Why choose optometry?

What is optometry? 

How to become an optometrist

To become an optometrist or optician, you need to complete an optometry degree at university – which will include a variety of placements. Once you’ve finished, there will be plenty of roles for you to choose from across our Specsavers stores as we’re always looking for optometrists to join our teams. Whatever role you do, you’ll have an abundance of opportunities to grow and progress in your role, and potentially expand your skillset across other areas such as audiology or even partnership.

The skills you need in optometry

To get into optometry, you should have a strong interest in the sciences. You will need at least two science A levels or the equivalent to get onto a university course and as you go forward in your career. You’ll also need to be a caring, people person who’s great at communicating, as you’ll be engaging with patients all day, every day. You must be detail-orientated, willing to work hard, and a great problem solver. 

A support and progression sandwich

From as early as year 9 we work to encourage students to consider optometry and see if it’s something they’d be interested in. When at university, we have a graduate recruitment team to help students feel more confident in getting the role they want when they finish their course and qualify as clinicians. 

Post-university, you’ll have a pre-registration year where you can go out into the industry and local communities to see how we work with real patients, gaining a real understanding for what we do here. We are the number one provider for placements and the biggest employer of optometrists in the UK, so when you finish your course, we’re confident you’ll be able to find a fantastic role here. 

In your new role at Specsavers, you’ll have the chance to attend our Excel CPD events for newly qualified clinicians which will help you develop as an optometrist and allow you to explore your next steps as your career progresses. You’ll be able to look forward to whatever you want to do next, follow a new route, expand your skills where you are, or perhaps go further into partnership roles and eventually own your own Specsavers franchise. Whatever you’re looking for, we’ll support you, every step of the way.

Why choose optometry at Specsavers?

As an optometrist at Specsavers, you’ll be doing something that really helps others. The work you do will have a real impact on someone’s life, and more widely on your local community; you’ll be changing lives every single day. To reward you for your hard work, you’ll receive a competitive salary, a variety of benefits, and even have the chance to own your own business in the future. We have teams in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and across Europe and Scandinavia, so there are plenty of options available if you’re looking to work abroad at any point in your future. At Specsavers, you’ll not only get to work with a great team of people, but also a great selection of cutting-edge tech. Optometry is such a fast-moving profession, and we’re always investing in the latest technology to better help our patients. You’ll also benefit professionally from this, using the best technology in your work. If that’s not enough, as an optometrist you’ll be a healthcare professional, but won’t have the late-night shifts typical of other healthcare roles. Essentially, you can work sociable hours and experience flexible working to keep your time, your time. Optometrists are in short supply in the UK – and globally – so you’ll be in high demand when you qualify. In other words, there will always be a job waiting for you! So, why wouldn’t you choose optometry at Specsavers?