Salary Threads! GRR!

[trypmo]

No offense to anyone, but to me it seems that every other question asked here nowadays has to do with dentists' earnings prospects, so I thought I'd do a poll (novel idea, I know) to see whether it's the top issue for most people considering dentistry as a career.

EDIT: I've decided that "lifestyle," although it does include more than just earnings, will be included in the semantic field for the poll.

EDIT #2: And just so ppl don't get me wrong, this is NOT to imply that people who vote whichever way are any less/better than those in the other group or would make better/worse dentists than voters in the other group. I'm genuinely curious as to whether, deep down, people would say that this is their main reason.

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[ibo man]

ummm.... BEWARE!!!!! (i guess)

for those of you going into this field for the money alone-- please note that dentistry also has the HIGHEST rate of suicide. No wonder there's always a demand!!

Don't come here spreading rumour. If you don't have your stats straight, don't talk what you don't know.

 

[ItsGavinC]

ummm.... BEWARE!!!!! (i guess)

for those of you going into this field for the money alone-- please note that dentistry also has the HIGHEST rate of suicide.

I'd love to see your personal research that backs up your commments. Until then, tah-tah.

 

[DrTacoElf]

ummm.... BEWARE!!!!! (i guess)

for those of you going into this field for the money alone-- please note that dentistry also has the HIGHEST rate of suicide. No wonder there's always a demand!!

Year one year in the 60s it did -- no longer my friend.

 

[JavadiCavity]

Everyone that said NO is lying.

 

[DrTacoElf]

Everyone that said NO is lying.

Not exactly. Sure salary is an attractive part of dentistry, but going into it for that reason alone is surely not my case. I'm really excited about this profession because i genuinely believe it is a superior match for my skillsets and interests. It will keep me involved in fun projects throughout the years -- money will come in i'm sure but money alone is not what is fueling me to pursue this career thats what is so sweet about it .

 

[msf41]

Anyone who is NOT wondering about the money behind dentistry would be crazy For me it is an important part of a cost/benefit analysis of a career in dentistry. Sure there are tons of benefits, but there are a lot of sacrafices. For example:
1) In undergraduate, think of the many times that your buddies were going out on the town and they wanted you to go to, but you had to say "no" because you had to study for an organic chemistry test. They argue with you saying, "come on, you study ALL the time, surely you can blow it off just this once. but you know that getting behind in O-chem is not a good idea. so you stay home.
2) Aside from the sacrafices of studying, the coursework needed to get into dental school is tremendous: physics, anatomy, chemistry, o-chem, biology. This is a sacrafice.
3) Consider the sacrafice of 4 years of dental school
4) consider the sacrafice of $100,000-$200,000 of debt for tuition

So with all of these sacrafices I have to ask myself "is dentistry really worth all that sacrafice. One other major concern is #4 (100,000-$200,000 in debt). I MUST be able to make enough $$$$$$ after I am all done with dental school to pay that off, and pay it off before I'm 100 years old. What if dentists weren't getting paid enough and they were burdened by excessive student loans that were stressing them out all the times. This is an important factor for me and my wife.

So yeah, I think the money is an important consideration. Is it my ONLY consideration? No.

 

[Rezdawg]

I said "yes".

Its not so much for the money though, but more for the flexibility. I want a job that will allow me to do everything I have wanted to do professionally. At the same time, I want a job that will allow me to fulfill my personal goals outside of the workforce as well. Dentistry is perfect for that. I can do the work I want to do and will still be able to accomplish the things in my personal life that I have set out to achieve.

 

[Mo007]

Show me the money.... , and that mouth!

So... it's a "yes" and "no" situation.

Doh!

 

[sidewalkman]

I said "no." 33-32 in favor of money/lifestyle, wow. Didn't think it'd be this close to date.

First, let's not forget that money and lifestyle are seperate issues - look at neurosurgery.

Even with that in mind, the factor that is most attractive to me (after inherant interest of course) is unfire-ability. When was the last time that you heard a dentist get fired for doing a good job? It doesn't happen!!! Sounds like a winner to me. All of a sudden, dentistry vaults over law, business, and, yes, even medicine in this regard. Unfireability is followed closely by unexportability. You job can't be shipped overseas. Money is third (who doesn't like money?), and lifestyle is fourth (reasonable call isn't so bad).

Those who do not list the near-zero chance of being fired as a motivating factor have never been fired!! Those on this forum who have been canned before should definately side with me on this one.

 

[ItsGavinC]

After a couple of week of doing crown preps in lab, and just starting anterior preps (veneers), I can say that I've never been as happy in dental school as I am now.

It has NOTHING to do with money and has EVERYTHING to do with the fact that I'm now beginning to realize what a true artist I can be and how much happiness I can bring to somebody.

 

[JavadiCavity]

Everyone that said NO is lying.

Joking . . .

 

[Dr.SpongeBobDDS]

After a couple of week of doing crown preps in lab, and just starting anterior preps (veneers), I can say that I've never been as happy in dental school as I am now.

It has NOTHING to do with money and has EVERYTHING to do with the fact that I'm now beginning to realize what a true artist I can be and how much happiness I can bring to somebody.

As sappy as that is, Gavin, I have to respect your approach to your career. If that were the personal statement on your admissions application I'd throw it in the trash and call BS, but I think you might really mean it.

I voted for no because neither were the MAJOR factor in my decision. In fact, I don't understand anyone who can base the rest of his life on potential income and vacation time. I just don't get it. Of course money and lifestyle entered into the equation for me; if I said otherwise I'd be lying. Right off the top of my head I can think of half a dozen jobs that I would love to do, but won't because of poor pay or poor hours. But first and foremost for me was job satisfaction.

Like most of my fellow SDNers, I was lucky enough to have the intelligence and resources to be able to choose from practically any career I wanted - astronaut excluded. I wasn't about to squander that opportunity and do something that would make me miserable 40hrs/week... every week... for the rest of my life. Dentistry is a seriously cool job - it's a great fit for my personality and interests. The fact that it pays great just sealed the deal.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Just to clarify, a great deal of it still is about the money/lifestyle. But, the enjoyment I have now of waking up every morning and going to school stems directly from the fact that I am able to create a piece of art each and every day (or at least I'm practicing that!) and that I can make some sweet looking stuff!

My thought process will probably change a zillion times before I graduate, but right now, the artistic/esthetic focus is what motivates me and makes me shine.

 

[busupshot83]

the artistic/esthetic focus is what motivates me and makes me shine.

THat's what attracted me to dentistry in the first place too.

 

[ItsGavinC]

THat's what attracted me to dentistry in the first place too.

VERY cool. I honestly didn't fully grasp that until the past couple of weeks, and now I'm so excited about it! Getting ~20 new burs this past week probably helped as well.

 

[tabbycattia]

Everyone that said NO is lying.

but I like the fact of job security *I really can tell someone to scr*w off and find a different job elsewhere*, the fact that I can go anywhere and have a job, and the fact that it's a medical profession job where you don't have to worry about malpractice (not in what I want to go into), or blood (for the most part), I enjoy that element of it

 

[Zurik5]

VERY cool. I honestly didn't fully grasp that until the past couple of weeks, and now I'm so excited about it! Getting ~20 new burs this past week probably helped as well.

You're such a nerd.....