How long until payoff?

[VladiAVB]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

If you were to graduate dental school with approximately 300k in loan debt, how long would it take you to pay it off? Just ballpark

 

[TanMan]

If you were to graduate dental school with approximately 300k in loan debt, how long would it take you to pay it off? Just ballpark

Depends on your circumstances... i.e mediocre associateship, good associateship, mediocre ownership, good/productive office ownership, lifestyle costs, other variable/fixed expenses in your daily life, etc. If you're doing 30k/month in income as an associate, subtract half for taxes + misc other deductions (worst case scenario), leaves you with about 18k (40% deduction), maybe 5k/month on COL, left with 13k, it all depends on how you split the remainder towards loan service and discretionary income. If you were able to fully utilize 60% of your gross wages @30k/month and direct all that towards loan servicing, you also have to factor in how much of that goes towards interest. 18k*12 = 216k/year, assuming you live with parents and mooch off everyone. Probably can pay it off in 1-2 years as an associate.

I wouldn't advise it though. Put your money towards owning an office and the payoff will be even faster.

 

[VladiAVB]

Depends on your circumstances... i.e mediocre associateship, good associateship, mediocre ownership, good/productive office ownership, lifestyle costs, other variable/fixed expenses in your daily life, etc. If you're doing 30k/month in income as an associate, subtract half for taxes + misc other deductions (worst case scenario), leaves you with about 18k (40% deduction), maybe 5k/month on COL, left with 13k, it all depends on how you split the remainder towards loan service and discretionary income. If you were able to fully utilize 60% of your gross wages @30k/month and direct all that towards loan servicing, you also have to factor in how much of that goes towards interest. 18k*12 = 216k/year, assuming you live with parents and mooch off everyone. Probably can pay it off in 1-2 years as an associate.

I wouldn't advise it though. Put your money towards owning an office and the payoff will be even faster.

Would associates ever make 30k a month? Is that a realistic figure to expect?

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

Is that a realistic figure to expect?

No.

Big Hoss

 

[TanMan]

Would associates ever make 30k a month? Is that a realistic figure to expect?

If your income comes primarily from base pay, no. If it's from a productive office that pays on production/collections, then it's realistic depending on the location/patient flow.

 

[aggie-master]

30k a month as an associate is not realistic at all. It is possible but very unlikely.

There is a reason that any site you look up has the average salary for employee dentists in the 175k range. You can make a lot more than that owning a successful practice but there are also a lot of less than successful practices out there when you are looking to buy and those are the ones you often see listed for sale.

 

[cmsmith85]

If you luck out and find a great spot and work hard, then 30k a month is possible, although not likely nor the norm. But 300k in loans isn't unsurmountable and is sadly on the lower end for loans these days. Find the right spot and work hard and live below your means and you can pay that off between 3-5 years.

 

[HKSZYU]

If your income comes primarily from base pay, no. If it's from a productive office that pays on production/collections, then it's realistic depending on the location/patient flow.

The vast majority of new associate dentists are not going to have the patient-base or speed to take home $30k/month, even if paid as a percentage of production. There are exceptions, but they are outliers.

OP, if you are realistically trying to gauge your loan repayment based on averages and not outliers, new associates will bring in about ~$140-180k pre-tax. Loan repayment speed will depend on how frugally you're willing to live.

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

~$140-180k pre-tax.

OP, never forget the part I highlighted.

Big Hoss

 

[TanMan]

Maybe times have changed for associateships and I'm living in the past. I remember in the good old days of the associateships that it was easy to take home 20-25k/month and sleep a good chunk + making waffles/grilling steaks in the ortho bay when we're totally bored/hungry + free lunch everyday.