parents dude. As soon as I graduated I had almost 6-7 job offers from various places including south east asia. I think there are always two faces of a coin. Its just what you want to see. Look at the positive side dude. I know its not the ideal profession, but whatever and however it is I LOVE IT.. I know the scenario of Optometry across U.S is getting worse but its all because of US... We the practitioners should sit together and think about whats going wrong. I know ppl can buy glasses from the pharamcies and convenient stores but who told them to buy it from there? WE...!! I have seen practitioners do that quite a lot. They ask their patients that reading glasses readily available are good for you and then the next time when patient needs new glasses he think, '' oh well, i dont need to go to the Opto and pay his fee, rather i would try a few glasses at the pharmacies and see which one suits me better'' you see... Yeah I agree some ppl do take their eye exams for granted but you see it because their optometrists dont educate them properly about how important it is to get eyes examined every year. There will always be some or the other problem but I suggest, see the positive side of life and you will be happy. :-) I still say I LOVE MY PROFESSION. If you hate it so much, quit-there