Dentistry vs. Optometry vs. Nursing vs. ???

[deleted687806]

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Hi everyone,

Apologies for the age old "versus" question in advance.

I'm at the point in my undergrad career where I can still flip flop between career choices and not have many repercussions, but that is drawing to a close as I want to decide on one by the end of the summer, join a preprofessional club, and get in substantial shadowing hours under my belt in the next school year.

I've talked to various current students, current professionals, my parents, and friends about this question and Id like to ask for your polite opinions and thoughts, which I'm sure will vary since I will be posting this across many forums topics.


Basically:
-I want to work in health care.
-I want a profession that will allow me to own my own practice.

-Optometry: I originally wanted to pursue optometry and really love the profession, however the impending technology changes (self-online tests?, 1800 contacts, online glasses boutiques) in the very foreseeable future worries me very much and even the increasingly commercialization aspects (lens crafters, walgreens, etc)- to the point of steering me away from the profession. Especially b/c I intend to work in the Bay Area/Socal after graduation.

-Dentistry: My parents work in the field of dentistry, and Ive seen how precision and details really matter in dentistry. I'm not the most comfortable with working in the micro world, and it's always frustrated me when I've had to work with my hands w/ very small materials/spaces. I also am not confident in my ability to be happy when I wake up in the mornings to go to work in a dental office. Mouths dont interest me as much as eyes/the general body.

-Nursing: I would be fine w/ nursing, the only thing that gets me is that I don't think I can own a practice with just a nursing degree.

-Physician: Never seriously considered this, so I don't know too much about it. When I think of physician I think of my pediatrician, a very cranky, serious, old man who drives a Mercedes convertible. 😱

-Pharmacy: Also never seriously considered this, doesn't really interest me as much.



1. Has anyone been in similar situations, and if so what was your conclusion/what profession did you choose?
2. Would you choose to go down the same path again?
3. Are there other medical professions that I am discounting? Please forgive my ignorance if so and be so kind as to share other career options.

Thank you in advance, and I would greatly respect your civility in your responses. Thank you!

 

[KHE]

You're approaching this the wrong way, I think.

Forgetting about all the potential pros and cons of the various fields you've listed for a second because they all have pros and cons...........what do YOU want to do? What interests you the most?

That's the one you should do.

You might make a technically good dentist, maybe even a great dentist. But if you don't "like" dentistry or aren't particularly interested in dentistry, and I don't mean the money or the owning of the practice or that sort of thing. you'll be a mediocre dentist. I think being interested in the most important thing.

The word "passion" gets thrown around on here a lot. I think it's a terrible word in this context. People claim to be "passionate" about dentistry/optometry/pharmacy/physician and I think that there are very very few people who are truly passionate about those careers.

You know what I'm passionate about? Playing golf. I'd rather play golf than see a day full of patients. That doesn't mean I hate my job or I hate seeing patients, I'd just rather play golf than see patients. But I'd rather see patients than restore a car all day. I have no interest in cars or motors or fixing up cars or that sort of thing. See what I'm getting at?

 

[roush137]

I think the best thing you could do would be to shadow as many health professionals as possible this summer. KHE is right, if you aren't interested in it, don't pursue it. I am about to start optometry school, so I am trying to stay positive about the outlook of the profession, but I also know that making tons of money will probably never be a possibility. I have been out of college for 2 years and I have been making about 25K, so I can truly appreciate how much 80K will be (80K is usually considered the lowest end for an optometrist.)

Research everything you can about all these fields. Make a list of what you think will be most important to you (money, time for family, work hours, owning a practice) and then make a rating for each profession. If you can see yourself doing what comes out on top, make that your priority and get involved with pre-professional clubs, shadowing, and anything else you can find related to the profession. You will know pretty quickly if you get involved enough whether it's the right path for you or not!

 

[Meibomian SxN]

1. Has anyone been in similar situations, and if so what was your conclusion/what profession did you choose?
2. Would you choose to go down the same path again?
3. Are there other medical professions that I am discounting? Please forgive my ignorance if so and be so kind as to share other career options.

Thank you in advance, and I would greatly respect your civility in your responses. Thank you!

Also consider with each field the amount of hours and work days each week. Optometrists (excluding hospital unless seeing 1 day post-op) almost always work Saturdays and late evenings (until 630pm and later in certain settings). It can be a huge conflict of interest when starting a family comes about.
Private practice in Optometry is becoming less and less and so commercial jobs or practice will most likely be your reality until you gain enough capital to start your own business.

Nursing is a degree that you can take with you anywhere in the world, room for growth, admin positions, etc.

Dentistry sounds better. You can practice as a physician without the pressures of commercialization. If you're not as comfortable, have your family help you start a practice and then hire dentists to work for you.

Good luck!

 

[realityred]

I think the best thing you could do would be to shadow as many health professionals as possible this summer. KHE is right, if you aren't interested in it, don't pursue it. I am about to start optometry school, so I am trying to stay positive about the outlook of the profession, but I also know that making tons of money will probably never be a possibility. I have been out of college for 2 years and I have been making about 25K, so I can truly appreciate how much 80K will be (80K is usually considered the lowest end for an optometrist.)

Research everything you can about all these fields. Make a list of what you think will be most important to you (money, time for family, work hours, owning a practice) and then make a rating for each profession. If you can see yourself doing what comes out on top, make that your priority and get involved with pre-professional clubs, shadowing, and anything else you can find related to the profession. You will know pretty quickly if you get involved enough whether it's the right path for you or not!

Actually lowest is 100 K annually and unfortunately the ceiling isn't too far from that speaking from experience +/-120k even after 20 yrs of practice unless you own your own practice then the ceiling may be double that. take a look at salary dot com salary averages by city zip codes and you can compare with nurse practitioners to dental surgeons or orthodontists who mainly treats kids who don't need to respond subjectively and just show me their teeth... yeay !!!

 

[Eyes1984]

save yourself time and money. Don't do optometry.

 

[310]

Actually lowest is 100 K annually and unfortunately the ceiling isn't too far from that speaking from experience +/-120k even after 20 yrs of practice unless you own your own practice then the ceiling may be double that. take a look at salary dot com salary averages by city zip codes and you can compare with nurse practitioners to dental surgeons or orthodontists who mainly treats kids who don't need to respond subjectively and just show me their teeth... yeay !!!

120 isn't the roof for people who don't own practices.


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[IndieRock]

You forgot about podiatry (if you're okay with surgery).
Happiest patients and healthcare workers I've met.
Well, I once met a dentist who could not recommend military dentistry any more highly.

Honestly, owning one's own practice can be overrated.
I know that at least with nursing, medicine, and my future profession, one can travel to do short-term contracts without putting up with administrative BS for long.
My back-up plan was actually co-owning an urgent care center, but I'd probably be too lazy and conservative and would stick with doing locum tenens.

What you should focus on is what makes you the happiest (forget about Googled salaries).