Dentist or CPA ???? (merged threads)

[FutureSomething]

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Hi!

This is my first post so dont flame me!! But I would like people's opinions about chosing a career in dentistry vs. accounting.

There are certain thing that I MUST have in a career to be satisfied. They are:
AUTONOMY
MONEY (and lots of it $200k+)
OWNERSHIP (employees dont make money the owner does)
JOB SECURITY (being laid off sucks)
TIME (time for vacations, family, no 60+ hour work week)

So after getting my BA in Legal studies and working for a year in sales (which I HATED) I've decided to take a year and do a post-bacc in either accounting or Predent. The post bacc in accounting will allow me to sit for the CPA exam.

My question is which career choice offers more MONEY, AUTONOMY, OWNERSHIP, JOB SECURITY and TIME???


Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

 

[FutureSomething]

Hi!

This is my first post so dont flame me!! But I would like people's opinions about chosing a career in dentistry vs. accounting.

There are certain thing that I MUST have in a career to be satisfied. They are:
AUTONOMY
MONEY (and lots of it $200k+)
OWNERSHIP (employees dont make money the owner does)
JOB SECURITY (being laid off sucks)
TIME (time for vacations, family, no 60+ hour work week)

So after getting my BA in Legal studies and working for a year in sales (which I HATED) I've decided to take a year and do a post-bacc in either accounting or Predent. The post bacc in accounting will allow me to sit for the CPA exam.

My question is which career choice offers more MONEY, AUTONOMY, OWNERSHIP, JOB SECURITY and TIME???


Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Shunwei]

Hi!

This is my first post so dont flame me!! But I would like people's opinions about chosing a career in dentistry vs. accounting.

There are certain thing that I MUST have in a career to be satisfied. They are:
AUTONOMY
MONEY (and lots of it $200k+)
OWNERSHIP (employees dont make money the owner does)
JOB SECURITY (being laid off sucks)
TIME (time for vacations, family, no 60+ hour work week)

So after getting my BA in Legal studies and working for a year in sales (which I HATED) I've decided to take a year and do a post-bacc in either accounting or Predent. The post bacc in accounting will allow me to sit for the CPA exam.

My question is which career choice offers more MONEY, AUTONOMY, OWNERSHIP, JOB SECURITY and TIME???


Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

A CPA earning 200+? I haven't come across any that high.

 

[SugarNaCl]

Hi!

This is my first post so dont flame me!! But I would like people's opinions about chosing a career in dentistry vs. accounting.

There are certain thing that I MUST have in a career to be satisfied. They are:
AUTONOMY
MONEY (and lots of it $200k+)
OWNERSHIP (employees dont make money the owner does)
JOB SECURITY (being laid off sucks)
TIME (time for vacations, family, no 60+ hour work week)

So after getting my BA in Legal studies and working for a year in sales (which I HATED) I've decided to take a year and do a post-bacc in either accounting or Predent. The post bacc in accounting will allow me to sit for the CPA exam.

My question is which career choice offers more MONEY, AUTONOMY, OWNERSHIP, JOB SECURITY and TIME???


Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

Certainly dentistry, but we don't want you in our future profession if you do it for the cash and being your own boss alone. You have to at least enjoy the profession or you will hate the field and benefit nobody. Money can be important, but it should be secondary. Anyway to answer the q... dentists have their own businesses frequently and work as much or as little as they want to meet their requirements for cash if thats the route you are going. I don't think accounting can compare at all. In the end, they are TOTALLY different fields. You must like one over the other... do that one!

An accountant may make less money...but you won't have as much stress from what I hear.

 

[jackbauer!]

Hi!

This is my first post so dont flame me!! But I would like people's opinions about chosing a career in dentistry vs. accounting.

There are certain thing that I MUST have in a career to be satisfied. They are:
AUTONOMY
MONEY (and lots of it $200k+)
OWNERSHIP (employees dont make money the owner does)
JOB SECURITY (being laid off sucks)
TIME (time for vacations, family, no 60+ hour work week)

So after getting my BA in Legal studies and working for a year in sales (which I HATED) I've decided to take a year and do a post-bacc in either accounting or Predent. The post bacc in accounting will allow me to sit for the CPA exam.

My question is which career choice offers more MONEY, AUTONOMY, OWNERSHIP, JOB SECURITY and TIME???


Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

Autonomy: Dentistry > CPA
Money (earning potential): negligible
Ownership: IMO, you must put in a lot of time up front in accounting before starting up on your own; so, Dentistry > CPA
Job Security: Dentistry >> CPA
Time: No comparison... as an accountant for the Big 4 you will be putting in 80 hr work weeks until April at least. Dentistry >>>>>>> CPA

Keep in mind, most of these are my opinions, but my little brother is graduating with his BS in accounting this semester. He has had internships with public and private firms. He plans on putting a few years into industry and getting out ASAP to do something on his own. I know he wishes that he would've stuck to pre-dent in undergrad, but he's lazy and wanted to party 5 nights a week. He won't admit this, but I know it's true.

Best of luck in your decision. All I can say is that if you choose dentistry you won't be disappointed.

jb!🙂

 

[dentstd]

Have you done the research yourself for these two fields? I mean, it's the rest of your life, here. But I can play along. Proceed with the discussion group...

 

[Regmata]

Dentist of CPA...you are interested in both these fields? If money is your driving force, be a CPA...you can count money all day and if you hit it big, you will make tons of cash.

 

[qwerty86]

Great post - asking people dental or CPA on SDNs pre-dental threat. lol
Dont choose profession based on money, lifestyle status so on...
Do you have interest in the sciences or accounting? choose from thereon.

 

[airwolfrocks999]

Hi!

This is my first post so dont flame me!! But I would like people's opinions about chosing a career in dentistry vs. accounting.

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

Salary-wise, accountants and general dentists seem to even out for quite a while in the beginning.

Accountants start ~50k - 65k/ yr with just a BA. Their incomes do increase per annum. General dentists start out with 90k/yr and have dental loans on top of that.

After that, it's all variable. There are some accountants that move into management, get paid for MBA training, and do very well in midtown Manhattan. Likewise, there are general dentists that are eventually able to speed up their procedures, attract a niche crowd, and open up a lucrative practice. It's hard to say who has a clear hand in salary.

 

[FutureSomething]

Autonomy: Dentistry > CPA
Money (earning potential): negligible
Ownership: IMO, you must put in a lot of time up front in accounting before starting up on your own; so, Dentistry > CPA
Job Security: Dentistry >> CPA
Time: No comparison... as an accountant for the Big 4 you will be putting in 80 hr work weeks until April at least. Dentistry >>>>>>> CPA

Keep in mind, most of these are my opinions, but my little brother is graduating with his BS in accounting this semester. He has had internships with public and private firms. He plans on putting a few years into industry and getting out ASAP to do something on his own. I know he wishes that he would've stuck to pre-dent in undergrad, but he's lazy and wanted to party 5 nights a week. He won't admit this, but I know it's true.

Best of luck in your decision. All I can say is that if you choose dentistry you won't be disappointed.

jb!🙂

are you single? you sound hot!

 

[FutureSomething]

Have you done the research yourself for these two fields? I mean, it's the rest of your life, here. But I can play along. Proceed with the discussion group...

please do!

 

[FutureSomething]

Great post - asking people dental or CPA on SDNs pre-dental threat. lol
Dont choose profession based on money, lifestyle status so on...
Do you have interest in the sciences or accounting? choose from thereon.

The only thing I'm interested in is money. Spending it, Saving it and rubbing it all over my body!😀😉

 

[Frederico Albin]

Both fields are great. My wifes cousin works as an accountant for Phillip Morris, and she gets paid really well. You will get paid well also in dentistry, but you have to enjoy working with the health care field.
You are going to spend 4 more years of your life in dental school and spend a lot more money in school, and in front of that, more money to open your own clinic.
There are several things you should be thinking about before money, ownership... Think of the sacrifice your going to have to make before you get to the end.
Good luck

 

[FutureSomething]

Both fields are great. My wifes cousin works as an accountant for Phillip Morris, and she gets paid really well. You will get paid well also in dentistry, but you have to enjoy working with the health care field.
You are going to spend 4 more years of your life in dental school and spend a lot more money in school, and in front of that, more money to open your own clinic.
There are several things you should be thinking about before money, ownership... Think of the sacrifice your going to have to make before you get to the end.
Good luck

I'm full aware of the hard work it is going to take to be either a CPA or DDS. Hord work isnt the issue. I want to make sure that I invest the time and money into a secure career.

 

[therealsquat]

.

 

[rkamsterdam]

we don't want you in our future profession if you do it for the cash and being your own boss alone.

I dont like this elitist viewpoint especially coming from a non-dentist. Why do you think your justification for choosing dentistry is more pious than his? and what gives you any right to judge "your" profession considering you have no experience as a dentist.

Certainly, he/she must not solely desire money and autonomy when considering dentistry or any profession for that matter. But, his question may still be valid since he is asking for a comparison.

 

[shaq3482001]

I don't get it when people bash others for choosing dentistry for the money. To become a dentist, you obviously have to be motivated and intelligent. I would say 95% of these people would apply their intelligence and motivation elsewhere if the average salary for a dentist were $30,000/year. It's not simply greed or love of money. Financial security is a very important part of life. And to me, it simply makes no financial sense, to invest so much time and energy into a career that wouldn't pay at least fairly decent.

Aside from the money, dentistry is a great field, don't get me wrong. But to say that the money is not important is being unrealistic. But going back to the OP's original question, I would say dentistry, on average based on the statistics, offers a higher income. In accounting, I would say there's a larger variance in how much people make but certainly you have a potential to make a lot. Usually, it is after many years in the field though. The other factors you listed are attainable by both professions.

 

[Shunwei]

Financial security is a very important part of life. And to me, it simply makes no financial sense, to invest so much time and energy into a career that wouldn't pay at least fairly decent.

Ha. I wish the administrators and professors in graduate school can have that kind of level-headed view. Most times, though, they cling to their cult mentality and try to brainwash their students into thinking that poverty is no big deal and that people should go for their love and passion. I know more people whose life has been f*&ked over by that mentality than drugs.

 

[doc toothache]

Hi!

This is my first post so dont flame me!! But I would like people's opinions about chosing a career in dentistry vs. accounting.

There are certain thing that I MUST have in a career to be satisfied. They are:
AUTONOMY
MONEY (and lots of it $200k+)
OWNERSHIP (employees dont make money the owner does)
JOB SECURITY (being laid off sucks)
TIME (time for vacations, family, no 60+ hour work week)

So after getting my BA in Legal studies and working for a year in sales (which I HATED) I've decided to take a year and do a post-bacc in either accounting or Predent. The post bacc in accounting will allow me to sit for the CPA exam.

My question is which career choice offers more MONEY, AUTONOMY, OWNERSHIP, JOB SECURITY and TIME???


Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

You have not listed a single good reason why you should be considering dentistry. Stick with crunching numbers.

 

[trent]

What are you actually interests you for work?! Try to factor out money for a moment. If you don't like or aren't suited for your profession, it won't matter how much or how little money you make. The old adage is do what you love and the money will follow. You are more likely to be financially successful, happy, and making a contribution in a field that you truly love.

Have you shadowed a dentist?

 

[toroisgood]

Though I wonder what a dentist's income'll look like in 5 years when universal health care is implemented. How much do dentists get paid in London compared to their physician counterparts, and does anyone think our salaries/income'll look like theirs within 10 years?

Edit: Just realized what their teeth look like.

 

[NewMexDent]

So after getting my BA in Legal studies and working for a year in sales (which I HATED) I've decided to take a year and do a post-bacc in either accounting or Predent. The post bacc in accounting will allow me to sit for the CPA exam.

My question is which career choice offers more MONEY, AUTONOMY, OWNERSHIP, JOB SECURITY and TIME???


Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

Well, first off, it will take you more than a 1-year post-bacc to complete the pre-requisites for dental school, unless you have some prior science courses up your sleeve.

In all honesty, and I could be wrong, but is sounds like you just want the easy way to money. If that's the case than accounting is the job for you. To do dental you will need to:

- work hard for the next two years to finish pre-reqs, shadow dentists, get volunteer experience, take the DAT, apply to dental school
- get your butt kicked for four years of dental school
- spend many years in a lowly associatship while paying of a quarter of a million dollars in student loans
- then spend time and stress to open up your own practice, putting you even further in dept

Now, a few thoughts on autonomy, ownership and time. If you want to be fully autonomous and own your own clinic you will sacrifice a lot more time. When your clinic is up and running it will be difficult to take time off - you can do it, but every day that you don't work you are losing money and the people that work for you will not be getting money.

Take the easy route - do accounting. In the next 10 years (while all us pre-dents are putting ourselves further in debt) with some savvy investments you could set yourself up to be just as well off as any dentist - and probably have more time.

 

[estrella00]

How about being an accountant that specializes in the dental field? I heard of a local CPA that specializes for doctors and is raking in the dough. In fact, he's having to turn doctors away. It's very specialized and if you keep up with the tax stuff on that field you would be in very, very high demand.....

 

[dWiz]

i took an accounting course in undergrad, and ended up dropping the class after just two weeks....it's the driest subject i've ever studied.....dentistry is so much more fun

 

[ss56workhorse]

I thought it was only lay people who assumed dentists make big bucks. If you're looking for >200k salaries you can cross out dentistry. It is doable, but not common.

 

[jackbauer!]

I thought it was only lay people who assumed dentists make big bucks. If you're looking for >200k salaries you can cross out dentistry. It is doable, but not common.

The AVERAGE salary for a GP practice owner is about $200k. So, it is very common, if not the norm.

jb!🙂

 

[camshaft]

FutureSomething, I think you need to clarify what you mean by accounting. For instance, you can get an accounting degree and have a finance job but not necessarily be an accountant. Accounting is a broad term, ranging from filing your neighbor's taxes to managing money for a multi-million dollar firm. The jobs can be very different, especially in the characteristics you mentioned - salary and job security.

 

[Composite A2]

You can find poor dentists just as easily as you can find rich ones. The same applies to CPAs. If you are good at something you will be successful at it, and people will pay money for your services. People will not give you money because you have DDS/DMD after your name.
Don't assume you will make money just because you are a dentist. Money should not be your guiding force. You have to remember that dentistry is a profession where you are looking into peoples mouths all day, scraping cleaning, polishing, filling. If you don't like it you will end up hating the rest of your life.


This is a big investment, financially, academically, and personally.

Choose wisely


Red or blue pill?

 

[ss56workhorse]

The AVERAGE salary for a GP practice owner is about $200k. So, it is very common, if not the norm.

jb!🙂

There's pie in the sky in here. It's okay to dream, but I wouldn't want everyone to expect $200k incomes is the norm. It truly isn't.

 

[Golddanboy]

The only thing I'm interested in is money. Spending it, Saving it and rubbing it all over my body!😀😉

..... this post has to be a joke. I have yet to meet any Dentist or Dental student that openly admits to such greed and undiscerning interest for a single aspect of a profession.

Obviously the answers will be biased by asking which job is better in a forum full of people dedicating themselves to one of the choices. Based on your reasons I feel like I should offer you a third choice which would probably be more well suited. Go for Law school; You already are interested in legal studies, it should be your natural choice.

AUTONOMY - Lawyers have arguably more autonomy; Both can be self employed but I feel like its harder to get nationally debarred then for a Dentist to lose one of their licenses.

MONEY (and lots of it $200k+) It is worth noting that dentists have an 'opportunity cost' in they have to attend 4 years of dental school and immediately start out in debt where as Law students are paid exorbitant amounts for secretary work. Also they can make in the millions were as a lame-handed dentist would probably have a tough time making ends meat.

OWNERSHIP (employees dont make money the owner does) - Seems the same as autonomy .

JOB SECURITY (being laid off sucks) Eh theres really no way to argue against dentistry for this

TIME (time for vacations, family, no 60+ hour work week) - Dentists are on call and a Patient in pain probably wouldn't care too much about your vacation or Golf game.

 

[armorshell]

TIME (time for vacations, family, no 60+ hour work week) - Dentists are on call and a Patient in pain probably wouldn't care too much about your vacation or Golf game.

What are you on, goofballs? Smack? Dragon dust? Husker do? Husker don't? Green Lightning? Fingerblast? Ex? Stardust? Toot?

Dental "call" is a joke. There are very few real dental emergencies, and often the most inconvenience you'll have is calling in a prescription and telling them to see you on monday.

 

[jackbauer!]

..... this post has to be a joke. I have yet to meet any Dentist or Dental student that openly admits to such greed and undiscerning interest for a single aspect of a profession.

Obviously the answers will be biased by asking which job is better in a forum full of people dedicating themselves to one of the choices. Based on your reasons I feel like I should offer you a third choice which would probably be more well suited. Go for Law school; You already are interested in legal studies, it should be your natural choice.

AUTONOMY - Lawyers have arguably more autonomy; Both can be self employed but I feel like its harder to get nationally debarred then for a Dentist to lose one of their licenses.

MONEY (and lots of it $200k+) It is worth noting that dentists have an 'opportunity cost' in they have to attend 4 years of dental school and immediately start out in debt where as Law students are paid exorbitant amounts for secretary work. Also they can make in the millions were as a lame-handed dentist would probably have a tough time making ends meat.

OWNERSHIP (employees dont make money the owner does) - Seems the same as autonomy .

JOB SECURITY (being laid off sucks) Eh theres really no way to argue against dentistry for this

TIME (time for vacations, family, no 60+ hour work week) - Dentists are on call and a Patient in pain probably wouldn't care too much about your vacation or Golf game.

this post has got to be a joke.

jb!🙂