the

[PieceOfGum1]

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[deleted942432]

My crystal ball say ask again in 6 years.

 

[Cold Front]

Why would you plan to practice in NoVA area? There is a glut of dentists there, not to mention one of the worst traffic congestion and high cost of living (most expensive counties in the nation). I would suggest you look into practicing somewhere else, or at least commute an hour for work while still living in NoVa.

 

[BoolaHI]

It depends what type of doctor you are talking about....pediatricians and pathology, say around the low 200s. Most of the the doctors I know (including the ones in my own family) make in the 400-600+ range, oncology, cardiologist, intensivist, and work directly for a hospital, i.e. set schedules and mostly shift work.

 

[coolss]

Medicine is going to be far better than dentistry in every part of world..dentistry is very good too but being a cardic surgeon or general surgeon or a oncologist will always be better than oral n maxillofacial surgeon...exceptions will always be there in all feilds but dentistry has lot of overhead expances plus lot more of investement to start with a dental clinic n other running stuff.almost 40% of income goes in overheads.So choose wisely but most important follow ur heart..n decide accordingly.

 

[artist2022]

Many, many threads that might help too:

Reality is in the Numbers!

If any dental student or pre-dent is wondering about the road ahead based on Today’s Numbers (not in 5+ years): Average Dental School Debt: $400k (not including specialization) Dentistry is the #1 Job in America for Debt - Student Loan Planner Average General Dentist Annual Income: $200k ADA...

forums.studentdoctor.net

2 in 3 Dentists Under Age 35 Now Work For A Dental Corporation.

Just came across these (not so surprising) numbers recently. DSOs/Corporate Dentistry is moving at a lightning speed while fewer and fewer dentists are owning their own solo practice every year. The ADA acknowledged this, dental schools acknowledge it, almost all dentists unanimously...

forums.studentdoctor.net

Current Dentists: Is this career still worth pursuing for the money?

Hello SDN, I have recently posted this on Reddit and wanted to get opinions from people in this forum to get a variety of perspectives/views. I know that other people may have already asked this question in years past, but I would like to get some updated thoughts from current dentists/new...

forums.studentdoctor.net

The DEBT... The Reality of Being a DENTIST!

So almost every pre-dent is so stressed about DAT scores, interviews and getting into a program. ..... Where is all this hard work leading to financially? ..... Majority of general dentists with EXPERIENCE make $200-300k pre-tax. Which is about $12-15k/month post-tax. Do you know how much...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[zedrexvsyrex]

I have been pre-med for most of college, however not for any particular reason...I just kinda "was". At this point, I have realized that I am not passionate about medicine, however basically all my skills and experience and background revolve around some sort of job in the healthcare field. I do like healthcare very much, I just don't particularly care for medicine, which is why I don't really want to do 4 years of med school, then 3 years of residency for a job that will make me stressed with no time for hobbies, family, or a "life".

That's exactly what made me go from pre-med to pre-dental. Residency is actually closer to 4 - 5 years though, not 3. And the medical community is thinking of increasing that, too. Not to mention, the only good medical professions are extremely competitive anyway, so **** that.

As to your question, there will always be someone to take you on. You'll be getting offers towards the end of dental school before you graduate, so it's not like it really matters. The only scary thing is if you go with corporate dentists, you'll likely have to sign a non-compete, which means you cannot open up a clinic within X miles of their facility. And if you do open up your own clinic, you'll have to work hard in the beginning (as in first few years) to really draw in customers. Afterwards though, it's pretty smooth sailing, and you'll end up with more patients than you can even handle.

 

[BoolaHI]

How is residency closer to 3-4 years? Internal medicine, typical for most, is 3 years period.

 

[LFA20]

I'm someone who just graduated from college last May, I have a 3.70 GPA with considerable volunteering and leadership. I'm anticipating to apply to a graduate school for the next cycle (so apply June of 2020, I am taking two gap years).

I have been pre-med for most of college, however not for any particular reason...I just kinda "was". At this point, I have realized that I am not passionate about medicine, however basically all my skills and experience and background revolve around some sort of job in the healthcare field. I do like healthcare very much, I just don't particularly care for medicine, which is why I don't really want to do 4 years of med school, then 3 years of residency for a job that will make me stressed with no time for hobbies, family, or a "life".

Dentistry is becoming more and more appealing to me, and if I do commit to it, I have lots and lots of time to take the DAT, and shadow some more. However, the dentists I've shadowed thus far I am not sure they paint an accurate representation of what dentistry will be like in MY future (6 years from now, then onwards from there).

The amount of massive debt scares me; there's only one in-state school for me, and so if I don't go there I can expect to pay almost 400k likely for loans (I'm expecting to do 350ish total for tuition and living expenses at my in-state). I am now hearing more and more how it's becoming harder for dentists to make a very high salary, especially with corporate dentistry. If I'm planning on living in a major metropolitan area (Northern Virginia, 40 min from Washington DC), is dentistry not that financially lucrative? Is it true that it's becoming harder and harder to open up clinics?

I will say that ideally I will be living at home for free for a while after dental school to pay off all my loans, however long that takes. Because I have that option, will dentistry be a good, rewarding career financially (can I expect to get close to a physician salary?) And will dentistry continue to have a nice "lifestyle"?

Don’t go to dental school if you have to take out 300k+ debt

 

[zedrexvsyrex]

How is residency closer to 3-4 years? Internal medicine, typical for most, is 3 years period.

Compare that to all the other medical doctor professions.

 

[BoolaHI]

The standard residency is 3 years—period. Everything else is a sub-speciality.

 

[iluvnetters]

.

 

[BoolaHI]

Mmmmmn, can’t say which is better, but it’s certainly fair to say they are comparable. Brother-in-law is a CT surgeon, and three things I know for sure: one it’s a long haul, 5 year general surgery residency, and then followed by a 2.5 CT fellowship, two, it’s very lucrative, at least for him it is, as he hovers around 750-800k, but three, it’s horrible, at the least the training portion, for your personal life, he said every previous married person in his program is now divorced, some now have multiple divorces...yikes. I think oral surgery training is shorter but your debt is probably much higher. My brother in law,,even with all the training, was just in at about a little north of 100k (he did go to his state medical school and this was roughly 13 years or so ago), he said he paid off his entire debt about five years ago.

 

[VeNGe]

Don’t go to dental school if you have to take out 300k+ debt

IDK about that one chief. I think 300k+ is the norm now or at least becoming the norm.

 

[deleted903013]

I'm anticipating to apply to a graduate school for the next cycle (so apply June of 2020, I am taking two gap years)

Why not live at home and work full time for two years? Your GPA is fine so you don't need grad school, and you could easily save $60k+. If you get into your state school, this could knock your total cost to less than $300k which is manageable. If you don't get into your state school, you'll at least have some work experience under your belt and decent savings.

 

[TheDentalSchoolCoach]

I'm someone who just graduated from college last May, I have a 3.70 GPA with considerable volunteering and leadership. I'm anticipating to apply to a graduate school for the next cycle (so apply June of 2020, I am taking two gap years).

I have been pre-med for most of college, however not for any particular reason...I just kinda "was". At this point, I have realized that I am not passionate about medicine, however basically all my skills and experience and background revolve around some sort of job in the healthcare field. I do like healthcare very much, I just don't particularly care for medicine, which is why I don't really want to do 4 years of med school, then 3 years of residency for a job that will make me stressed with no time for hobbies, family, or a "life".

Dentistry is becoming more and more appealing to me, and if I do commit to it, I have lots and lots of time to take the DAT, and shadow some more. However, the dentists I've shadowed thus far I am not sure they paint an accurate representation of what dentistry will be like in MY future (6 years from now, then onwards from there).

The amount of massive debt scares me; there's only one in-state school for me, and so if I don't go there I can expect to pay almost 400k likely for loans (I'm expecting to do 350ish total for tuition and living expenses at my in-state). I am now hearing more and more how it's becoming harder for dentists to make a very high salary, especially with corporate dentistry. If I'm planning on living in a major metropolitan area (Northern Virginia, 40 min from Washington DC), is dentistry not that financially lucrative? Is it true that it's becoming harder and harder to open up clinics?

I will say that ideally, I will be living at home for free for a while after dental school to pay off all my loans, however long that takes. Because I have that option, will dentistry be a good, rewarding career financially (can I expect to get close to a physician salary?) And will dentistry continue to have a nice "lifestyle"?

Well. Before you commit too much into the profession, shadow one or two more dentists ( try different specialists). You will get money, fame, good lifestyle, etc, if you become a dentist. But, once you commit, it'll be a long ride. So, do some reflection before making any decisions.

Also, talk to as many people as you can (students, dental faculty, dentists, etc.) and see if what you find out from them is really appealing to you.

 

[BoolaHI]

You could do a program that combines biology and management, see:https://www.cgu.edu/academics/program/bioscience-business-administration/

One of my daughters completed it a couple of years ago and started in the low 6 figures and she told me her bosses, with their stock options, make upward of 500k. Lots of jobs opportunities and she said placement of her class was like a 150 percent, with many folks receiving multiple offers. Only 2-3 years and far less debt....

 

[deleted903013]

But if I were to give up graduate school, what professions could I look to get into with the biology degree that will lead to the kind of lifestyle/finances I want?

What would your master's be in? Real work experience is often much more valuable than a degree.

 

[ToothJockey]

????
OMFS is the highest $/hour in any field of medicine. Pulling 4 wisdom teeth is a 40 min case and you pocket easily over $1k. Only 15 minutes of this case requires your attention because the other 25 is allocated to coming into/coming out of anesthesia. You can do 7 of these cases easily in a day and thats $10k if you also include consults, other procedures, followups, etc. Do the math from there on how much you want to work per week. Plz explain how cardiac/general surgery is "always better" than this?

I ran the numbers in another thread using MGMA and ADA numbers, and Oral Surgery $/hr was better than any medical specialty except for Mohs Surgery (fellowship after Dermatology). It was on par with Neurosurgery and Ortho Spine Surgery. These are arguably the most competitive specialties/subspecialties in all of medicine and dentistry.

CT surgeons make less than Neuro or Spine Surgeons but they work about the same amount of hrs on average. From the med forums it seems Interventional Cards is pushing out CT Surgeons. Wires > Surgery for a patient right?

If your goal is to make a lot of raw money, then medicine is probably your best bet. A decent amount of surgical sub specialties pushing 700k average, but you will be working 60-70 hrs+ a week for it.
Dentistry offers better work life balance but raw income will never match medicine. $/hr yeah it's on par, but $/hr won't pay off your student loans.

 

[ucd2018]

I ran the numbers in another thread using MGMA and ADA numbers, and Oral Surgery $/hr was better than any medical specialty except for Mohs Surgery (fellowship after Dermatology). It was on par with Neurosurgery and Ortho Spine Surgery. These are arguably the most competitive specialties/subspecialties in all of medicine and dentistry.

CT surgeons make less than Neuro or Spine Surgeons but they work about the same amount of hrs on average. From the med forums it seems Interventional Cards is pushing out CT Surgeons. Wires > Surgery for a patient right?

If your goal is to make a lot of raw money, then medicine is probably your best bet. A decent amount of surgical sub specialties pushing 700k average, but you will be working 60-70 hrs+ a week for it.
Dentistry offers better work life balance but raw income will never match medicine. $/hr yeah it's on par, but $/hr won't pay off your student loans.

OMFS wins in many more categories than $/hr lol. But yeah I doubt many of these guys/gals will have a hard time paying back their loans.

 

[ToothJockey]

OMFS wins in many more categories than $/hr lol. But yeah I doubt many of these guys/gals will have a hard time paying back their loans.

Yeah I was just giving an example for the dude saying being a cardiac surgeons, general surgeons, or oncologist is better than being an oral surgeon. Even most physicians would say oral surgery is objectively better. Less stress, better lifestyle, less morbidity, less dealing with hospital drama, and obviously more $/hr. Job satisfaction is also pretty low for those 3 specialties specifically.

If he had said Derm, or Orthopedics, or Plastics, he would atleast be able to make a case, but I think OS would still win out. I think my bias is showing.