5 yrs of regret/uncertainty

[Yahyaprotein]

Hi fellow SDNers

I graduated from a state university in California in 2011 and at the time I just wanted to leave school all together after earning my degree in biology. I wanted to get into my families franchise business which I still currently am in thinking business was the path for me. However a few months down the road after being fully engrossed in the business I realized that this isn't what I want to do for the next 20-30 yrs. I then realized I really loved what I studied and wanted continue to a higher education and continue the path that I initially started when I went to college which was dentistry.

My first three yrs I did well earning a 3.6 cgpa and 3.5 sgpa however over the next two yrs I started to lose interest in school and family pressures along with business drove my gpa to a 2.9 and 2.8 respectively. I took my dat in 2010 and got a 18 aa and 18ts with about 3 weeks worth studying.

Now about 5 yrs later I want to go back to school to satisfy this itch that I have and to prove to myself that I could do it. I think I should add that I am married now with a son so that has to figure into how I get back on track. Also this isn't about the money because as of now in my late 20's I'm blessed earning over 180k yearly from my portion of the business. I would like to hear your advice and intake of my situation. Thank you

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[Scumbag_Steve]

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[ggy]

In my opinion, one of the keys to happiness is to minimize regret. In later years of your life, you don't want to think about "what ifs."

If you are a capable person, money will always come to you. Time, however, is limited. You're around my age. The longer you wait, the less energy you'll have, both physically and mentally.

So I'd say if this is something you really want to do, then do it.

 

[cotoncub]

You have done extremely well for yourself and your family, so you want to make sure that dentistry is something that is worth making the necessary sacrifices from here on out in order to achieve. Ideally no one wants to have regrets in life and ponder these paths that they could have taken, but at the same time the decision should be something that is worthwhile. If dentistry fits in this place and you are willing to forgo your current income/have planned for this and paying for school, deal with possible relocation, etc then go for it.

 

[The Happy Tooth]

Dude, stop asking a bunch of pre-dents what you should do with your life. Go ahead and apply. Live your dreams. You've probably got more maturity than all the people responding in this thread combined.

Except for maybe @rxdmx372 . He's at least talking with some logic.

 

[Pro-Dentite19]

You have to really love dentistry in order to turn down 180K. If you go back to school to bring up that GPA, re-take the DAT, apply and hopefully get accepted, pay $200K if you're lucky and $400k if you're not, and scramble for a job and pay back those loans, it's gonna be AT LEAST 9 or 10 YEARS before you're keeping $180K pre-tax/year. If you practice in suburban California, it will be even more difficult to even get back to 180K/ year a decade from now.

Along the way, it will involve uprooting your wife and son (most likely, unless you're accepted to a school near where you currently live), forgoing $720,000 of lost income, and a whole lot of hard work along the way.

If you really want to chase your dream, you should go for it, ONLY if you have a significant amount of money saved up not only to cover all your living expenses for those four years (and hopefully some of the tuition too), if your wife is working or will begin working while you're in school, and if you're so miserable at your current job that you would quit even if you didn't have a back up plan.

I admire your itch to prove to yourself you could do it, and it would be great for your son to have a role model that followed his dreams. You have to walk that line between being an idealistic role model, and a dad who can actually provide for his family. For about a decade, you'll have to trade one for the other. It'll be a very difficult uphill battle to eventually be able to provide for your son the way you do now, and I think that's the most important factor in this decision.

I can't say I know what you're going through, so all I can do is wish you good luck!

You realize that since his family owns the business he might still make the $180K on top of being a dentist right?

 

[Scumbag_Steve]

H.

 

[Yahyaprotein]

You realize that since his family owns the business he might still make the $180K on top of being a dentist right?

Lol unfortunately no I wouldn't receive pay however all my expenses will be payed for. I'm very thankful of my current situation and family support in that aspect. However the fact that I really hadn't felt the pressures of reality led me to believe things will all fall into place and be easy after college which led me to slack off at the end.

My issue will be telling my family that I'll be leaving work for school again. I'm a large part of work and it'll put a large strain on my family with me leaving. I also disappointed them the first time around since two of my siblings one older and another younger than me are oral surgeons and another older sister as a physician and I didn't follow their path. I don't mean to sound like I'm whining but this has been a part of me that has been frustrating me.

If I do go through this it'll be at the start of next semester starting in August. Which is the most advisable path... Smp, informal postbac???