Lesley, you mentioned that you wouldnt buy a practice if you had to do it again. Would you go to dentistry, if you had to do it again?
Well never say never, I guess. I'm pretty certain we would never buy a practice again, but we always weigh information, opportunities and options before making decisions.
I recently re-read my posts. The moral I was trying to convey was that dentistry isn't necessary an easy road.
When we went to dental school, the majority of dental students were getting a lot of financial help from their families. Now due to the high cost of education, my husband and I feel we had a situation similar to many students today who are paying their own way. The amount of debt we had as a dollar figure may have been lower, but we had higher interest rates and the cost of living relative to our debt was similar. For example, the cost of our home back then was close to the cost of a dental school education, and I would say that fact would also hold true today.
One poster said that I should seek therapy. Quite the contrary, we knew what a pickle we were in. We had a plan, and we executed it. It just wasn't a fun plan, but it was effective. At 50 and 51, we have a nice work schedule, we have no debt of any sort, one son's college is paid for and our other son has one year paid too. Three years left!!! Unbelievable! Ours is not an extravagant life, but an enviable one.
It was well worth living our story, but again it wasn't always fun and at times the story is depressing, but we're not! Me especially. I feel very blessed to get to this point. It's what we worked for, and I relish it! Going to dental school isn't fun either, you complain, but in the end it's worth it. People go to therapy because they can't handle things constructively, not because they do! I think that poster just didn't like what he was reading, but that is his problem.
Here's the caveat, dental school more or less takes the same length of time to complete and is about as much fun as it's always been, but paying it off is taking a lot longer and it may be more of a hardship. Possibly, significantly. I find this very concerning.
So, going back to your question. Would I go to dental school knowing what I know today? Essentially, is it worth going to dental school today? I would say that relative to the other options out there, yes.
The world and economics have changed, there are no longer pensions or free health care for retirees, education is expensive regardless of the major. The world has become a more expensive place in general, and, for the most part, everyone will be working for a more extended period of time. Job security is an issue for many, but dentistry will not be sent overseas.
As early as 2007, two dentists will be retiring for every one dentist graduating. Remember, that the two dentists retiring will more than likely be men, and the one graduating has a 50-50 chance of being a man or a woman. There looks to be a very large decrease in the number of work hours of dentists overall. I think this is very favorable. There should be opportunity for those that are willing to work.
With any large purchase or commitment, I think it is very important to know if it's really what you want and what it involves on every level. Weigh your options. It will help you make wise choices. Dentistry may not be the road to riches, but you will have a job and it can provide a very comfortable way of life. Best wishes, Lesley