Honest Starting Salary

[bracketbuster68]

Dental market is much smaller than tech market.

In other news, water is wet.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[lwergod]

Yes but you have to look past the lower tier jobs in tech. Often engineers in tech start out around 100k, but after 10 years experience they can top 500k TC.
You don't have to take my word for it, there is an entire website dedicated to big tech salaries.

Levels.fyi | Salaries & Tools to Level Up Your Career

Search 300k+ salaries for different companies, job titles, career levels, and locations. Explore our tools to help you get paid more!

www.levels.fyi

The key here is stock options. Techies are paid a pretty regular salary (100-200k) but they receive another 200k in stock options + bonuses. So yeah their salary is the same as a dentist, but their total compensation is much higher. If the company does well (IPO's) then their stock options can be worth millions. Early techies at companies like Airbnb, Uber, Lyft etc. are all worth 8 figures+ and they're probably not even 40 years old yet. Sure these are unicorn situations, but you can't get rich in dentistry like you can in big tech. Unless you're Rick Workman of Heartland Dental. But in that case you're an entrepreneuer not a dentist.

Unfortunately I'm straight booty at anything to do with computers, so I'll just stick to dentistry. Dentistry is higher floor, lower ceiling. With 400k+ student loans, I'm not even sure if it's higher floor...

speaking of 'engineers,' 3 of my petroleum engineering friends didn't even make it one year on the job without being laid off. It might take several years before shale/crude oil to become profitable again.

 

[allantois]

speaking of 'engineers,' 3 of my petroleum engineering friends didn't even make it one year on the job without being laid off. It might take several years before shale/crude oil to become profitable again.

At least they are not 400k in debt

 

[AONLINE]

speaking of 'engineers,' 3 of my petroleum engineering friends didn't even make it one year on the job without being laid off. It might take several years before shale/crude oil to become profitable again.

True, it's not like all engineering paths are rosy. My chemical engineer friend could not get a decent job for a whole year after after getting his BS so he had to resort to doing a 5-year PhD.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

Don't you get deductions from interest paid, effectively gaining 10k or so income? However, I agree in the grand scheme of things... it's hell.

Nice try.

How to Get the Student Loan Interest Deduction - NerdWallet

The student loan interest deduction allows you to deduct up to $2,500 from your taxes. Here’s how to claim.

www.nerdwallet.com

Big Hoss

 

[allantois]

True, it's not like all engineering paths are rosy. My chemical engineer friend could not get a decent job for a whole year after after getting his BS so he had to resort to doing a 5-year PhD.

I mean I don't feel like it's really an apples to apples comparison. It would be more fair to compare a BS engineering degree with a typical pre-dent BS in Biology. Of the two, we know which one has a lot more job security. As you said, a fairer comparison might be a PhD in engineering to dental degree

 

[ToothJockey]

Now we are shifting the topic from tech to engineering overall.
'Engineering' is a very broad field. Petroleum engineering will probably be obsolete in our lifetime. Chemical engineering isn't a path you choose for money, far from it.

Tech is arguably the hottest field to go in right now. The richest men in the world are techies (Bezos, Gates, Zucky, Ellison, Page, Brin etc.). IMO, the future of America is built on tech.

 

[bracketbuster68]

Now we are shifting the topic from tech to engineering overall.
'Engineering' is a very broad field. Petroleum engineering will probably be obsolete in our lifetime. Chemical engineering isn't a path you choose for money, far from it.

Tech is arguably the hottest field to go in right now. The richest men in the world are techies (Bezos, Gates, Zucky, Ellison, Page, Brin etc.). IMO, the future of America is built on tech.

Petroleum engineering is here to stay. Almost everything not made of wood or metal is made from oil.

 

[LegendaryPanda]

Nice try.

How to Get the Student Loan Interest Deduction - NerdWallet

The student loan interest deduction allows you to deduct up to $2,500 from your taxes. Here’s how to claim.

www.nerdwallet.com

Big Hoss

Dbag government.

 

[yappy]

Petroleum engineering is here to stay. Almost everything not made of wood or metal is made from oil.

Is it a growing or a shirking industry? I think the latter. Also, graduate school is often required. Software seems like the best engineering field at the moment.

 

[Molar Whisperer]

Is it a growing or a shirking industry? I think the latter. Also, graduate school is often required. Software seems like the best engineering field at the moment.

With the success of FAANG companies, tech professionals seem to be the hot jobs. With possible exception of PhDs, I assume their schooling is less expensive, putting them in better positions than dentists starting out.

 

[bracketbuster68]

Is it a growing or a shirking industry? I think the latter. Also, graduate school is often required. Software seems like the best engineering field at the moment.

Who knows? The future is hard to predict. Kind of hard to minimize how important carbon is, even for the future, considering the importance of the carbon cycle.

 

[dababy123]

Best states to move to practice dentistry? Lower taxes, COL, saturation, best ROI, etc

 

[allantois]

how about private practice OMFS tho?

I don’t understand these wild stories of OMFS breaking their back working multiple chairs at the same time. My OMS mentor back in the day would work half a day. Pull out a few thirds, place a few implants and go home in private practice. Both are $2000 dollar cash procedures, you do the math. The ones working those insane hours, choose to do so.

 

[Molar Whisperer]

Best states to move to practice dentistry? Lower taxes, COL, saturation, best ROI, etc

Red States equal lower taxes (Republican), lower COL (Redneck), lower saturation (undesireable), best ROI correlates to lower Quality Of Life (lack of attractions, restaurants, entertainment, excitement). I grew up in that environment and doctors (like my dad) and dentists do better after taxes and COL. If you are of minority ethnic descent, you most likely will be miserable. We lived in an 8k people town in the middle of nowhere. My brother was ashamed to be Asian and he desperately wanted to have friends and be accepted. His family now don't want anything to do with Asian culture.

IMO, the best formula would be to find a city in a Red State with 100 to 200k pop where there may be a balance of saturation, COL, and QOL to your liking. You may have to consider more remote areas because more dentists may have the same ideas. And if that location is more conducive to your success, you may be too busy to enjoy amenities anyways. Hopefully your kids will thrive in that environment and not suffer like me and my siblings.

 

[Molar Whisperer]

I don’t understand these wild stories of OMFS breaking their back working multiple chairs at the same time. My OMS mentor back in the day would work half a day. Pull out a few thirds, place a few implants and go home in private practice. Both are $2000 dollar cash procedures, you do the math. The ones working those insane hours, choose to do so.

The OS at my last DMO fits that description of breaking his back, neck and hip to run 3 to 4 chairs. His wife was a stay-at-home Pedodontist with 4 kids, and at that time his oldest was getting ready to go to an expensive out-of-state school.

 

[monkeykey]

What about side hustles? What are some typical side hustles you see dentists doing outside their 35hr workweek?

 

[Grinz]

What about side hustles? What are some typical side hustles you see dentists doing outside their 35hr workweek?

Consulting and Teaching CE. Seriously if you can pack a room for a weekend of 30 dentists and charge 3-4K for the course then you can make a ton of money. That’s a hidden benefit of being a specialist - they are usually the ones GDs want to learn from.

 

[Cold Front]

Consulting and Teaching CE. Seriously if you can pack a room for a weekend of 30 dentists and charge 3-4K for the course then you can make a ton of money. That’s a hidden benefit of being a specialist - they are usually the ones GDs want to learn from.

I doubt we will see 20+ mostly old dentists in a small room for a CE class anytime soon - due to covid19.

I teach a 9-weeks dental assisting course at one of my offices, $6-7k/student, 8-10 classes a year. No more than 5 students per class. So you don’t have to teach other dentists to teach in the profession. You can also teach anything else you want, plenty of people making money on YouTube. You just have find a niche that will pay well for the service.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Biofilm preventer]

my friend just graduated from Buffalo and got a job as an associate in New York and is making 175K as a general dentist right out of residency.

I have another family member, went to NYU, and just finished GPR and signed a contract for 180K.

this is in New York area, Speak to people you know who are in similiar locations as you. nothing is official on this website regarding salaries as everything is very situational.

 

[mmc12]

my friend just graduated from Buffalo and got a job as an associate in New York and is making 175K as a general dentist right out of residency.

I have another family member, went to NYU, and just finished GPR and signed a contract for 180K.

this is in New York area, Speak to people you know who are in similiar locations as you. nothing is official on this website regarding salaries as everything is very situational.

Is your friend and family member working in NYC?

 

[Grinz]

I doubt we will see 20+ mostly old dentists in a small room for a CE class anytime soon - due to covid19.

I teach a 9-weeks dental assisting course at one of my offices, $6-7k/student, 8-10 classes a year. No more than 5 students per class. So you don’t have to teach other dentists to teach in the profession. You can also teach anything else you want, plenty of people making money on YouTube. You just have find a niche that will pay well for the service.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I disagree. Pikos is still planning on holding their Full Arch courses are full capacity this summer. Just everyone sitting further apart and probably getting screened & wearing masks. Also Dawson still holding webinars for hundreds of dentists paying $300 for the 2 day webinar. So yeah, CE is where the money is at.

 

[wannagiveup]

Consulting and Teaching CE. Seriously if you can pack a room for a weekend of 30 dentists and charge 3-4K for the course then you can make a ton of money. That’s a hidden benefit of being a specialist - they are usually the ones GDs want to learn from.

Don't forget the expert witness jobs for specialists.

 

[wannagiveup]

You just have find a niche that will pay well for the service.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

lol sounds a lot like e-commerce

 

[allDAT]

Best states to move to practice dentistry? Lower taxes, COL, saturation, best ROI, etc

It’s not really a state issue, it’s more about “towns”. The coastal states have higher taxes (in general) as you move towards the middle of the country you may find more business and tax friendly policies that would have a positive impact on your net income after taxes.

In my opinion it’s not really about “red” or “blue” - it’s all about desirability. The less desirable states have to introduce incentives for businesses and people to move and stay there.

All states have towns that need another dentist. That’s where the lowest hanging fruit is, but it comes with some serious trade offs.

 

[allDAT]

I thought they volunteered for that.

Those I know who have done it were paid (quite a bit actually).

 

[allDAT]

What about side hustles? What are some typical side hustles you see dentists doing outside their 35hr workweek?

There are plenty of side hustles available and they don't have to be related to dentistry (you can own other businesses). You can:

Create a course
Help administer/support a course or conference
Write a book
Become a consultant
Serve on peer review (paid not a volunteer)
Expert witness (not really open to general dentists)
Start your own e-commerce store where you sell a good or service
Start your own service business etc. etc.
Shoot, one of my side hustles helps other dentists outsource their side hustle

The list goes on and on. It really depends on how motivated you are and how much time you want to spend working vs. doing other things you may enjoy. Many dentists are absolutely burnt out after working 35 clinical hours a week, but some are not. I'm fortunate to not be one of them, but I understand why some people have no desire to build a second business and it takes a toll on your personal and family life. At some point, enough is enough.

 

[wannagiveup]

There are plenty of side hustles available and they don't have to be related to dentistry (you can own other businesses). You can:

Create a course
Help administer/support a course or conference
Write a book
Become a consultant
Serve on peer review (paid not a volunteer)
Expert witness (not really open to general dentists)
Start your own e-commerce store where you sell a good or service
Start your own service business etc. etc.
Shoot, one of my side hustles helps other dentists outsource their side hustle

The list goes on and on. It really depends on how motivated you are and how much time you want to spend working vs. doing other things you may enjoy. Many dentists are absolutely burnt out after working 35 clinical hours a week, but some are not. I'm fortunate to not be one of them, but I understand why some people have no desire to build a second business and it takes a toll on your personal and family life. At some point, enough is enough.

Are you sure about expert witness jobs not being open to general dentists?

 

[allDAT]

Are you sure about expert witness jobs not being open to general dentists?

They are open to general dentists, it's just harder to establish yourself as an expert in the court system without additional education because the other side will likely bring a specialist in and their credentials will supersede the general dentist's. For example, there are general dentists who are "forensic dentists" and would be experts in the courts. However in most cases, you're looking at malpractice claims so if surgery were involved, the experts on both sides would likely be board-certified oral surgeons. If sedation was involved, it will be anesthesiologists, if endodontic therapy was involved it will be endodontists, etc. Within the court system, experience and credentials matter much more than in private practice so the average GD is not established enough to qualify.

 

[ToothJockey]

There are plenty of side hustles available and they don't have to be related to dentistry (you can own other businesses). You can:

Create a course
Help administer/support a course or conference
Write a book
Become a consultant
Serve on peer review (paid not a volunteer)
Expert witness (not really open to general dentists)
Start your own e-commerce store where you sell a good or service
Start your own service business etc. etc.
Shoot, one of my side hustles helps other dentists outsource their side hustle

The list goes on and on. It really depends on how motivated you are and how much time you want to spend working vs. doing other things you may enjoy. Many dentists are absolutely burnt out after working 35 clinical hours a week, but some are not. I'm fortunate to not be one of them, but I understand why some people have no desire to build a second business and it takes a toll on your personal and family life. At some point, enough is enough.

The good thing about dentistry is that it is a pretty stable career which allows you to take risks outside of work (such as starting a business)

If your business fails, you still have a 6 figure salary to fall back on. Plus compared to many fields in medicine, dentists have a much better work-life balance, which gives you free time to start a side hustle. Then later in your career if you are burnt out from dentistry, you can fall back on your side huslte (if it's lucrative). A lot of physicians don't have that luxury.

 

[allDAT]

The good thing about dentistry is that it is a pretty stable career which allows you to take risks outside of work (such as starting a business)

If your business fails, you still have a 6 figure salary to fall back on. Plus compared to many fields in medicine, dentists have a much better work-life balance, which gives you free time to start a side hustle. Then later in your career if you are burnt out from dentistry, you can fall back on your side huslte (if it's lucrative). A lot of physicians don't have that luxury.

This is very true. Being a dentist in PP allows you to run your business in between patients. That wouldn't fly in a hospital setting where you are a W2.

 

[mmc12]

There are plenty of side hustles available and they don't have to be related to dentistry (you can own other businesses). You can:

Create a course
Help administer/support a course or conference
Write a book
Become a consultant
Serve on peer review (paid not a volunteer)
Expert witness (not really open to general dentists)
Start your own e-commerce store where you sell a good or service
Start your own service business etc. etc.
Shoot, one of my side hustles helps other dentists outsource their side hustle

The list goes on and on. It really depends on how motivated you are and how much time you want to spend working vs. doing other things you may enjoy. Many dentists are absolutely burnt out after working 35 clinical hours a week, but some are not. I'm fortunate to not be one of them, but I understand why some people have no desire to build a second business and it takes a toll on your personal and family life. At some point, enough is enough.

Let's say a dentist wants to quit dentistry all together and work in another field - say Finance. Would it be possible for a dentist to be hired in a finance industry if he/she doesn't have that academic background? I know of some college grads that were hired to work for JP Morgan that didn't have business/finance degrees. Do the skills involved with DMD/DDS translate into other fields?

 

[monkeykey]

Let's say a dentist wants to quit dentistry all together and work in another field - say Finance. Would it be possible for a dentist to be hired in a finance industry if he/she doesn't have that academic background? I know of some college grads that were hired to work for JP Morgan that didn't have business/finance degrees. Do the skills involved with DMD/DDS translate into other fields?

I currently work in a corporate finance role and I will tell you no for the most part. You would definitely not be able to get into a corporate finance role without some kind of finance/accounting degree. Corporate finance roles make up the bulk of all finance jobs in the industry. All of the sexy finance roles ( Wallstreet, investment banking, hedgefunds, private equity) are extemely competitive and to break into alot of them you would need a business degree from a target top school or an ivy to get your foot in the door. Maybe if you go to Harvard dental school you could swing it.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

All of the sexy finance roles ( Wallstreet, investment banking, hedgefunds, private equity) are extemely competitive and to break into and alot of them you would need a business degree from a target top school or an ivy to get your foot in the door. Maybe if you go to Harvard dental school you could swing it.

“Oh, so you know how to plug a hole in a tooth with amalgam. Great! Here’s a $100 million fund I want you to manage.”
- No one ever

Big Hoss

 

[mmc12]

So what is a viable career path for a dentist who decides that he never wants to practice clinical dentistry anymore? Could he go into consulting?

 

[monkeykey]

So what is a viable career path for a dentist who decides that he never wants to practice clinical dentistry anymore? Could he go into consulting?

Perhaps going into teaching.

 

[AONLINE]

Let's say a dentist wants to quit dentistry all together and work in another field - say Finance. Would it be possible for a dentist to be hired in a finance industry if he/she doesn't have that academic background? I know of some college grads that were hired to work for JP Morgan that didn't have business/finance degrees. Do the skills involved with DMD/DDS translate into other fields?

Maybe they can be hired by corporates like Aspen Dental or insurance companies. But that does not mean your average DDS will be hired, I’m pretty sure you need to bring in some unique skills for those roles.

 

[allDAT]

Let's say a dentist wants to quit dentistry all together and work in another field - say Finance. Would it be possible for a dentist to be hired in a finance industry if he/she doesn't have that academic background? I know of some college grads that were hired to work for JP Morgan that didn't have business/finance degrees. Do the skills involved with DMD/DDS translate into other fields?

You can always change careers. As far as finance goes, you could certainly get an entry-level job and try and work your way up but the drop in income would be drastic. A DDS/DMD that becomes a JD, MBA, CFP, or CPA would find this to be a more lucrative transition out of dentistry. The heart of the issue wouldn't be education, but developing the ability to "sell".

So what is a viable career path for a dentist who decides that he never wants to practice clinical dentistry anymore? Could he go into consulting?

When you say viable do you mean a total replacement of income? If that is the case, there are relatively few (if any options) for a dentist to transition into with their background and education. If you can withstand the drop in income, you may be able to work somewhere else and work your way up the corporate latter, but the skills needed there are very different than what got you into dental school. You can become a consultant, but it's not easy to build a reputation so replacing the clinical income would take time.

 

[mmc12]

You can always change careers. As far as finance goes, you could certainly get an entry-level job and try and work your way up but the drop in income would be drastic. A DDS/DMD that becomes a JD, MBA, CFP, or CPA would find this to be a more lucrative transition out of dentistry. The heart of the issue wouldn't be education, but developing the ability to "sell".



When you say viable do you mean a total replacement of income? If that is the case, there are relatively few (if any options) for a dentist to transition into with their background and education. If you can withstand the drop in income, you may be able to work somewhere else and work your way up the corporate latter, but the skills needed there are very different than what got you into dental school. You can become a consultant, but it's not easy to build a reputation so replacing the clinical income would take time.

I was wondering what you thought of this video?


Is it possible to make money JUST through real estate? (Buying properties and renting them out)

 

[ToothJockey]

I was wondering what you thought of this video?


Is it possible to make money JUST through real estate? (Buying properties and renting them out)

You can make money just through real estate, but for that you need to have capital to begin with. Most people with multimillion dollar real estate portfolios have high paying jobs which gives them the capital needed to invest in RE. Even the person in the video you linked had 600k in capital to start, and real estate investing is likely going to be their full time job (scouting, developing, flipping properties = lots of work)
In real estate, if you don't know what you're doing it's possible to lose your money too, especially if you're over leveraged.

My question to you: You seem to be really interested in finding alternative ways to make income other than dentistry. Why not just focus on maximizing your income in dentistry itself?

I'm commenting because I've thought about this myself, so I want to give you my perspective. Becoming financially independent through dentistry is pretty straightforward. Maximize your income within dentistry (own a practice, work 6 days a week if you have to), then invest 50% of your post-tax home income (in stocks/bonds and real estate typically) and eventually one day you will be financially independent. Avoid lifestyle inflation. Read White Coat Investor (think of it as a DAT Bootcamp for financial independence for doctors).

I don't really see the point in pursuing an alternative career, because it's likely a career where you don't have any valuable skills to offer and therefore won't have a great financial outlook. As a dentist you are already an individual who has a valuable set of skills which only ~200k other people possess in the entire country.
A dentist making 500k/yr drilling, filling, slamming implants, shuckin wizzies has a very different skillset than a hedge fund manager making 500k/yr managing their clients multimillion dollar portfolios. I've personally never heard of someone who could be successful in both fields.

I'm not saying side hustles are bad, but they're side hustles for a reason. Primary hustle should be the priority.

 

[allDAT]

Is it possible to make money JUST through real estate? (Buying properties and renting them out)

I didn't watch the video you linked to in full. I heard the caller has received a windfall and is curious about what to do with it.

If you're expecting a windfall, you'll want to sit down and talk to someone about a strategy to deploy the capital in a way that makes sense for your risk tolerance.

As far as your question quoted above, yes it is possible to earn a living through real estate. You could become a real estate agent or broker or an attorney with a focus on RE etc. With that said, I assume you're asking if you can earn enough money through real estate to replace your primary income as a DDS and retire early. The answer to that is yes as well but it's not necessarily easy to do (if it was easy to earn six figures via investing everyone would be rich).

Here are some books you may want to read:
Cash Flow Quadrant (Rich Dad series)
Profit First (Mike Michalowicz)
Bigger Pockets forums/books/blog
White Coat Investor
The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need (Andrew Tobias)

I don't own a rental property yet. I will eventually and have been looking lately as some opportunities will probably present themselves over the next year or two. When you run the numbers for properties I'm looking at, they usually have an estimated positive cashflow of just a few hundred dollars a month per door. If they're vacant for too long, I may be in the red for the year because the margins aren't that great. You have to get a lot of doors or you have to own the properties outright to start to see it as a viable option for replacing your earned income entirely as a DDS. Getting enough doors and/or paying the loans down requires access to capital and that access to capital is going to depend on your earned income which will require you to be practicing. So with all of the said, it's likely best to focus on increasing your earned income during your early career and then supplementing your income with cash-flowing assets (for you that may be RE) as you age. The idea that one could just acquire these cash-flowing assets without focusing on his or her earned income first is likely a pipedream unless there is an inheritance or gift in play. I'm relatively financially conservative so this isn't a "get rich quick" scheme, and I've met more dentists that have lost money in RE than I have met who made money in RE (I've met a few now that lost everything in the financial crisis because they were overleveraged).

That was a pretty long-winded answer and I may not have answered your exact question, but I think you understand what I'm getting at, and that is: it's difficult to replace the income you earn as a DDS by doing anything else. There are many options to supplement your income, but total replacement takes a long time and a lot of work.

 

[SirBrotherJam]

The ADA average for employee dentists is around 160k and that's about right. That includes people working a variety of days (1 day - 7 days) in a variety of settings. The owner comp the ADA reports is usually low because it's the owner's compensation without distributions.

Most new graduates start out between 500-650/day depending on the area for a while and then the base drops off. If the new graduate is willing to move to a rural area they may find an offer as high as 800 (maybe even $1000/day) but these opportunities are often not what they seem (difficult to uproot your entire life to move to the middle of nowhere to find out the job sucks and you hate the town and you have no social net). I've met new grads making less than 100k a year as they bounce from one bad job to the next (more common than you think), and I've met new grads making more than 200k. Part of this depends on luck, who you know, and how geographically flexible you are.

Many large corps don't actually pay a "salary", instead they pay a draw that calculates to ~120-180k/year, but if you don't produce enough dentistry, you may not be paid as much as you thought you would.

What most associates find is that unless they go the corporate route, they have to secure multiple part-time jobs to make a full-time schedule. Both part-time jobs offer a similar base for 6 months - let's say that's 550/day, and then the base expires. At one job, the associate is only producing enough to average collections of $1600/day 3 days a week and at the other job they are making enough to average $2900/day two days a week. That works out to be $480/day at the first gig and $870/day at the second. So they're making about $3180/week, 48 weeks a year (assuming 2 weeks of unpaid time off/sick leave and 14 days of forced time off due to office closure for Holidays) for a total of 152k/year with no benefits (PT everywhere and dental offices don't usually offer any benefits anyway).

Some associates find that second job where they're producing 2900/day right out of the gate. Some associates find a place where they can produce 5k/day right away, and some bounce from one $1500/day gig to another for YEARS until they finally say F it, and buy their own job (a practice).

Nice post! All I would say is that when looking at "averages" it's usually skewed in favor of those that make more as they are typically the ones voluntarily reporting. But what you have said here really nails it on the head.

 

[cloth_alert00]

Hi Y'all!

This is a question that everyone loves to bend and twist and answer in very non straight forward ways. Bluntly speaking, realistically if I did a one year GPR/AEGD and went into practice what could I expect on AVERAGE my first year starting salary to be. Reiterating the the word "average" I'm not looking for someone to tell me it differs between city and rural (both extremes), I'm asking in an average suburban area in an average office what will a realistic starting salary offer be?

Thank You!!

If you want to work in a desirable area, most jobs as a fresh grad will require you to prove your worth, start you on a low $550-600 day guarantee, and allow you to negotiate production or collections after 90 days. If you network a lot and work in a high production office, 200k starting is possible, and a few of my friends from dental school started at around 200k in rural areas. If you do a good AEGD/GPR you will be much better clinically than a normal new grad, and will be able to produce more, and make more...usually
Don't accept lowball offers. I think anything under $500 is ridiculous and embarrassing with the cost of tuition, but it's the new norm for many grads. I would not take such a low offer unless there is a tremendous opportunity to grow alongside a very experienced dentist in a SUCCESSFUL practice. Even if the owner dentist doesn't mentor you much, just being in a successful, efficient, and profitable practice will teach you valuable skills. There is nothing wrong with holding out for a few weeks or even months just searching for a better opportunity. Be prepared to grind and step out of your comfort zone at any job you take. As a fresh grad you will have to really prove yourself. In my experience as a new grad, I see that no one really takes you serious from the jump unless you have around 5 years experience.

 

[queenofortho16]

If you want to work in a desirable area, most jobs as a fresh grad will require you to prove your worth, start you on a low $550-600 day guarantee, and allow you to negotiate production or collections after 90 days. If you network a lot and work in a high production office, 200k starting is possible, and a few of my friends from dental school started at around 200k in rural areas. If you do a good AEGD/GPR you will be much better clinically than a normal new grad, and will be able to produce more, and make more...usually
Don't accept lowball offers. I think anything under $500 is ridiculous and embarrassing with the cost of tuition, but it's the new norm for many grads. I would not take such a low offer unless there is a tremendous opportunity to grow alongside a very experienced dentist in a SUCCESSFUL practice. Even if the owner dentist doesn't mentor you much, just being in a successful, efficient, and profitable practice will teach you valuable skills. There is nothing wrong with holding out for a few weeks or even months just searching for a better opportunity. Be prepared to grind and step out of your comfort zone at any job you take. As a fresh grad you will have to really prove yourself. In my experience as a new grad, I see that no one really takes you serious from the jump unless you have around 5 years experience.

Such a beautiful, direct answer. This is all I was looking for. Thank you lol

 

[SoftGel]

I wonder if Covid-19 is going to convince a bunch of retirement age dentists to retire sooner than they would otherwise. Buyer's market for practices? Silver lining?

 

[fresnel]

For someone entering the field these posts are fascinating about what it says about the profession. It is the field that is causing this grief.

 

[Quinque]

Does anyone know the starting salary in Florida? I live/go school in TX, but would like to practice in FL if the pay is not too much lower (a lot of family there). But when I interviewed in FL couple years ago, a school presenter there told us starting salary there was 98k avg. Is this salary for Florida correct?

 

[Traag]

Does anyone know the starting salary in Florida? I live/go school in TX, but would like to practice in FL if the pay is not too much lower (a lot of family there). But when I interviewed in FL couple years ago, a school presenter there told us starting salary there was 98k. Is this salary for Florida correct?

Was there more context? Maybe I could see it if it was the first calendar year of graduation, which would be ~7 months of working instead of 12. If that's what people are actually taking for full-time work in Florida, that's very sad.

 

[Quinque]

Was there more context? Maybe I could see it if it was the first calendar year of graduation, which would be ~7 months of working instead of 12. If that's what people are actually taking for full-time work in Florida, that's very sad.

No, the school's presenter was just talking about being frugal with debt/loans and then asked the group "Does anyone know how much you will be making when done with school?" and then she said "our graduates around here make around 98k starting, so if you drinking Starbucks every morning you can imagine how many years it will take to pay off"

 

[LegendaryPanda]

No, the school's presenter was just talking about being frugal with debt/loans and then asked the group "Does anyone know how much you will be making when done with school?" and then she said "our graduates around here make around 98k starting, so if you drinking Starbucks every morning you can imagine how many years it will take to pay off"

Does that include the students that do a GPR?? 98k is a disgrace.