Terry Kang - Optometrist

People or experiences that led me to where I am

I was exposed to sciences as a child. My family was involved in the health field: my father was a chemist, my mother was a pharmacist, and other members of my family were doctors.

How I got into this field

One of my uncles is a doctor; he got me interested in patient care. I became interested in eyes after interacting with visually impaired members in my church. Talking and listening to them sparked my interest in studying vision.

What I like most about my work

Interacting with people. I wouldn’t enjoy my job if it didn’t involve working with people.

Volunteer or other experiences you might check out to learn about my field

Volunteer in hospitals to learn more about health care. Visit senior citizen homes to get to know elderly patients. Job shadowing doctors is a great way to learn more!

Challenges and exciting changes I see in my field in the near future

There is improvement in terms of technology: computers and equipment are always changing. New research is constantly developing this field. In addition, there are continual changes in the health care manual in terms of improved ways of handling diseases and conditions. There is constant learning.

The kinds of training and education needed to keep up in my field

Four years of college. Then you can go to medical school and specialize after that—this is the route I took. I went to the University of Michigan for medical school. I was looking at everything. I didn’t know what I wanted to specialize in, so the advantage of going this route was that it allowed me to keep my options open. The other route is to go right to optometry school after your four years of college. This route is cheaper and quicker but it does limit your options—it’s better to go to medical school if you’re not sure what you want to specialize in.

Other career fields where my skills could be put to use

Other areas of health care where you interact with patients. Even counseling—I counsel my patients on general health care as well as eye care.

How my job impacts my family life

It varies by an individual’s priorities, how much time you want to put into your career. If you start a private practice, you take on some risks of liability and the responsibility of purchasing all your own equipment, but you do have control of your work schedule. I work for a company. In this path, you lose some options of flexibility, but there is an opportunity to negotiate and set stipulations when you are hired in.