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Take a moment to look at the image above. For those of us of a certain generation (and those who appreciate a retro classic), the anxiety of a misaligned Tetris block is a visceral memory. You watch it fall, you rotate it frantically, and sometimes, despite your best efforts, it lands in the wrong place, creating a gap that feels impossible to fix.
The caption hits on a profound truth that applies as much to optometry as it does to gaming: We can’t undo a move.
In our profession, we are often sold a very linear dream. You get the A-levels, you go to university, you complete your pre-reg, you qualify, and you ascend the ladder of clinical excellence. But life rarely adheres to a linear protocol. Sometimes, we make a move that doesn’t quite fit. We take a job that drains us, we struggle with a supervisor who doesn’t understand us, or we find ourselves on a career path that feels jarringly out of sync with our values.
It is easy to look at those “misplaced blocks” with regret. But I want to offer you a different perspective, one born from my own love of strategy:
Those awkward blocks aren’t failures. They are the data you need to calculate a better next step.
The Myth of the Perfect Optometry Career Path Plan
I want to share a personal recalibration with you. If my life had gone according to my original “perfect plan,” I wouldn’t be writing this to you as an optometrist. I would be staring into mouths, not eyes.
My background is steeped in dentistry. My mum managed a dental practice for decades; where my aunt and sister work as dental nurses there too. I did the work experience, I was a supervised dental assistant, and I was so vocal about my career path that my sixth form awarded me the “Most Talked About Career” award (and a “Dental Digger” award for boring my schoolmates with tooth trivia).
But then, the plan failed. I didn’t get the grades.
At the time, it felt like a catastrophic error in the game. But looking back, that disappointment forced a necessary recalibration. It kicked off a period of trial and error that looked messy from the outside, but was actually a masterclass in learning what I didn’t want.
I worked in an Argos stockroom (too manual, not enough people). There was a time that I worked in a call centre selling home insurance (I learned a lot about policy, but the environment was soul-destroying). I worked in a building society (bad management, unsupportive team and had to leave for my own sanity). I worked at GAME (fun, sales-driven, but I hit the ceiling rapidly).
Using the Data to Pivot Your Optometry Career Path
Each of those jobs was a Tetris block that didn’t quite clear the line. But collectively, they gave me the shape of the hole I needed to fill. I learned that I needed to help people, I needed intellectual stimulation, and I needed a supportive culture.
That led me to become an Ophthalmic Science Practitioner (in short – an imaging tech for eyes). I got the job not because I was the most qualified on paper, but because I showed passion for training and the humility to laugh at myself. (When they pointed out a typo on my application regarding my attention to detail, I told them, “that must be one of the t’s that escaped.” We laughed. I got the job.)
I loved that role. It was one of the best jobs ever. But even then, I hit a Band 4 ceiling. Comfortable, but not challenged. I realised I had to take a massive risk; leaving a team I adored to go and study Optometry and Vision Science at Cardiff University as a mature student.
That was the “next move” the image speaks of. It was the better move, made possible only because of the “failed” moves that came before it.
Play Your Own Game
I share this because I know there are people reading this right now who feel stuck. Their optometry career path has stuttered or is even in the process of being a career path outside of the profession entirely.
Maybe you are in a residency or pre-reg placement where you feel unsupported. Perhaps you are working for a business where the sales targets clash with your moral compass. Maybe you are a locum feeling isolated.
It is easy to let a bad experience (a “sample of one”) colour your view of the entire profession. You might think, “If this is Optometry, I don’t want it.”
But please, look at the blocks again. That bad experience? That isn’t the end of the game. It is just information. It is telling you exactly what you don’t want, so you can be forensic in finding what you do want:
- If you hated the lack of autonomy in your last role, your next move is to find a practice that values clinical freedom.
- You may feel that you are burning out from the pace, so your your next move is to explore hospital optometry or a specialist clinic.
- If you feel undervalued, your next move is to upskill and carve out a niche where you are indispensable.
You cannot go back and erase a toxic workplace or a failed exam from your history. But you can use the wisdom gained from it to ensure the next piece you drop fits perfectly.
Don’t be bitter about the bad experiences. Let them be the strategic advantage that helps you win the long game.
Jason
Want More to Aid your Optometry Career Path?
This post is one of The Eye Care Advocate Community’s “Points of Light”, a space where we share motivation, mindset and resilience. If you would like more of these articles, we share them in The Eye Care Advocate Community twice a week. Members also receive access to the flagship courses, a digital copy of my book “History and Symptoms: The Eye Examination“ and all the other benefits included within.
Frequently Asked Questions
I have used this story of my career many times and, in some inbox messages, I receive commonly asked questions around this topic. Therefore I have compiled an FAQ around those wanting to know my advice around building your own optometry career path.
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