Considering a career pivot. What would you do?

[KrisKringle]

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As you’ve read in the title, I’m considering a bit of a career pivot, which is ironic since I don’t really have an established career yet. I’m hoping to get honest, straight feedback from people who are further along this path.

A little about me: I’m currently a CS major at a relatively insignificant university in the USA. Academically, I think I’m competitive. I have a 4.0 cumulative GPA, and I’ve already completed all of my CS coursework. At this point, I would just be taking the entry science prerequisites, which I believe I can finish while graduating in Spring 2027. Importantly, finishing these prerequisites and my degree would not cost me anything out of pocket, and delaying graduation makes sense for me regardless.

From a financial standpoint, I think I’m in a decent position. I had a paid SWE internship last summer at Meta (I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY AT ALL) and was able to save most of that income. I also have another paid SWE internship this upcoming summer, where I plan to do the same. In addition, I have a new grad SWE job lined up that I could work from graduation until a Fall 2028 dental school start, with a salary of approximately $120,000/year for roughly 15 months. I’ve taken no student loans so far, so I have the full ~$200k federal loan eligibility available under the recent changes. I would also only be willing to attend an in-state dental school. All in all I can maybe save ~$70,000 by the start.

The reason I’m considering this pivot is that I’m no longer optimistic about the long-term stability of CS, and I can’t realistically envision it aligning with my broader life goals. I don’t believe offshoring will meaningfully improve. I don’t believe AI displacement in tech will plateau. I don’t believe the hiring process will improve in a way that benefits average developers. I’m already somewhat burned out by the field, and if you know anyone in CS or are familiar with the hiring process, you probably understand why. I also don’t find the work fulfilling. I don’t feel connected to the outcomes at all, and I would much rather make a tangible impact in people’s everyday lives than generate “impact” by marginally improving shareholder value.

I’ve started the shadowing process, and from what I’ve seen so far, I could realistically imagine myself living that life. The hands-on nature of the work is a major positive for me, as is the fact that dentistry is a highly location-dependent career. The main downside I’m wrestling with is that I would be almost 29 when I graduate dental school, which feels late compared to the path I’m already on, even though I understand the time will pass regardless. I would also be moving from a position of no debt and a solid income to one with significant debt and no income during training.

*I’m also slightly interested in Medicine as a potential path.

All advice is welcome, especially negative advice. I’d much rather hear hard truths now than romanticize the idea.

 

[New_Vegas]

If I were you, I'd probably just stick to CS. Your life will be a lot less stressful.
I had lunch with a dentist not too long ago. Both of us were talking about how we had brothers who went into CS, and we were talking about how our brothers will retire way before us. In dentistry, you have to go to extreme levels of debt for your career, especially if you become a practice owner. This really can set back your retirement timeline.
Dental school is hell, and working as a dentist isn't much better.

If you want to do medicine, I think that would be a much better career path than dentistry. You'd make a lot more money. You also don't have to be a business owner, so in many cases doctors are working less and making a ton more money. Business ownership is a massive time warp. You'll never stop working when you own a business.

 

[schmoob]

As you’ve read in the title, I’m considering a bit of a career pivot, which is ironic since I don’t really have an established career yet. I’m hoping to get honest, straight feedback from people who are further along this path.

A little about me: I’m currently a CS major at a relatively insignificant university in the USA. Academically, I think I’m competitive. I have a 4.0 cumulative GPA, and I’ve already completed all of my CS coursework. At this point, I would just be taking the entry science prerequisites, which I believe I can finish while graduating in Spring 2027. Importantly, finishing these prerequisites and my degree would not cost me anything out of pocket, and delaying graduation makes sense for me regardless.

From a financial standpoint, I think I’m in a decent position. I had a paid SWE internship last summer at Meta (I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY AT ALL) and was able to save most of that income. I also have another paid SWE internship this upcoming summer, where I plan to do the same. In addition, I have a new grad SWE job lined up that I could work from graduation until a Fall 2028 dental school start, with a salary of approximately $120,000/year for roughly 15 months. I’ve taken no student loans so far, so I have the full ~$200k federal loan eligibility available under the recent changes. I would also only be willing to attend an in-state dental school. All in all I can maybe save ~$70,000 by the start.

The reason I’m considering this pivot is that I’m no longer optimistic about the long-term stability of CS, and I can’t realistically envision it aligning with my broader life goals. I don’t believe offshoring will meaningfully improve. I don’t believe AI displacement in tech will plateau. I don’t believe the hiring process will improve in a way that benefits average developers. I’m already somewhat burned out by the field, and if you know anyone in CS or are familiar with the hiring process, you probably understand why. I also don’t find the work fulfilling. I don’t feel connected to the outcomes at all, and I would much rather make a tangible impact in people’s everyday lives than generate “impact” by marginally improving shareholder value.

I’ve started the shadowing process, and from what I’ve seen so far, I could realistically imagine myself living that life. The hands-on nature of the work is a major positive for me, as is the fact that dentistry is a highly location-dependent career. The main downside I’m wrestling with is that I would be almost 29 when I graduate dental school, which feels late compared to the path I’m already on, even though I understand the time will pass regardless. I would also be moving from a position of no debt and a solid income to one with significant debt and no income during training.

*I’m also slightly interested in Medicine as a potential path.

All advice is welcome, especially negative advice. I’d much rather hear hard truths now than romanticize the idea.

If you want to go into a medical field go into medicine. Dentistry is hard. General dentistry is hard because we have to do so much. Being a specialist is hard because you are usually doing difficult cases the GP can’t/wont do. 2 weeks ago I had a patient come in and tell me that she needs her premolars out because “they” put crowns on them and ever since she has been hearing voices. But I have to do it carefully because the crowns are bombs. Of course I said no then she pulls out a wad of cash and I still said no. Then last week she comes back after some sleazy dentist pulled her teeth and asked me to take out her fillings because “they” were listening. I told her no again. I was about to call the police non-emergency line so they can come and do a welfare check on her but she left. Yesterday I had a patient who has been to multiple dentists and told me he needed 3 root canals and 6 fillings. I only saw one filling that he needed. He got so mad at me that I was telling him that he needed LESS work than another doc told him. He was so mad he wanted to straight up fight me. I walked out of the office before I ended up hurting him. Talk to dentists and you’ll hear similar stories.

Go into medicine and pick a field where you don’t have to deal with this stuff. Go into Radiology or something where you don’t need to interact with patients as much.

 

[TanMan]

If you want to go into a medical field go into medicine. Dentistry is hard. General dentistry is hard because we have to do so much. Being a specialist is hard because you are usually doing difficult cases the GP can’t/wont do. 2 weeks ago I had a patient come in and tell me that she needs her premolars out because “they” put crowns on them and ever since she has been hearing voices. But I have to do it carefully because the crowns are bombs. Of course I said no then she pulls out a wad of cash and I still said no. Then last week she comes back after some sleazy dentist pulled her teeth and asked me to take out her fillings because “they” were listening. I told her no again. I was about to call the police non-emergency line so they can come and do a welfare check on her but she left. Yesterday I had a patient who has been to multiple dentists and told me he needed 3 root canals and 6 fillings. I only saw one filling that he needed. He got so mad at me that I was telling him that he needed LESS work than another doc told him. He was so mad he wanted to straight up fight me. I walked out of the office before I ended up hurting him. Talk to dentists and you’ll hear similar stories.

Go into medicine and pick a field where you don’t have to deal with this stuff. Go into Radiology or something where you don’t need to interact with patients as much.

I'd be the contrarian by saying:

GP is only hard if you choose to do everything, but if you choose to do things that you enjoy, find easy, and/or profitable, then it's not so hard. I do find that a lot of my colleagues cannot multitask or process multiple things at the same time (i.e linear thinking), and it can be very overwhelming. If a patient wants me to do something questionable, it's important to just tell them, hey, I could do all the things that you want me to do and take your money, but I am not going to do them because I don't think it will do more harm than good. You can find some dentist out there to do it, but I won't do things that I don't think would benefit my patients. Same deal with overdiagnosing dentists... but without throwing your colleague under the bus. Just say that some dentists are more aggressive than others, this is what my radiographs show, here's photos, if you wish to go with me, that's great, if not, stick with the dentist you're comfortable with. Simple as that, we can't please everyone, and not everyone is compatible with everyone's practice style.

As GP's, we have the potential to make more than our medical counterparts without having to deal with a lot of the BS that comes with medicine. Medicine is more difficult, more time, more BS that you have to go through. If you want to go into the business of medicine, just hire a medical director and let them shoulder the liability.

 

[schmoob]

I'd be the contrarian by saying:

GP is only hard if you choose to do everything, but if you choose to do things that you enjoy, find easy, and/or profitable, then it's not so hard. I do find that a lot of my colleagues cannot multitask or process multiple things at the same time (i.e linear thinking), and it can be very overwhelming. If a patient wants me to do something questionable, it's important to just tell them, hey, I could do all the things that you want me to do and take your money, but I am not going to do them because I don't think it will do more harm than good. You can find some dentist out there to do it, but I won't do things that I don't think would benefit my patients. Same deal with overdiagnosing dentists... but without throwing your colleague under the bus. Just say that some dentists are more aggressive than others, this is what my radiographs show, here's photos, if you wish to go with me, that's great, if not, stick with the dentist you're comfortable with. Simple as that, we can't please everyone, and not everyone is compatible with everyone's practice style.

As GP's, we have the potential to make more than our medical counterparts without having to deal with a lot of the BS that comes with medicine. Medicine is more difficult, more time, more BS that you have to go through. If you want to go into the business of medicine, just hire a medical director and let them shoulder the liability.

Very good counterpoints. I’ve got nothing.