Backup plan for dentistry

[RedDevil202013]

Hey there!
I was just wondering if you guys on here have a backup plan if you don't decide to pursue dentistry after all (cost too much, takes too long, etc.) I am currently A biology major and was thinking about minoring in Business Administration during my senior year if I did not want to pursue dentistry because of the high cost or if I didn't do too well in my remaining years of education ( Currently a sophomore). What do you guys think about this plan and what was yours if you had any?

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[w4nt2baDDS]

Honestly, this is where I think pre-health majors are a bit of a gamble. You really have to put all your chips out on the table and hope you win big enough to make it to professional or graduate school. The career prospects for for pre-health degrees is rather pathetic... a lot of jobs you think should be limited to people with degrees simply require a certificate.. a certificate that anyone with a high school degree can obtain... Your best option is not to plateau after 4 years.

Personally, if I couldn't have conquer the DAT I would have tried my luck at the GRE and see if I could get into a PhD program somewhere so I could eventually teach at the college/university level. If I couldn't hack the GRE I probably would have tried to become a high school teacher and get involved with the after school sports.

I don't know much about Business Admin. but I would be hesitant to believe a minor in it would really mean much to many employers.

Maybe there are some lucrative markets I'm just completely ignorant to but I've always looked at pre-health majors as a gamble with either great rewards or rather painful defeats.

 

[RuffDay]

It is definitely a gamble going in to any Health professions at the moment except for medicine. Outlook for medicine isn't too bad, but it is getting to the point where government regulations are controlling the field. I honestly think that as long as you find more pros than cons in the profession, it will motivate you much more and you wouldn't have to worry about a back up. I thought of a few back ups, but I know I wouldn't be as happy though. Even going for school for additional four years to be more in debt may sounds daunting, but keep in mind that you will still be well off in compassion to most people. You will have about 60-70k after taxes and loan repayments. From there on, it can get better or worse depending on how you approach the situation. I know that if I am not doing dental school then I will have the biology degree, but not putting it into good use. I am making a decent amount right now, but I can't imagine doing what I do for the rest of my life. Do dentistry first, but if it doesn't work out just keep your options open. If you put in a lot of effort, then you will get in. Good luck!

 

[allantois]

MOST college degrees do not teach enough specialized knowledge to lead to a certain career with the exception of engineering, accounting, and nursing. So in that regard, Biology degrees do not fair any worse than 90% of other degrees.

Getting into a dental school school is really not that complicated: you need a great GPA, excellent DAT and some volunteering and shadowing. If you can adequately evaluate yourself at each step of the way, you should be able to tell whether you can make it or not.

 

[darknightzzz]

Hey there!
I was just wondering if you guys on here have a backup plan if you don't decide to pursue dentistry after all (cost too much, takes too long, etc.) I am currently A biology major and was thinking about minoring in Business Administration during my senior year if I did not want to pursue dentistry because of the high cost or if I didn't do too well in my remaining years of education ( Currently a sophomore). What do you guys think about this plan and what was yours if you had any?

if you truly like dentistry, those listed reasons in your parenthesis are just excuses. the only reason that makes you have back up plans and forget dentistry is that you don't have enough academic potential to make it in right after undergrad. Thus, you have to take more time after undergrad (cost too much, takes too long).

4 more years right after undergrad (if your stats is good enough, make it into a public in state or public oos that grants in state after a year) is not that long. it wont cost too much. It will cost okay.

 

[gabtse]

Hey there!
I was just wondering if you guys on here have a backup plan if you don't decide to pursue dentistry after all (cost too much, takes too long, etc.) I am currently A biology major and was thinking about minoring in Business Administration during my senior year if I did not want to pursue dentistry because of the high cost or if I didn't do too well in my remaining years of education ( Currently a sophomore). What do you guys think about this plan and what was yours if you had any?

I would consider minoring in somethings more technical and practical like coding/engineering. Business is like Biology, too general to land you with a good paying job.

 

[Vicki831]

A friend of mine has her undergrad in bio and was planning to continue to med school. After working with Drs in undergrad research, she decided the profession wasn't for her. She was able to get a good job in clinical research with an undergrad in bio and lots of research experience in school. I can't speak to how available these types of jobs are, though.

I'm also a sophomore but have 10 years dental assisting/office management experience and feel strongly that dental school is for me, as long as I can make the cut I have thought in the back of my mind that if I didn't make it to dental school after completing my undergrad I would probably apply to one of those expedited RN programs that get people with a BS to RN in 14 months or so.

 

[Kittenz]

My friend didn't get into dental school, and he then realized that being a PA would be a better fit and is now a CNA getting HCE hours. So maybe your backup plan doesn't necessarily need to be a backup. Maybe it can be a realization that you have. Food for thought if you're in the position of questioning your venture into dentistry.

 

[super frank]

There are jobs you can get with a Biology degree but they require you to have previous research experience, like a poster earlier alluded to. That being said, if you dislike research then you're out of luck. They also normally don't pay much as an entry-level employee (although relatively applicable to most career paths). But if you enjoy research, then honestly, best bet is to become familiar with techniques in the field of molecular biology. Tons of biotech startups, hospitals, pharmaceuticals, etc. are hiring folks with experience.

 

[distressstudent]

My plan B was to win the lottery. Apparently the odds of my plan A succeeding was better.

 

[dentalcpa90]

Clinical Lab Scientist (medical technology) would be the best gig. You need to take certain classes to get into a training program tho.

Other than that. Minor or double in accounting. Will have a good career without going to dental school. Even if you get into dental school, the accounting knowledge will help you once own your practice. Win win situation to me.

Be warned tho that accounting is not easy. It could bring down your GPA. I thought I spent way more time in my upper division accounting classes than I did in upper div biology classes.

 

[DentalLonghorn2014]

My friend didn't get into dental school, and he then realized that being a PA would be a better fit and is now a CNA getting HCE hours. So maybe your backup plan doesn't necessarily need to be a backup. Maybe it can be a realization that you have. Food for thought if you're in the position of questioning your venture into dentistry.

What is a CNA and HCE hours?

 

[allantois]

What is a CNA and HCE hours?

Certified Nurse Assistant and Healthcare Employment hours.
PA applicants need many hours of working in a medical field to apply to their schools.

 

[gatsby121]

Med School (DO).

If i would have sucked it up on the DAT i know of a med school in Colorado that doesnt require the MCAT. i know a few people that go there.

 

[fogorvostan]

I'm a non-traditional student accepted into a couple of dental schools for next year, but my backup plan was to continue teaching until I could get into dental school if things didn't work out. However, I know that I wouldn't last anymore than a few more years in teaching. I did get my Masters degree in Public Health, so I probably would have eventually applied to get my PhD in Epidemiology, but eh. It's also not really something I want to do.

All in all, it's great to have a back-up, but like another poster said above, getting into dental school isn't complicated (this isn't me saying that it's easy - but that it isn't hard to figure out).

Low GPA? Do post-bacc or graduate school to raise it.
Low DAT? Study more effectively and retake it.
Not enough shadowing hours? Call up some dentists and shadow.
Not enough community service? Volunteer more.
Poor LORs? Work on establishing better connections with professors, supervisors, dentists, etc.
Poor interviewing skills? Practice interviewing by getting part-time jobs, working with a career center, in front of a mirror/family/friends.

Concerns about tuition? Focus on improving all areas of your application so you can get into state schools, apply for HPSP, etc.
Concerns about the length of time it takes? You kinda need to factor that in when you consider dentistry to begin with.
Concerns about whether you will enjoy it or not? Shadow more.

 

[ajj70]

Honestly, this is where I think pre-health majors are a bit of a gamble. You really have to put all your chips out on the table and hope you win big enough to make it to professional or graduate school. The career prospects for for pre-health degrees is rather pathetic... a lot of jobs you think should be limited to people with degrees simply require a certificate.. a certificate that anyone with a high school degree can obtain... Your best option is not to plateau after 4 years.

Personally, if I couldn't have conquer the DAT I would have tried my luck at the GRE and see if I could get into a PhD program somewhere so I could eventually teach at the college/university level. If I couldn't hack the GRE I probably would have tried to become a high school teacher and get involved with the after school sports.

I don't know much about Business Admin. but I would be hesitant to believe a minor in it would really mean much to many employers.

Maybe there are some lucrative markets I'm just completely ignorant to but I've always looked at pre-health majors as a gamble with either great rewards or rather painful defeats.

I don't really have a backup plan but this plan sounds good. Even if I didn't go on to get a PhD, maybe working at my UG school in some capacity, coaching or whatever?? I really don't know. I've wanted to be a dentist since I was in 9th grade....

 

[BTR1208]

Med School (DO).

If i would have sucked it up on the DAT i know of a med school in Colorado that doesnt require the MCAT. i know a few people that go there.

Seriously? Which school is that?

 

[DentalLonghorn2014]

Certified Nurse Assistant and Healthcare Employment hours.
PA applicants need many hours of working in a medical field to apply to their schools.

Oh I see. Thanks!

 

[kholley25]

I'm a non-traditional student accepted into a couple of dental schools for next year, but my backup plan was to continue teaching until I could get into dental school if things didn't work out. However, I know that I wouldn't last anymore than a few more years in teaching. I did get my Masters degree in Public Health, so I probably would have eventually applied to get my PhD in Epidemiology, but eh. It's also not really something I want to do.

All in all, it's great to have a back-up, but like another poster said above, getting into dental school isn't complicated (this isn't me saying that it's easy - but that it isn't hard to figure out).

Low GPA? Do post-bacc or graduate school to raise it.
Low DAT? Study more effectively and retake it.
Not enough shadowing hours? Call up some dentists and shadow.
Not enough community service? Volunteer more.
Poor LORs? Work on establishing better connections with professors, supervisors, dentists, etc.
Poor interviewing skills? Practice interviewing by getting part-time jobs, working with a career center, in front of a mirror/family/friends.

Concerns about tuition? Focus on improving all areas of your application so you can get into state schools, apply for HPSP, etc.
Concerns about the length of time it takes? You kinda need to factor that in when you consider dentistry to begin with.
Concerns about whether you will enjoy it or not? Shadow more.

I like your pragmatism.

 

[DentalLonghorn2014]

I have noticed that a lot of predental students mentioned going into teaching temporarily after a rejection or finishing up the school year after getting accepted. I personally think that is a great choice to not only have an income but give back to the community by help educating the next generation.