If you’re one of those people with an eye for an eye in the literal sense, this is perhaps a career option you could consider. Despite its late birth in this part of the world, optometry is fast catching on in India. The opportunities are manifold but the number of trained people is few.

Optometry may broadly be defined as a healthcare profession devoted to diagnosing, treating and preventing problems related to optimal vision. Besides rectifying vision problems, optometrists at times impart health education. Since they understand the range of problems that the human vision system is prone to, they often help out at vision screening workshops in rural communities, industrial complexes and educational institutions.

There is, however, a basic difference between optometry and ophthalmology. “While ophthalmologists are licensed to prescribe medicines and conduct surgery, the work of optometrists is limited to diagnosing and correcting faulty vision,” says Jyoti Thomas, head of the faculty of optometry, Manipal College of Allied Health Science (MCAHS). “They may prescribe spectacles and contact lenses after diagnosing problems and refer patients to eye specialists but they cannot perform surgery. And while there’s still no regulation on their ability to prescribe medication, it is something they generally refrain from doing,” she says.

The Elite School of Optometry (ESO) at Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, was the first college to come up with a course in optometry in 1985. Over the years, other institutions have also adopted optometry as part of their curricula. The better known ones include the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi; Bausch & Lomb School of Optometry, Hyderabad; Elite School of Optometry, Chennai; College of Allied Health Science, Manipal; Lotus School of Optometry, Mumbai and Bharti Vidyapeeth Medical College, Pune. As of now, about 35 to 40 premium colleges across the country offer courses in optometry. The number of seats in most colleges is limited — institutes usually cap their class strength at 30.

That isn’t adequate considering the sheer number of optometrists the country requires today. “Recent studies have shown that India annually needs at least 5,000 trained optometrists in rural, suburban and urban areas,” says Prema Chande, principal, Lotus School of Optometry, Mumbai. But with only about 1,200 graduates passing out of optometry institutes every year, there is a severe shortage of trained hands. Add to that the fact that the optical industry is growing at about 20 per cent every year. “As a result, there will be a boom in optometry in the years to come,” she says.

To apply for a course in optometry, you need to clear the higher secondary examination with a combination of physics, chemistry and biology or mathematics, with an aggregate of above 50 per cent.

Most colleges conduct admission tests and interviews to finalise the list of candidates selected. ESO, for example, requires all applicants to send their application to the Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences, Pilani, to which it is affiliated. Some colleges, such as MCAHS, choose their candidates according to the marks obtained in board exams.

At the end of a four-year course, students graduate with a BSc degree in optometry. Some colleges also offer a masters degree in optometry, apart from MPhil and PhD options. A few institutes have fashioned their courses to offer students stints as interns at eyecare clinics. “We’ve split our optometry course into a three-year educational programme followed by a one-year internship at the L.V. Prasad Eye Institute,” says Coen Dejong, principal of the Bausch & Lomb School of Optometry, Hyderabad. “This gives them hands-on training that comes of use when they join work in different sectors.”

R. Krishnakumar, principal, ESO, highlights the scope for optometrists. “Job prospects in the service sector are good. Optometrists can also start private practice if they don’t want to work at the neighbourhood optician’s,” says Krishnakumar. “Better jobs await optometrists at multinational companies (MNC) such as Bausch & Lomb, Lawrence & Mayo, and Johnson & Johnson. And if graduates are not interested in regular jobs, they can opt for academic research-oriented programmes or work with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the field of preventing blindness in suburban and rural parts of the country,” he adds.

The initial pay package is promising. “At Lawrence & Mayo, fresh graduates are paid Rs 12,000-15,000 a month,” says Vivek Mendonca, marketing director, Lawrence & Mayo. “We recruit about 120 optometrists in 43 branches across the country. But now that we have teamed up with NGOs to run workshops and camps in rural India, we will need more trained optometrists,” he says.

Since this is a relatively new field, there are opportunities galore for candidates. “For those who set up their own business, there is no upper limit to the kind of money they can earn. And those who join MNCs could be earning about Rs 50,000 per month in as little as five years’ time when they move into senior positions in the company’s administrative or marketing departments,” says Thomas.

In fact, Chande deems it fit to mention, “At our college, we have just received a query from a potential employer who is actually ready to pay Rs 70,000 for a masters degree holder with relevant clinical exposure.”

Optometry, however, is not only about the money. “I tell my students that optometry is a career which comes with immense job satisfaction and that should always be top priority,” says Krishnakumar. “After all, this is a profession that improves a person’s vision. And few things in this world can bring you more satisfaction and happiness than being able to help a person see clearly again.”