Leaving computer science for dentistry?

[saul445]

Hey everyone!

Currently a freshman at UCSD, majoring in computer science. I've always struggled when people asked me what I wanted to do with my life. Medicine, finance, computer science all interest me. Never had any die-hard passion, but I've been always been open to the many possibilities. Ngl, one of my main motivations is money as I love investing and would like to get more capital to grow my portfolio.

Lately, I've been kinda bogged down when thinking about the pathway for cs. Those top jobs are only for the best programmers out here and tbh, I'd much rather work in management than do programming all my life (it's fun, but I get frustrated dealing with bugs). Not only that, you have to constantly learn new frameworks to stay in touch with new tech and have to live in a high cost of living location.

I looked at dentistry and it seems like a fantastic option. You actually benefit from moving to a low cost of living environment, have the ability to be entrepreneurial, and have the potential to make more than you would in software. I see that the cost of dental school is pretty outrageous, but I could possibly avoid that with the HPSP scholarship if I can keep up my grades and do some work with the military bases nearby.

What do you guys think about this? It seems like dentistry is a great path, but I'd like to get an opinion from actual dentists and pre-dent students. I told my friends this and they said I would be incredibly stupid to pass up on a cs degree and tech job in today's economy.

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[dent_wannabe]

You can still do a CS undergrad and then go to dental school afterwards if you are still interested at that point.

 

[jollytoaster304]

Keep the CS as an ug major. When you get to webdev in your studies, use that to help pay for school by developing websites for people on the side. Im not a CS major, but I taught myself website coding and server admin and its been very helpful. CS is an amazing backup plan if dental school doesn't work out for some reason. You go this!

 

[ucd2018]

My dad was going to go to dental school, then he and my mom had me, lol. He is now a software engineer and next year I will start in dental school. He had essentially no loans in school which is still feasible for CS today. I have essentially no loans from grad but get to take out about 300K for dental school. My dad does well but hates his job so much, constant meetings, work for those with lesser education then you, huge layoffs constantly following buyouts, etc. Oh, and outsourcing is a big one. Both fields have their pros and cons. I still think that CS is the best career you can get with a 4 year degree, financially speaking at least. I say stick with it and shadow dentists, reach out to engineers, try to gauge who is happier and what you see your personal goals and life aligning with and make a decision.

 

[Faefly]

I have regretted not majoring in CS instead of Stats/Math as they kinda have a similar path at the beginning, but different outcomes later on.

CS opens tons of possibilities and a way out if you ever doubt dentistry or anything.

But hey, if you suck at programming, by all means, choose something else or else you will mess up your GPA real bad.

Programming is not for everyone!

 

[zToothinator]

Wow we sound very similar. If you ever need someone to talk about investing with, feel free to PM me! Are you a Boglehead?

I recently graduated with a degree in CS and biology. I've enjoyed programming and often gone back and forth debating between working as a programmer or going into dentistry. I eventually decided to get my degree in CS so that in case I can't into dental school or stuff happens in the future and I can't work as a dentist, I at least have a degree I can use to get a good job that pays well.

I decided to pursue dentistry over programming because:

1. Get to work with and interact with people. For the past couple years, I've worked remotely (telecommute) on the side as a web developer and most of my time is spent working by myself behind a desk. For a long term career, I don't want to be working 40hrs a week behind a desk. In dentistry, I get to talk to patients and work with hygienists and assistants.
2. Job security. Right now, the economy is great and it seems that tech jobs are everywhere. However, I'd say that computer science has a relatively low barrier to entry. There are lots of coding bootcamps that train you in a couple months to get a job and programming can be outsourced since everything is on the internet. If the economy takes a downturn, outsourcing is a great way to reduce costs or hiring new people with lower salaries vs someone who has worked at the same company long-term. My dad works in IT and experienced this first-hand back in 2010. In dentistry, yes the overall economy still affects your job, but I think it's to a lesser extent. Plus, people still need dental care regardless and if they're in pain, they'll find a way to make it go away. If you find work as an associate, as long as you can produce to earn your keep, you're less susceptible to economic downturns. If you own your own practice, then you get to manage the finances and can hopefully set aside enough money during growth periods to keep yourself and your office afloat during down times. Dentistry also has a much higher barrier to entry.
3. Lifestyle. In computer science, telecommuting (working remotely) has its benefits and disadvantages. It's nice not being required to drive into work each morning, but then you can literally never escape work unless you shut down your computer and physically leave your "office". However, from my experience, you're essentially almost always on-call because if an issue arises, you have the capability to work anywhere so you can resolve it anywhere, anytime. Without good family/work boundaries, work can take up your life. Also, depending on what you end up doing in IT, one of my friends works in QA and has 60+ hour weeks in the office. In dentistry, most dentists that I've shadowed work about 4 days a week. Whether that'll still be the norm in 10 years, I don't know. But the nice part is is that once you leave work, you can't practice dentistry until you're back in your office the next day. Meaning, you usually can't work on patients unless you have all of your equipment, which leads to an easier family/work balance once you're able to leave from the office.

Financially, you can look into the HPSP scholarship (it's a great opportunity). Alternatively, you still have at least 3 years before you'd start dental school. If you can pick up some web dev skills, you can make some decent side money throughout undergrad or even as an intern over the summers. You can use the money to pay for your undergrad loans (if you have any) or set it aside for dental school. While you likely won't save up enough to cover everything, you can get a good chunk set aside. Every dollar counts. Especially when interest kicks in on day one and starts compounding. Compounding works great when investments work for you. But sucks when it's working against you. I'd probably max out your Roth IRA each year and pick conservative investments. Then once dental school starts, you can pull out your contributions tax and penalty free. If you decide not to pursue dentistry, then switch your Roth over to a more aggressive allocation. I'm not a financial planner or anything, but this is just what I've picked up over the past couple years.


Overall, CS is a good field for someone with only a 4-year degree. If you like it and can do it, then go for it! It makes for an interesting talking point during dental school interviews. Just make sure you can answer why you're pursuing dentistry instead of a job in IT. Financially, if you can get into an in-state school or a school that allows you to switch from OOS to IS after a year (UConn, UNC, Ohio, and more) I think dentistry will be more rewarding in the long run.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[FanOfCostco]

If your main motivation is money, then you should be in finance. getting scholarships is easier said than done. If you end up not getting a scholarship, then what? Are you still going to pursue dentistry if you're looking at 400k in debt?

 

[321931]

What's ironic is the if there is one regret in my life- its NOT pursuing computer science. All the tech majors that I went to school with back in 2006-2010 are light years ahead in net worth due to stock options, and working for the major tech companies like FB/Google and the likes. Dentistry is a solid gig, but the debt from buying a practice and student loans will set you back decades. If money isn't your main goal in life and "working to live" is your main pursuit then dentistry is good. 3 day weekends for the rest of your life, never on call for real emergencies, be your own boss, and 5 weeks vacation is a pretty good "working to live" outlook.

But you won't get rich off it. You will be comfortable and that's about it. Dentistry is a great work to live job thats about it. But as stated, I have quite a few tech friends who are literally decades ahead in net worth due to the major tech companies pay, less debt, no lost opportunity cost (start working at 22), compounded savings (stock market), and stock options (where the big money is.)

With that all being said. Dentistry with LOW debt....is working to live. Dentistry with HIGH debt...is living to work. Make sense? I love my job, but I graduated with 200k of debt in 2014 which is much less then the average student.

 

[2TH MVR]

Whatever you do .... choose a profession you can be happy working at for the rest of your life. Don't choose dentistry because you think it will help you build wealth sooner. Dentists make an above average living, but nothing spectacular. Oh sure .... there are always those outliers. Essentially you don't go into dentistry to make lots of money. You do it because you want to go into healthcare and prefer the relative autonomy of what practicing dentistry offers. Now of course ..... the practice of dentistry is changing somewhat, but there are still pockets in the rural, semi rural areas where a person can practice dentistry without all the bs.

If the entry costs (dental school, practice debt) is too high .... then dentistry is not for you. Too many people are trying to BUY themselves a job.

But like others have said .... keep the CS degree as a back up.

 

[Cthuluhoop]

I see that the cost of dental school is pretty outrageous, but I could possibly avoid that with the HPSP scholarship if I can keep up my grades and do some work with the military bases nearby.

By the time you apply for dental school, the HPSP scholarship will be even more competitive and have fewer spots. Don't count on going to dental school on a full ride through HPSP, and don't base your career plans on that, plan on paying for it in full and hoping to get the scholarship.
If we're speaking strictly financially, if you get into a dental school and it costs more than $400k for all 4 years, I don't see your dentist self out-earning your CS self unless you go all out on a high earning practice once you get your hand speed and competence up and move where you are absolutely needed and you work hard and also get lucky. If you made it as dentist and get your debt paid off, you would probably outpace your CS self, but it will be many years down the line.
Now if you did make it and own a practice, then you will be a lot more secure in your job than your CS self, but of course being a practice owning dentist isn't a walk in the park, it's a pretty stressful job. So there are pros and cons to both positions, especially with the changes that are happening in dentistry

I would do the CS undergrad and take the pre-reqs for dental school if you think you are interested in being a dentist, because you will at least have two solid career choices at your fingertips

 

[Hoang Nguyen]

I got my bachelor in Math/CS and applying this cycle. I talked to an assistant dean from a dental school and found out she got her bachelor in CS as well. She told me that degree helped her a lot in dental school as well as private practices and now in academics CS degree will help you stand out tho Just study whatever you like and take Bio/Chem classes for dental schools

 

[TheDentalSchoolCoach]

I think Computer Science is pretty cool. If I had to go back to do it over in college, I'd do computer science and apply to dental school. If you can combine the two, you can make a lot of cool things happen.

That said, I am really impressed in thinking about long term investing etc. Keep that up.