Life changing plans :)

[Pirate Ninja]

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Hey guys and gals,

I'm brand spanking new to these forums, but I am hoping to gain a bit of perspective from all you gurus out there!

Life story - very much skip-able
I'm 25 years old and have a BA in Ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Colorado. I went that route because I was Valedictorian in high school and everyone told me to go be a doctor (small town lol). Looking back this was obviously not the appropriate way to give my life direction. I should have ventured out and shadowed a bunch of differing professions! SO... My freshman year was less than ideal - receiving some Cs in 5 credit classes. Apathy - not course difficulty was the causation of this decline. Really, for the most part I didn't take college very seriously and wound up with a 3.33 gpa. I have always viewed undergrad as a bit of a waste - too me a program that gives you actual trade skills is much more appealing. After college I have been doing inspection work in the oil and gas industry. I made about 150k last year working probably 8 months. But the work is long hours (95 avg) and I have to travel all over the country living out of hotels for months at a time... Money at the expense of lifestyle is not a trade off I am willing to continue to make. Which brings us to Dentistry! An idea that I had never really considered until recently.

TLDR

I am drawn to Dentistry because of the rewarding atmosphere, the autonomy, and the lifestyle associated with the profession (regular hours and location.) Here is my plan!

(START)
Currently 25 years old. 75k in the bank, 25k in debts = 50k or so in the green.

1. Pay off all debts and shadow a dentist for a short time - making absolutely certain this is what I want to do.
2. Take a 6 - 9 months to travel the world while I'm young and have the money.
3. Work on a novel and study while traveling.
4. Come home take O-chem and Bio chem pre reqs while volunteering w/ a Dentist. (I have all other pre-reqs taken care of.)
5. Take DAT - get into a school w/ 3.33 gpa
6. Grad dental school at circa 31 years old and start my practice.

What do you guys think? Is there anything I could do to accomplish these goals more efficiently - apart from not travelling which I consider to be an important perspective enhancing opportunity ;D

 

[88845]

Sounds like a great plan. There is no better time in life for you than now to travel so I say do it.

 

[LoupeFiasco]

That is a neat plan no doubt about it. I would like to travel and relax a bit before school starts, but it's just not in my budget unfortunately and I also don't want to be in school past 27. One thing I would try to remain aware of is the fact that some prereqs/credits may expire after X amount of years, depending on the school. I would look into that at your top choices and make sure that you'll be okay by picking the right schools so as to avoid having to retake a bunch of credits as well.

 

[NDPitch]

My advice is to skip the traveling, and throw the 50 G's towards school. That's 50 grand less that you don't have to finance, and subsequently thousands of dollars saved in interest payments. Financing school ain't cheap! I'd do the traveling when you're a dentist that's not struggling so bad with steeper loan payments. 👍

 

[theilleztpaki]

My advice is to skip the traveling, and throw the 50 G's towards school. That's 50 grand less that you don't have to finance, and subsequently thousands of dollars saved in interest payments. Financing school ain't cheap! I'd do the traveling when you're a dentist that's not struggling so bad with steeper loan payments. 👍

👍👍👍👍👍

 

[LaughingGas]

My advice is to skip the traveling, and throw the 50 G's towards school. That's 50 grand less that you don't have to finance, and subsequently thousands of dollars saved in interest payments. Financing school ain't cheap! I'd do the traveling when you're a dentist that's not struggling so bad with steeper loan payments. 👍

👍👍👍


In fact, I would save some more money then travel if needed. I'm still predental but looking at information about loans and school debt, they are not a joke..

 

[bing12]

time now might be more valuable than the money you save for the future. I dont think you should spend the entire 50K on traveling, but spending a few thousand wouldn't be too bad.

 

[Jbrowndds]

From my understanding, you may want to save your money for school. Dental school is long enough why wait? Just finish while your young. Find out what courses you need to take extra and get it out of the way. In the end, its really up to you. My advice is to start back while your mind is still fresh. Travel during breaks😉

 

[tooth knockn]

Hey guys and gals,

I'm brand spanking new to these forums, but I am hoping to gain a bit of perspective from all you gurus out there!

Life story - very much skip-able
I'm 25 years old and have a BA in Ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Colorado. I went that route because I was Valedictorian in high school and everyone told me to go be a doctor (small town lol). Looking back this was obviously not the appropriate way to give my life direction. I should have ventured out and shadowed a bunch of differing professions! SO... My freshman year was less than ideal - receiving some Cs in 5 credit classes. Apathy - not course difficulty was the causation of this decline. Really, for the most part I didn't take college very seriously and wound up with a 3.33 gpa. I have always viewed undergrad as a bit of a waste - too me a program that gives you actual trade skills is much more appealing. After college I have been doing inspection work in the oil and gas industry. I made about 150k last year working probably 8 months. But the work is long hours (95 avg) and I have to travel all over the country living out of hotels for months at a time... Money at the expense of lifestyle is not a trade off I am willing to continue to make. Which brings us to Dentistry! An idea that I had never really considered until recently.

TLDR

I am drawn to Dentistry because of the rewarding atmosphere, the autonomy, and the lifestyle associated with the profession (regular hours and location.) Here is my plan!

(START)
Currently 25 years old. 75k in the bank, 25k in debts = 50k or so in the green.

1. Pay off all debts and shadow a dentist for a short time - making absolutely certain this is what I want to do.
2. Take a 6 - 9 months to travel the world while I'm young and have the money.
3. Work on a novel and study while traveling.
4. Come home take O-chem and Bio chem pre reqs while volunteering w/ a Dentist. (I have all other pre-reqs taken care of.)
5. Take DAT - get into a school w/ 3.33 gpa
6. Grad dental school at circa 31 years old and start my practice.

What do you guys think? Is there anything I could do to accomplish these goals more efficiently - apart from not travelling which I consider to be an important perspective enhancing opportunity ;D

i think that you are still not sure of becoming a dentist nor ready for the school IMO .

I understand you are young and want to travel but

to efficiently become a dentist you should want to start now.



if you do not like your current job
I say shadow a dentist for 6 to 9 months part time for a while and pay off your debt during that time so that if you decide that dentistry is for you then you will be over qualified for any student loans needed if you were to be doing independently.

 

[Dentalkid434]

Hey guys and gals,

I'm brand spanking new to these forums, but I am hoping to gain a bit of perspective from all you gurus out there!

Life story - very much skip-able
I'm 25 years old and have a BA in Ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Colorado. I went that route because I was Valedictorian in high school and everyone told me to go be a doctor (small town lol). Looking back this was obviously not the appropriate way to give my life direction. I should have ventured out and shadowed a bunch of differing professions! SO... My freshman year was less than ideal - receiving some Cs in 5 credit classes. Apathy - not course difficulty was the causation of this decline. Really, for the most part I didn't take college very seriously and wound up with a 3.33 gpa. I have always viewed undergrad as a bit of a waste - too me a program that gives you actual trade skills is much more appealing. After college I have been doing inspection work in the oil and gas industry. I made about 150k last year working probably 8 months. But the work is long hours (95 avg) and I have to travel all over the country living out of hotels for months at a time... Money at the expense of lifestyle is not a trade off I am willing to continue to make. Which brings us to Dentistry! An idea that I had never really considered until recently.

TLDR

I am drawn to Dentistry because of the rewarding atmosphere, the autonomy, and the lifestyle associated with the profession (regular hours and location.) Here is my plan!

(START)
Currently 25 years old. 75k in the bank, 25k in debts = 50k or so in the green.

1. Pay off all debts and shadow a dentist for a short time - making absolutely certain this is what I want to do.
2. Take a 6 - 9 months to travel the world while I'm young and have the money.
3. Work on a novel and study while traveling.
4. Come home take O-chem and Bio chem pre reqs while volunteering w/ a Dentist. (I have all other pre-reqs taken care of.)
5. Take DAT - get into a school w/ 3.33 gpa
6. Grad dental school at circa 31 years old and start my practice.

What do you guys think? Is there anything I could do to accomplish these goals more efficiently - apart from not travelling which I consider to be an important perspective enhancing opportunity ;D

Seems like a respectable plan.

Now go implement it - actions speak more than words.

 

[shootingstar7]

I would save the traveling for after Ochem, the DAT, and your admissions cycle. It would be a great way to end one phase of your life and begin the next. Not to mention something to look forward to while you slave over your DAT books all day. GL to you!
:beer:

 

[predent12]

I would save the traveling for after Ochem, the DAT, and your admissions cycle. It would be a great way to end one phase of your life and begin the next. Not to mention something to look forward to while you slave over your DAT books all day. GL to you!
:beer:

+1

Get the hard stuff over with first- you have the rest of your life to travel!