Advice/Opinions...(long)

[jgjones]

Hi All-

I would appreciate some of your opinions on the following situation in which I will brief you on in the next few paragraphs. I would also really appreciate some input from the older non-trads that may have been in this type of situation/offer, and if not, give it a few minutes of thought and give me an honest answer, not just something seat of the pants to make your argument sound good.

First off, let me preface the situation that started back when I first started college. In a few sentences, basically what happened was I started college right out of high school and gave it my best shot at doing everything on my own. I worked a ridiculous amount of hours to be able to pay for books, rent, food, etc. Working definitely took its toll on my grades, and they suffered horribly.

After the end of my second year, many failed and 'pass with a D' classes and academic suspension, I moved back to the area where I lived in high school and worked for a year and a half before I moved yet again to begin retaking classes.

I successively enrolled in three community colleges, and all three times left with failures, D's and some A's and B's scattered in there. Everytime I think I'm ahead enough where I think I can relax with work and not have to work as much, it bites me and I end up having to work a lot to pay bills. If you haven't figured it out my family isn't very well off.

Fast forward to 05, I'm living in a new state, enroll, and you can probably figure out what happened from my history of schools. You got it. Rent is due, hospital bills, electric bill, insane gas bill, rising gas prices...gotta work to make money to be able to pay the bills. Last semester I was placed on academic suspension yet again due to my insufficient performance and pathetic grades.

Now that you have read this far, read this however many times it takes for it to sink into your head. I am not looking for pity. I am not looking for you to rail me with comments about how people have kids, a wife, a job, a house, and whatever else and get good grades. Some people can do it. I obviously have not been able to. I realize that, I realize the hole I have dug for myself, and the position I am in.

That being said, I will get to the focus of my asking for advice and opinions. I work for a very good friend of mine at a race engine shop. I enjoy the job I have there, save for the messes we end up in sometimes. Albeit, its a fun gig. I have been there for three years, probably longer than I should've been there, but it is what it is. We've had very bad times where I didn't get paid, good times where things were great, and the in-betweens, like all businesses. The owner started a restaurant a few years ago and has been working like a maniac between both places.

Friday I was asked what my plans were, basically with life. He knows I've been going to school, but he also knows how discouraged I have gotten at times. Essentially he has come to a point in his life where he has to decide what is going to happen with the engine shop.

After much prodding on his part, he laid it out on the table and pretty much said if I am truly going to continue to go to school, he is closing the doors and selling the equipment. If that were to happen, I have decided that I would essentially distance myself from anything that will keep me from my studies. I have to retake so many classes to get my gpa back up, and still have some prerequisites left.


Should I choose to discontinue on the path to dental school, he said he is willing to reinvest in the business and work hard along with me to rebuild it into something like it used to be (94-00 the company grossed a minimum of $100k a month in revenue). The reigns will be handed over to me, and I will assume ownership.

There is very real potential for the small business to gross upwards of $2-3 million yearly. It would not happen overnight, but within 5 years it is possible.

Granted, this is not your typical everyday company. It is basically directed at a few niche markets, and that's it.

Here are the things that scare me about the situation:

I'll be 29 next month, and in the grand scheme of things, I have accomplished absolutely nothing except to really put myself in a jam. I own absolutely nothing, have no wife, girlfriend, kids, no real job, and in a sense, no real direction on life. All of these things are very discouraging.

I completely realize that it could take two or three years to get accepted, and that there is a chance I will never get accepted. I still have about two years worth of prereq's, and make-up classes to try to get my gpa out of the basement. That's another thing, do the admissions committees look at how many classes you've retaken? Or do they just look at the number (gpa)? So let's say I finish up all my classes with a decent enough gpa to get in, they overlook all my failures and give me a shot because I never quit and pulled it out in the end, and it takes two years to get accepted. I'll be 37 should that be how things go, and that really freaks me out.

Lastly, the entire fate of this company has been bestowed upon me. It is all riding on the decision that I make. And the worst part about it, is that I have to have my answer for him by the end of December.

Please take all of this into consideration. I'm not asking you all to make the decision for me, just looking for some objective thoughts. My apologies for the lengthy post. Thanks in advance.

Graham Jones

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[Lurchdubious]

wow that's quite the situation!

after thinking it over, i think if i were you i would take that engine shop job. it sounds like you enjoy it, and you could make a great living. if after a few years it doesn't work out, you could still go back, get good grades in the dental pre-reqs, and become a dentist. i shadowed a dentist that worked as an engineer for 15 years before deciding to become a dentist and now he loves it.
you're probably good with your hands, so that will help you should you decide to apply to dental school. also, schools look favorably on an applicant that turns his grades around. you can make this into a win-win! at least you have a couple great options and you have a marketable skill. i wish i was good with cars, lol.

anyways...that's my $0.02

 

[Khala Jaan]

i agree...take over the company..live out that dream, dont pass up an opportunity...you can make this into a success, and use it to finance your dental education if you still want to pursue it in the future...and as for the past grades, at that point you will have justification...you can tell admissions how you have grown from the experience and become a mature student as a result of your first career, failures, and your rough financial situations.

take care and good luck
khala jaan

 

[dr bojangles]

i agree with the above two. owing to your history in school, i'd say learn from that. seize the engine shop opportunity, its practically sitting there for you to take the reigns (at least thats what i gather from your essay). i think we can agree you'll work hard, and that means taking that business beyond $100k/month, which sounds financially very rewarding. dental school is always going to be there if you want it, but this shop won't. plus you can fund your way through school and can concentrate just on classes if you're grossing $2-5 million per year haha. good luck.

 

[dental0903]

Wow, you have quite a situation there! I can truly empathize with your problem of trying to go to school and work at the same time. Life really sucks when you are trying to better yourself by going to school, but you can't afford it and so you have to work all the time. I've been financially independent from my parents since I was 18, and my husband has been financially independent from his parents since he was 16, so I know how hard it can be. I've had a much easier time surviving than my husband, so I'll share with you what he did because you sound like you are having some of the same problems that he had. He went to community college and failed almost every class that he took because he was working 50 hours a week. He couldn't go every semester because he couldn't afford to. After several semesters of failing everything, he realized that he wasn't accomplishing anything. He decided to stop trying to go to college for a few years. He has a new job making pretty good money and he finally feels like he is a success. He has gained a lot of experience, and most importantly, a lot of confidence in himself. I think when he goes back to college in a few years he will be much better at it because he doesn't feel like a failure anymore. My point in all of this is to tell you that sometimes when you feel like you are truly failing at something and you can't get ahead, that maybe you should just stop trying for a little while until you can compose yourself again. I would definitely take the job, work your heart out for a few years, and then reevaluate your situation then. I think you will be a lot better for it, and maybe you will be able to really focus on your utlimate goal of becoming dentist.

 

[robg]

I would take the engine shop save money and try dentistry later.

I have a similar story I graduated highschool in 87, immediately started living on my own when my mother pasted and father moved away. Paying the bills was the first piority so my grades suffered and finally I gave up.

Fast forward to 2002, I'm now married to a very supportive wife. With my friends and family laughing at me when I tell them I'm going to be a dentist. So I isolate myself from them and start hammering at my education. Eventually my job gets in the way and I quit.

The main problem I have and you will too is those old grades, I have found that it is almost impossible to dig yourself out of that hole. But with all the hard work I have done and reapplied twice, I have two interview this year. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[SanOnofre2002]

Pick the career path you'll be most likely to regret not trying for in the future. The engine shop plan sounds a bit questionable to me. The business is capable of earning big bucks but your friend is considering closing it down if you bail out?
You're still young enough to pull it together and prepare for d-school. You should be happy you have no wife, kids, house, etc. You need to shed all your monthly expenses so that you can afford to attend school without working much. If you can't work 20 hrs a week and still pull A's, then live like a miser so you can focus on studying. Get rid of all those bills you complained about. Sell your car, share a room with someone close to the school you'll be attending, eat Ramen noodles, don't go out partying, etc.
Also, I'd recommend starting fresh at a school you haven't attended. Move to a different city if you have to. Good luck.

 

[jgjones]

Thank all of you that have replied so far. I keep going over this in my head, and even though I have about a month before I have to make up my mind, everything from this point forward is hinging on this one decision. I am moving out of my current place to somewhere that was going to be between work and school, but there is no sense living somewhere that is farther from either depending on the choice I make.

The next thing that really is one of the harder things to grasp is that if I choose the business, then dentistry is more than likely out the window forever. I don't realistically see how I could work to build a company to be a multi-million dollar a year company and just walk to finish school, especially since the company would more than likely be mine should things work out that way.

The business aspect of the engine shop relies on people wanting to go racing, have a fast boat, etc., so when the economy tanks, so could business, but in the past it has been steady even when the economy has been rocky and uncertain. On the other hand, people will never stop growing teeth in our lifetime. But, one thing that does scare me is socialized medicine, but that's a whole other topic for discussion.

SanOnofre, the only reason he would end up closing the doors if I decline the opportunity is that because his restaurant is doing well enough to make a living at this point, and he cannot go at the engine shop alone. I am basically the only reason it is still open over the course of the past two years being that he really has no one else he can rely on and trust to do what needs to be done (I am one of those same people at his restaurant; all of his employees, managers included, suck). If I accept, it will give him the opportunity to possibly have two thriving businesses and be extremely successful.


One more thing that still is in my head is that should I make a go at the engine shop is that I have essentially accomplished nothing at all. Never graduated college, not even an associates degree. I guess the older you get the more important it is to feel that you have some sort of accomplishment in life. I'm by no means old, but man does time fly by.

 

[Lurchdubious]

sounds like if you take the reigns and the business succeeds, that's something you've accomplished; something to be proud of. plus if you make the kind of money you are thinking of, you could become involved in other things, such as real estate or whatever you might be interested in trying. you could form your own corporation to save on taxes, slap your name on it, and consider that a pretty sweet accomplishment, (that's what i did, and it can be fun & satisfying).

 

[kleenex101]

IF you really, sincerely want to pursue dentistry then drop all your bags and hit the books. But, I have to be frank with you, digging your way out of the GPA you have, assuming with all those F's and D's is around 1.5, I would say it would take 2-3 years getting straight A's to even get close to 3.0. Even at that point with more and more applicants it's going to be hard to get accepted.

To give you some hope, a few schools have the 5 year rule that throws out grades earned 5+ years ago. These might be the schools you're looking into.

If I were in your situation, I'd take that shop and make something of it. IF you're going to make 2-3 million per year, you can have all the luxuries you want to "accomplish" something such as volunteering and donating money to severely underprivileged or sick people in Africa. You'll have time, money to raise a healthy family. Becoming a dentist is a great accomplishment in life but there are other ways to feel "accomplished" as well. I wish you luck

 

[futuredds08]

I would shoot for the engine shop, unless you absolutely would feel unfulfilled for the rest of your life without a DDS/DMD at the end of your name. You would be accomplishing something HUGE, in my opinion, by running a multi-million dollar company. Nevermind the fact that you will be turning the company into a multi-million dollar company rather than just maintaining it.

Yes, a degree is often important for some people to get the job of a lifetime and just to become a more well-rounded individual. On the other hand, the true purpose of a degree is to establish the foundation for achieving career goals. It sounds like you have a career waiting for you, and that you truly enjoy being there. If it is personally satisfying to you to be involved in the learning environment college provides, then take one class a semester, just for fun while running your business.

Finally, while I know the money isn't the point here, I will say that your earning potential with this company is much higher than the average dentist's. Personally, I believe that much above 100,000 is just for show, but it is gratifying in itself sometimes to be able to manage the kind of money that the engine shop is capable of generating. Not only that, but the foundation of the company is already there. On the other hand, you will end up spending a TON of money retaking classes, getting into dental school, paying for dental school, and starting a practice (if you choose to do so) if you were to go the dental route.

Anyway, that is just my .02. It is an extremely personal situation and
a personal decision. I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide.