Just learn to be a good dentist. No employer will care what school you went to. What rank you ended up at the end. They surely will not care about any research. If I'm hiring an associate .... I'm looking for a nice, outgoing personality. We're in the smile business. Patients identify with dentists who are happy, smiling, personable. They could care less about your perfect margins (that's expected).
If you choose Corp dentistry. There is no training period. You'll need to hit the ground running. Be confident in your abilities. Realize that the real world is different than school. And speed is a good thing.
If you're looking for a practice to buy or start ..... start reading up on marketing and business principles. You don't need to be Jeff Bezos to run a small practice. Learn about P&L statements, payroll, leases, employee forms, accts receivable, accts payable, employee hiring, etc. etc. Not insurmountable. I've mentioned it before. When you graduate ... locate a dentist/physician specific tax accountant. They are invaluable. When I was in private practice .... I PAID all my bills. I wrote EVERY check. I knew where EVERY dollar went. We also did inhouse payroll.
But 1st. Just graduate and learn to be a good dentist.
