Reality Posted by Silent Cool in the Dental Forum:
So I just emailed a dentist on dentaltown. These were my questions and the response I got:
Question:
"In the thread, you posted what Midwestern U. said were the income averages for GP and Specialist, but you said each was BS. Would you comment a little on that? Also, do you think it would be reasonable to attend a school like BU or NYU, where the graduating loan balance would be $550K+? Also, what is a reasonable income for a GP who owns the practice?"
Response:
The statistics that Midwestern University were from around 2006 if I remember correctly. Incomes have dropped 15% at least since then due to the recession. Were those statistics correct in the first place? That is questionable. Those incomes would be for a doctor that owned his own practice. These days fewer and fewer docs are looking to own thier practice due to the time committment and stress. That is fine but your income will always be lower if you are not the owner. I don't know if those stats also considered associates and doctors that practiced part time. Most docs I know that are making 250k or more are in their late 40s and 50s. It takes awhile to build a practice that allows that amount of income. What I don't like is that schools make it sound like those stats are a starting salary. Not even close.
When I got out in 2006, the average for a GP associate was 80-100k. Since then, it has dropped. Probably closer to 80k now due to the recession. It will get better but many associates can only find part time work. Now imagine having 550k in loans and making 80-100k a year. That is absurdity. You have to remember, to get to that 200k plus level it may take 10 years or more. You have to be an owner to make that kind of money. In order to be an owner, you need to buy or start a practice. That's MORE debt.
I think the turning point of student debt versus dentistry is probably about 250k in student loan debt. My partner and I talk about this all the time and agree that if you have more than this in student loan debt, it's not worth it. That's another mortgage you're paying. 550K in student loans? No way. Don't even consider it. You end up with a hire net worth being a plumber, trust me.
Another thing about dental specialties... they don't make as much as you may think. When the economy goes through it's cycles of recession, specialties get hit the hardest. Plus, competition among specialists is very competititive. For several years, students thought that going into a specialty was a sure thing to a higher income, thus more applicants lead to a glut of specialists out there... I have 4-5 endodontists within a mile of me. There really is only a need for 1 or 2.
In a nutshell, there is no sure thing anymore in dentistry. Be careful what you read on DT as people like to brag about how much they make to make themselves appear successful. For each guy that brags that he's making over 300k a year (if you can believe him), there's 100 docs not posting that make 120k. This is a pretty good gig if you can keep your student loan debt low. If not, consider another profession until the student loan bubble bursts.
To answer your last question, for a GP that owns his own practice and all loans are paid off, a reasonable take home would be 150-250k. The caveat is that this doctor is usually in his late 40s, early 50s and his practice has been paid for and has been growing for 10 plus years. This is where you make the most and your income usually plateaus (top of the bell curve). For a new practice owner, a reasonable take home is 0k-150k.
Hope this helps.
