An optometrist who started as an optometrist assistant is celebrating her career trajectory during National Careers Week.
Caitlin Harris, 24, who grew up and lives in Caerphilly, has had her efforts training and working while at Specsavers rewarded with a full-time position as an optometrist with the Caerphilly Specsavers store.
Caitlin first joined Specsavers Caerphilly in 2020, starting with a role in home visits before transitioning into a position as optometrist assistant in 2021. She balanced her work at Specsavers while studying optometry at Cardiff University, where she completed her degree in July 2023.
Following her graduation, Caitlin joined the pre-registration programme at Specsavers, before qualifying as an optometrist and securing a full-time position with the store.
She is now celebrating her journey to become an optometrist during National Careers Week and is hoping to inspire other young people to follow in her footsteps.
Caitlin said:
‘Working in optometry has been such a rewarding career and I am incredibly grateful for the support I have received from the team here at Specsavers Caerphilly. It is really satisfying to help the local community with their eye health and see the real difference I can make to their day-to-day lives.
‘My decision to pursue optometry was influenced by a combination of university visits and work experience during my time at school, but the university visits had the biggest impact on my choice. Since then, I haven’t looked back.
‘I’d really encourage other young people who are wondering what to do with their lives to engage with National Careers Week, as it’s a great opportunity to find out more about the wide variety of jobs and professions out there.
‘And for those who are interested in optometry, then I’d say go for it. It’s a really rewarding career that offers a huge amount of development opportunities. And there’s nothing like the feeling you get when you improve somebody’s life for the better by the work that you do.’
Caitlin is set to begin additional courses in medical retina and hopes to go on to complete glaucoma and independent prescribing (IP) qualifications, which will allow her to take on more complex cases and ease pressure on local NHS services.
National Careers Week runs from 3-8 March and provides a one-week celebration of careers guidance and free resources in education across the UK. Its aim is to help support young people develop an awareness and excitement about their future pathways.
