The 3 Things UK Locum Optometrists Must Choose Between.

Close to home, great timings, high pay.

Pick two.

Employed optometrists are often trapped in this triangle:

LOCATION: "I need to work close to home because of kids/commute/life."

TIMING: "I need longer appointments because I can't maintain quality care in 20 minutes."

MONEY: "I need this salary because of my mortgage/lifestyle/expenses."

Heres how the game gets played:

Close to home + Good timing? "Sorry, budget constraints. We can only offer £50k."

Close to home + Good money? "Great! But you'll need to see patients every 20 minutes."

Good timing + Good money? "Perfect! It's just a 90-minute commute each way."

And we accept it. Because we’ve been conditioned to believe this is "just how optometry works."

But here's what I learned after years of making these compromises and now helping other optometrists: we’re optimizing for the wrong things.

Location matters

- until you realize 30 minutes in the car beats 8 hours of misery.

Timing matters

- until you realize efficiency can be learned, and some patients genuinely need only 15 minutes.

Money matters

- until you realize freedom is worth more than a few extra thousand.

The breakthrough moment? When I stopped trying to find the perfect employed position and started building a career where I could have ALL THREE: By not being dependent on one employer to give me everything.

Some days I work close to home for convenience (even if the rate is lower), other days I travel further for premium rates (because I choose to), then I work in efficient, high-volume practices (because I've learned to love the challenge) and other times I work in relaxed independents (because variety keeps me sane).

The employed optometrists I know? They're still stuck unfortunately in that triangle. Still making the same compromises. Still hoping their employer will magically change their policies.

The successful locums? They've escaped the triangle entirely. They've built careers where they don't have to choose. Part time, full time or ad hoc - It’s a useful skill to outsmart the game of optometry.

Looking at your current role, which corner of the triangle are you stuck in? And what would you do if you didn't have to compromise?