Working with industry as a speaker, investigator and consultant

Over the past dozen years, I have enjoyed working with many ophthalmic companies to design new devices, evaluate and improve current products, and educate fellow physicians about their use. This has given me the opportunity to work with the brightest minds in the industry, meet scores of new colleagues, and travel across the U.S. and the world. Many ophthalmologists, particularly young ones, want to know how to get started working with industry.The principal key is to have passion about a specific subfield of ophthalmology. I most enjoy cataract and refractive surgery, so the vast majority of the consulting work that I do is in that area. I am not as interested in other topics such as retina, glaucoma or oculoplastics, and as such, I do not do any significant consulting in these fields. Find your specific area of interest and maximally develop your expertise beyond what is normally taught in residency and fellowship programs. Your goal is to have an amazing depth of knowledge about a relatively narrow field.