Is your child thinking about their future career? Q&A with Specsavers and expert optometrist

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THIS Q&A IS NOW CLOSED. VIEW LUCY AND HUSSNAN'S ANSWERS HERE.

Is your child thinking about what to do next? If they are interested in STEM subjects or healthcare, have they considered optometry? Specsavers is offering 40 students the chance to receive a £10,000 scholarship to study optometry at university. To help with this difficult life decision we’ve invited two Specsavers’ experts to answer your questions on a career in optometry, and the university scholarship.

• Post your questions on the thread below.
• Everyone who shares a questions on the thread below by 21/10 will be entered into a prize draw to win a £200 voucher
• Our expert will be back in a few weeks to answer some of your questions

Hussnan Ejaz
Hussnan is an Ophthalmic Director at Specsavers. He joined the company in 2009 on a work experience placement before becoming an Optical Assistant, then qualifying as an Optometrist in 2015. He is now a director in the same Dudley practice, as well as a director of the Blackheath practice and Dudley hear care. Hussnan currently runs a team of 12 optometrists and regularly supervises trainee clinicians. He completed his professional certificate in Medical Retina and Glaucoma in 2022, is a WOPEC assessor and acts as a facilitator for the Specsavers pre reg academy. Hussnan is an enthusiastic advocate for promoting Optometry and continually developing himself and optometrist colleagues professionally.

Lucy Knock
Lucy is the Early Talent Lead for Specsavers. Her role involves raising the profile of optometry amongst young people, teachers and parents, and encouraging grass roots optometry development in local communities. She works with schools, universities, Education Business Partnerships and optometry leaders to engage young people and showcase the amazing breadth of opportunity a career in optometry can offer. Lucy’s background is teaching and youth engagement, developing programmes for hard-to-reach audiences in a range of settings. She graduated in 2001 with a first class honours degree from the University of Leicester, studied secondary history education gaining a PGCE (2003) and a Masters in 2005.

Here’s what Specsavers has to say:
"We understand the careers landscape can often be a noisy and overwhelming place for teenagers and their parents and carers. We wanted to share the exciting opportunities a clinical career with Specsavers offers, but since Optometry is an often-overlooked path, we knew we had to do something new and bold! The Bright Stars Scholarship is an industry leading programme and encourages people to consider optometry when choosing their next steps."

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

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I don’t work for Specsavers but yes, there are time constraints. A lot of companies delegate part of the eye test to support staff rather than opticians, meaning the opticians can see more people. If you’d prefer an eye test where the optician does the whole examination it might be worth asking at some of your local independent practices - I do all parts of the eye test myself and much prefer it that way.

Most places do indeed have sales targets (though levels of sales pressure vary). The main thing they monitor is ‘conversion’ - ie how many people who have an eye test buy glasses. I think the reason this is so important is the low fee paid by the NHS for an NHS eye test (£23.53) - it’s simply not viable to run a practice (unless fully private) without sales being a huge part of that.

Is this bursary only golden handcuffs to specsavers ? What if the course was passed, and they then opted to work elswhere ? is their a clause to pay back ?

I did optometry and left. I should have never done that degree. It's the single biggest regret of my life. I now work in a technical role at my local council. It' doesn't pay much but I love it!

@WhatIsWithMe why did you leave?

I don’t understand this world and or the people here. Instead of solving a problem they create more. Instead of saying something nice they insult others. People make assumptions. They do not think for themselves.
They continue to act,think and respond in the same way even though the world changes on a regular basis. They have no depth.
If you think you know everything you know nothing at all.

Now most dentists are private is the NHS sight test fee fit for the future of optometry?

Do you expect the new 4 year Optometry masters degree to enable the profession to be held in higher regard by the medical profession?

What do you look for in potential bursary candidates?

is it easy to get work experience for anyone curious about optometry?

Thanks to everyone who shared a question for Lucy and Hussnan. They'll be online next week to answer a selection of your questions.

The winner of the prize draw is @thelittlekicks - congratulations! 🤓

Hi everyone - thanks so much for all your questions on optometry and the Specsavers scholarship! We're looking forward to answering some of them this afternoon.

Lucy & Hussnan

Hi @Dizzywizz Great question! In fact STEM stands for the group of subjects Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths and so healthcare roles are usually included in that field. Since Optometry requires a sound basis in Science, particularly Biology and Physics, it fits really well in the STEM careers landscape.

Lucy

Hi @DinkyDaffodil Most university optometry courses require A levels in the range AAB - BBB, or Scottish Highers in the range AABBB - ABBB. They also ask for 2 of those to be in science subjects taken from maths, biology, chemistry or physics. A few universities may accept psychology in addition to this and so its always worth checking exact entry requirements with the individual university admissions team.

Lucy

Hi @MrsApplepants Very good question! In fact we actually currently use AI at Specsavers to help diagnose certain eye conditions like Glaucoma using an "OCT" scan. I think there will always be the need for a clinician in Optometry, but that role may evolve over the years as AI develops. AI will aid in the career, rather than replace Optometrists. It also frees up time so we can focus on other aspects in an eye test, and allows us to see more patients in an ageing population.

Hussnan

Hi @Bedbugdilemma You don't need to buy your own business in order to progress in Optometry, there are many other clinical routes. After the 4 year degree there are many other higher qualifications you can go down to progress your career. There are also many management roles to progress without buying into a business.

Hussnan

Hi @BubblingBlancmange High street optometry is very popular. With many schemes being commissioned by the NHS / CCG / ICB's this allows high street practice to be more diverse than it once was. However there are other routes. Within hospital optometry and ophthalmology, Optometrists are taking on more responsibility and managing the care of a wider variety of patients. There are also private providers of hospital eye care who recruit optometrists. As well as this, companies such as Specsavers employ Optometrists as 'Clinical Consultants' within support office roles. The education sector is also a very popular route to go down.

Hussnan

Hi @pushchairprincess To be considered for an university optometry course, you would need two science subjects taken from the folllowing; Biology, Physics, Maths and Chemistry. That's a standard, really, across the various universities. What often makes a student stand out beyond these, is work experience in an optical landscape so we'd always recommend getting some exposure and experience in a optics role.

Lucy

Hi @thelittlekicks! Yes the student would need to be starting their optometry course in 2025 for this year's scholarship. Once a student has been through the application process and been accepted on a UK Optometry course, they would begin their paid part time role, with protected clinical time, in their local practice. They would receive £2,500 per year over the 4 year MSc course, totalling £10,000. They would have access to scholarship only cohort skill-based and social activities including an exclusive event for top-performing students in the 3rd year. Finally the top performing 25% of students would have access to our 'Foundation to Partnership' programme upon qualification.

Lucy

Hi @AiryFairy1 The route to qualification as an optometrist has recently changed, and going forward will now be a 4 year Masters course, a level 7 qualification.

Optometry is a profession where you are always learning and indeed to stay registered with the General Optical Council optometrists need to complete various elements of CPD (Continuous Professional Development) each year to maintain their ability to practise, and to keep up with all the latest research and development in the field. There are a huge number of options to study further after you qualify, for example Independent Prescribing, specialisms in specific conditions, or treating particular demographics for example children or older people.

Lucy

Hi @Greenary Universities and the various governing bodies (the College of Optometrists and the General Optical Council) continuously evaluate and assess the current workforce and the requirements for a strong optometry pipeline, and they make decisions about potential new optometry courses, so it's possible a course nearer you will become available in future.

Lucy

Hi @benjaminjamesandgraham Yes you can move on from Specsavers. Although we offer competitive salaries and development, you can 'buy out' the contract and move on to another job. The 'buy out' is to pay any fee's for exams which the practice may have paid. Sometimes, there is no 'buy out' and the practice may let the colleague go. Typically the colleague is required to stay for one year and then is free to move on. The qualification can be used in a private or an NHS setting.

Hussnan

Hi @Bedbugdilemma! As Hussnan has mentioned, once you qualify as an optometrist there are lots of avenues available to you but they are all related to eye health and caring for vision in some capacity - whether that be education, training, business ownership, research etc. If your daughter wanted to opt for a different path after studying optometry, it may mean retraining, depending on what she chooses. However, optometry offers so many transferrable skills that would be super useful for other paths such as communication, problem solving, working as a team, and working with precision.

Lucy

Hi @Bedbugdilemma To become a qualified Optometrist able to practise in the UK, you need to compete a Masters qualification at university. The route to qualification has recently changed and now courses going forward will be at a level 7 Masters. For those with experience and qualifications as a Dispensing Optician, there is a conversion course available.

Lucy

Hi @prawncocktailcrispss Students would be required to pay their tuition fees to the university as normal - and I'd recommend your daughter checks with the individual university/ies she is applying to. Yes the £10,000 would be paid in installments over the duration of the course, so £2,500 for each year of the 4 year course.

Lucy

Hi @lovemyflipflops We are so excited about the new Bright Stars Scholarship programme and we hope it will grow in the future!

Hi @Bedbugdilemma

No, there is no expectation at all to purchase a franchise, and as outlined in our other answers there are many way to progress in the world of optics. But we do know that there are some budding entrepreneurs out there, and we wanted to share that optometry can offer that very unusual combination of a clinical, healthcare-focused role with the potential of business ownership. The top performing 25% of students on the scholarship will have the opportunity to progress onto our 'Foundation to Partnership' programme, if they so wish.

Lucy

You don't need to buy your own business in order to progress. There are many other clinical routes to progress in Optometry. after the 4 year degree there are many other higher qualifications you can go down to progress your career. There are also many management roles to progress without buying into a business.

Huss

Hi @Ilostmyhalo There are many routes within optometry, for example:

1. High street practice
2. Hospital optometry
3. Private hospital optometry
4. Lead / principle Optometrist
5. Director / practice owner
6. Locum Optometrist
7. Domiciliary Optometrist
8. Domiciliary director
9. Business development manager within optometry

10. Specsavers Clinical performance consultant. 11. Various Specsavers support office roles 12. Education and training 13. Research.

These are a few but there are other avenues you can go with an optometry degree. Its a highly regarded degree and can open avenues into other careers.

Hussnan