why I couldn't send off my AMCAS

[scriptman]

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8 carefully selected schools. Two state schools I'm pretty sure I would get into. Two private schools that I loved the location of. And 4 top 15 private schools. All the hard work as far as shadowing, grades, high mcat, volunteering, research. If I had only known.

But the last few months the field of dentistry just proved too overpowering. Does everyone here realize that for as much training as an FP(3 years post grad), it's possible to be a DDS/DMD specializing in perio, endo, or ortho? Ortho is tough to get out of dental school, but perio and endo are much more manageable. And academically, if I'm strong enough to have a gpa and mcat score above top 10 medical schools, I'm hoping I can at least do well enough in dental school to gain a spot into one of these three fields.

Comparing a dental specialty to IM or FP is a joke financially. The average periodontist in my region makes about 375-425k. They work less than 37 hours a week on average. Same for endo. Ortho is even more outrageous. Sure there are fields in medicine where that kind of compensation is possible, but they require a good deal more training. Interventional cardiology is 8 years post graduation, and 37 hours a week for some interventional cardiologists is half-time. If a periodontist wants to work cardiology or neursurgery hours, he can gross over 2 million, netting over 1 million.

At this point I really have no idea whether I'd like practicing medicine or dentistry more. I've shadowed both but I just always assumed I would choose medicine. But the opportunity to make half a million dollars a year before the age of 30 while working less than 40 hours a week while also being a specialist in a certain area is just too powerful a draw. It's not just the money; it's also the time commitment in terms of training as well as the lifestyle post-training.

 

[slackerjock]

It's not just the money

You can trust that once someone says its not about the money, you can be sure its about the money.

If a GI surgeon still made 1.5M like they did back in the 80s, we wouldnt be having this discussion. Listen, theres nothing wrong with your desire for money. Trash your AMCAS and apply to dentistry

 

[scriptman]

I meant not about the total salary(400k/year on average). It is certainly about the money per hour when considering the training involved. I can't think of many jobs that pay 400k for 35-40 hour weeks and require just a few years post graduate training. Certainly none in medicine. It's really insane.

 

[adamj61]

Its all about the benjamins....

Why don't you just go into business, or oil...that is where the money is.

 

[adamj61]

Don't forget about that suicide rate either, who wants to see a dentist.

 

[geekdoc0119]

I had encountered the exact same dilemma. From the many physicians that I spoke to, almost none suggested that I enter the field of medicine. They all complained about the outrageous time commitment and proportionately less monetary compensation. A few even suggested going into dentistry. A few of my friends who were die-hard medicine have actually switched to dentistry. The route does seem a heck of a lot easier, and everyone that I have spoken to has confirmed the less than 40 hour work week with a six figure income. It sounds very tempting. I ended up sticking to the decision of going to medical school, just for the fact that I don't think I could handle doing what a dentist does everyday.

 

[scriptman]

Don't forget about that suicide rate either, who wants to see a dentist.

The suicide rate for dentists isn't high. It's an old myth due to one poorly designed study. Do some research on it......

 

[scriptman]

Its all about the benjamins....

Why don't you just go into business, or oil...that is where the money is.

I know plenty of people in business, two of which work for aramco. None of them make anywhere near what an endodontist does, and none of them work as little either.