The national economy may have slid into a recession this year, but the average O.D. expects to see gains in revenues and net income this year.

These results come from our 16th annual National Panel, Doctors of Optometry, income survey. This years survey reports the responses of 169 doctors, 17% of all panelists.

 A Slight Dip
Other highlights for this years survey include a slight dip in margins. The survey found that the average margin (net income compared to gross income) slipped to 27.4% this year. Margins for the previous three years stayed in the 28-30% range. Of the optometrists surveyed, 51% say their percentage of net vs. gross should stay about the same as last year.

The average net income for self-employed doctors should increase about 6% this year, to $137,030, from last years $129,567. The average, or mean, can often be misleading because of extremes in salaries. This years highest salary was $630,000 and lowest was $30,000. 

The median is often a more precise indicator of what the typical O.D. is making. This year, the median for a self-employed doc held about even at $120,227, compared with $119,625 last year.

The average net income, or salary, for employed optometrists experienced significant gains in this years income survey. The average salary for this year is expected to be $110,368, up 18% from last years average income of $93,624. The median salary also increased by 14%, to $110,000, this year vs. $96,750 in 2001.

I could always use more, but with the state of the profession and the economy, Im happy with what I have, says one Pennsylvania optometrist.

O.D. s also expect to see strong gains in their gross revenues this year. Although the national economy is lagging, panelists expect average gross revenue to increase by 9%, to $476,693, vs. $434,269 in 2001.

Working Longer
While optometrists were generally doing slightly better in gross revenues and their annual incomes, they did break a four-year running trend of working fewer hours.

Our panelists average work-week is now 39.75 hours compared to 38.4 hours last year.

What O.D.s are working the least amount of hours? The veteran docs, with 30-plus years of experience. These O.D.s are working, on average, 36 hours per week.

Those who are working the longest are the new kids on the blockthose with fewer than five years of experience. These O.D.s are working 49 hours a week on average. Optometrists who are making the most are those with 21-30 years of experience. Their average income is $151,175, and median income is $120,333. This group is also bringing in the largest revenues. Their average gross revenues are $528,321, and median gross revenues are $466,000.

While 51% of self-employed optometrists say their net vs. gross should stay the same for 2002, 27% say their net will actually decrease.

Cautiously Optimistic
In this survey, 55% of optometrists say they are satisfied with their income, 29% are not, and 4% say they are barely getting by.

Next year looks better. Some 44% of our respondents say they expect incomes to increase, while 37% predict it will stay about the same.