Dentistry or AA

[loveforscience64]

Hello, I am a non-traditional student and I am looking to make a career change. The careers that I am interested in are dentistry and anesthesiologist assistant. I have shadowed and done my research on both professions and I love them both which is why I am having a difficult time making a decision. The prerequisites for dental and AA school are identical as well as the earning potential unless the dentist is a specialist or private practice owner. I don’t have any debt and I am currently taking my prerequisites at a local university. Both of these programs are a huge sacrifice and investment so I want to make sure that I am making the best decision for myself. The amount of debt I would obtain from dental school is 300-500K and the amount of debt I would obtain from AA school is 120-130K. AA school is 2.5 years and dental school is 4 years not including the option of residency. The only downside to AA is I would be limited to the number of states I am allowed to practice in but that does not bother or intimidate me at all. Are there any anesthesiologist assistants who can give me their honest perspective on the profession? Is it still worth it to go into dentistry? Being a independent provider and owning my own dental practice would be nice but the amount of debt scares me. I am 28 years old and given I’m not 30 yet but I’m not close to 20 either so I would really like a career that I can jump straight into and have great work-life balance.

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[LFA20]

I like dentistry but if I were taking out loans to fund this I'd choose AA.

 

[loveforscience64]

I like dentistry but if I were taking out loans to fund this I'd choose AA.

I would most likely have to take out loans to fund both.

 

[somefuturedoc]

Earning potential is prob much higher in dentistry, wouldn’t risk it for 500k loans though. If you can get into a cheaper state school or do military/NHSC then dentistry all day.

 

[CloudBoi]

Go to anesthesia assistant Reddit for more info about that profession. You're likely not gonna find the answers here in the dental forums. People here are going to tell you to avoid dentistry like the plague unless you get in-state tuition/ military funding/ or family paying for it from my experience.