services you want to offer and fair rates.

No.3: Healthcare Marketing

For a career that still allows some patient interaction, you may want to consider healthcare marketing. You’ll use your optometric knowledge to promote new treatments and medications, informing both patients and clinical optometrists about new options in eye care. Your role will be to inform both healthcare professionals and the public about new innovations.

While you’ll have an opportunity to interact with both patients and clinicians and help promote the advancement of optometry, this will require you to keep up to date on industry advancements. If you’re employed by a company to market their products specifically, you’ll need to keep up with new studies relating to said products, and what the competition is doing. Lastly, you may also have to deal with hard questions, especially from insurance companies hesitant to cover new, unproven treatments or products.

No.4: Medical Writing

Optometric medical writing is a non-clinical optometry job in which you create content to inform your audience on new discoveries and developments in optometry, helping guide optometry’s future. This content can range from blogs to research papers; it even extends to writing research grants.

While the job can be rewarding, there are some downsides. You’ll have to meet publication deadlines and will have limited potential for financial returns. Medical writers also must conduct thorough research to be accurate in their writing and meet the standards of academic and professional publications.

Find a Profitable, Rewarding Career as a Pearle Vision Franchisee

We’re eager to welcome you to our optometry franchise team. Get started today to learn more about your franchising opportunity with Pearle Vision.