Working Engineer Interested in Becoming a Dentist

[kamjah]

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First off hello everyone. I stumbled across these forums during my rampant googling as i soul search and now have some questions.

So I've been working for about two years now as an Instrumentation & Controls Engineer (Graduated as a Mechanical Engineer) for a large power plant engineering company, and to be honest, i hate it. So much about the corporate world aggravates me. I don't see myself ever being happy sitting in front of a computer in a cubicle every day til i retire. I need something more rewarding, more interactive, and just plain less corporate.

A little while ago my family suggested going back to school for dentistry as my older sister is a dentist. I still haven't completely made up my mind, and won't until i shadow a dentist to see the ins and outs. But the more i research and think about it, the better the idea sounds.

As an engineer, i have some of the pre-requisites like physics, english, and electives taken care of. However the AP biology credits I have from high-school don't appear to count for dental school. So that leaves me with 6 hours of biology and 9 hours of chemistry. I also have been reading that some extra science courses (Anatomy for example) help out with admissions.

My initial plan of attack was to just finish off the leftover science requirements at a community college while still working then take the DAT. But i keep reading that it's better to do pre-requisites at a 4-year University. Does this apply to me as well even though i already have a bachelors in Mech-E from the same university where i hope to go to dental school? Keeping my current job while finishing off pre-requisites to stave off the impending debt from dental school would be ideal, but I also wanna do what is best for my future.

Thanks!

 

[persenmi]

First off hello everyone. I stumbled across these forums during my rampant googling as i soul search and now have some questions.

So I've been working for about two years now as an Instrumentation & Controls Engineer (Graduated as a Mechanical Engineer) for a large power plant engineering company, and to be honest, i hate it. So much about the corporate world aggravates me. I don't see myself ever being happy sitting in front of a computer in a cubicle every day til i retire. I need something more rewarding, more interactive, and just plain less corporate.

A little while ago my family suggested going back to school for dentistry as my older sister is a dentist. I still haven't completely made up my mind, and won't until i shadow a dentist to see the ins and outs. But the more i research and think about it, the better the idea sounds.

As an engineer, i have some of the pre-requisites like physics, english, and electives taken care of. However the AP biology credits I have from high-school don't appear to count for dental school. So that leaves me with 6 hours of biology and 9 hours of chemistry. I also have been reading that some extra science courses (Anatomy for example) help out with admissions.

My initial plan of attack was to just finish off the leftover science requirements at a community college while still working then take the DAT. But i keep reading that it's better to do pre-requisites at a 4-year University. Does this apply to me as well even though i already have a bachelors in Mech-E from the same university where i hope to go to dental school? Keeping my current job while finishing off pre-requisites to stave off the impending debt from dental school would be ideal, but I also wanna do what is best for my future.

Thanks!

I would recommend checking the website of the school you plan to attend to see if they accept prereqs from community colleges. I know that it depends on the school. If you can't find it there, get yourself the "ADEA Guide to Dental Schools" for ~$40. This is an official publication that has every stat and fact you can think of including whether or not community college prereqs are accepted. In fact, if you want to save the $ just pm me the school you are interested in or reply to this message and I will look it up for you.

 

[peanutb123]

My initial plan of attack was to just finish off the leftover science requirements at a community college while still working then take the DAT. But i keep reading that it's better to do pre-requisites at a 4-year University. Does this apply to me as well even though i already have a bachelors in Mech-E from the same university where i hope to go to dental school? Keeping my current job while finishing off pre-requisites to stave off the impending debt from dental school would be ideal, but I also wanna do what is best for my future.

Thanks!

Bad idea.

Do some research on Post bac programs. Check your state schools most of them have it...

In post bac programs you attend a 4 year univ. where you take about 20-30 may be more credits of science classes in the end you wont get any degree or anything.... Some formal post bacs are year long. the informal post bacs depend on you.

 

[BLTDENT]

kamjah,

Your situation is just like mine was. I worked as a civil engineer for 2.5 years and then decided to go to dental school. I too wanted something more interactive and away from a computer screen.

Do not take your pre-reqs at a CC. It does not matter that you already have a science related degree. When I was at your stage I called a lot of dental schools to ask this question and every one of them said to stay away from CC's.

Dental schools love engineers. At every single interview I went to it was mentioned several times how much they loved that I was an engineer with actually working experience. That will be a huge advantage for you, probably bigger than most think.

Do well on your science courses because schools want to see that you can do well in life sciences too. Then knock the DAT out and you'll get in almost anywhere.

I'm super glad I made the switch, but I don't actually start dental school until July so hopefully my attitude stays the same.

 

[ducks8]

I think it depends on the school and how many credits they will accept from a community college. My uncle a few years back switched careers from business to dentistry and took all his prereqs at community colleges, and is currently successfully practicing dentistry. So it's possible to take classes at a CC, but I think a post-bacc program would probably look better and better prepare you for dental school, and also allow you to apply to more dental schools. Good luck with your decision! Dentistry is a great field!

 

[PreD]

I was an engineer and came back to school for dentistry for the same reasons as you mentioned. It is exactly two years that i have been back.

It is a huuuuuge risk. If I don't get in anywhere this year, i have to probably give up since all my saving is finished.

So think hard about this. It is so much stress. It also depends on what is your GPA for your engineering undergraduate and how old you are.

Best of Luck.

 

[txaggie03]

I worked for 6 years as an environmental engineer before returning to school to gather pre-reqs for dental school.

I returned to a four year university and will be getting a second bachelors in biology this May. The classes you (and I) took as an engineering major will likely not be sufficient for dental schools. I had chemistry, o-chem, and bio-chem, but all were engineering based, not biology based.

You will likely rock the perceptual ability part of the DAT (after all, lots of it freshman engineering orthographic views).


Of course all of this is moot if you dont really WANT to be a dentist. Do some shadowing and some soul searching and immerse yourself in dentistry to find out if you really want it. Start reading JADA now (older articles are free online: http://jada.ada.org/) and see if it sparks your interest more. I found the more I learned about biology and dentistry, the more excited I became about making the switch.


If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.

PS - Dont let age be a deterrent in making the switch. As a professor recently told me, "You're never as young as you are right now."
Also, my engineering GPA was crap. I am rocking a 3.946 after 56 hours of straight science since coming back to school.

If you want it, you can do it.

 

[dentalWorks]

First off hello everyone. I stumbled across these forums during my rampant googling as i soul search and now have some questions.

So I've been working for about two years now as an Instrumentation & Controls Engineer (Graduated as a Mechanical Engineer) for a large power plant engineering company, and to be honest, i hate it. So much about the corporate world aggravates me. I don't see myself ever being happy sitting in front of a computer in a cubicle every day til i retire. I need something more rewarding, more interactive, and just plain less corporate.

A little while ago my family suggested going back to school for dentistry as my older sister is a dentist. I still haven't completely made up my mind, and won't until i shadow a dentist to see the ins and outs. But the more i research and think about it, the better the idea sounds.

As an engineer, i have some of the pre-requisites like physics, english, and electives taken care of. However the AP biology credits I have from high-school don't appear to count for dental school. So that leaves me with 6 hours of biology and 9 hours of chemistry. I also have been reading that some extra science courses (Anatomy for example) help out with admissions.

My initial plan of attack was to just finish off the leftover science requirements at a community college while still working then take the DAT. But i keep reading that it's better to do pre-requisites at a 4-year University. Does this apply to me as well even though i already have a bachelors in Mech-E from the same university where i hope to go to dental school? Keeping my current job while finishing off pre-requisites to stave off the impending debt from dental school would be ideal, but I also wanna do what is best for my future.

Thanks!

Your story is very similar to mine. I also have an older sister whos a dentist. I was a software engineer, and one of the reasons why I switched careers is because... I couldn't stand sitting in-front of a computer screen for 8-9 hours a day, 5 days a week. And just like you, the only pre-req I had completed was physics and english.

When I went back to college (as an informal post-bacc student), I had to take all the general chems, orgos, biologies, and their labs ALONG with 7 upper level sciences (Biochemistry 1, Gross anatomy, Histology, Microbiology, Pharmacology, Genetics, Physiology).....

There are a few facts we need to consider when we look at community college vs 4-year university and they are:
(1) There are many folks who have done many of their course works at a CC, and they managed to make it into dental school... so its not like its a death sentence to your application
(2) Having said that, lets also be realistic that a 4.0 from a 4-year university looks "better" on paper than from a CC.... this is a fact (even though its not written anywhere)
(3) Some dental schools do NOT accept CC credits as pre-reqs so... you might wanna check which schools your eliminating with this CC option

 

[dwoo]

Your situation is almost identical to mine. I have been a working engineer (also in controls) for the past five years, and decided two years ago to pursue dentistry for pretty much the same reasons you listed.

The most helpful thing I did was meet with the Director of Admissions at the local dental school. Among other things, he told me in pretty plain language that community college courses would not be looked at favorably by the admissions committee. This attitude is shared by many other institutions, so you would be wise to fulfill your requirements at a 4-year college to keep your options open.

I was able to convince my boss to let me attend one class per semester during the day while maintaining a full-time work schedule. I think that this is an exceptional arrangement, but it might be worth the effort to ask, depending on the character of your organization and boss. It took a couple years to get through all the necessary classes this way, but I believe the time helped me become more comfortable with the decision.

I took the DAT while halfway through my OChem2 class, and before taking any college-level biology. I achieved a very good score on each section. As part of my preparation, I read and studied a Biology textbook cover-to-cover. If you are willing to put in the work, the college courses are not necessarily prerequisites to good DAT preparation, and this can help accelerate your timeline. I won't finish my pre-reqs until a month before dental school starts in August, but have accepted an offer for admission at my school of choice (and the only school I applied to).

Extra science courses can't hurt, but a good academic record in Engineering achieves the admissions committee's objective of providing evidence that you can handle a rigorous workload. I wouldn't let the lack of 'extra' courses delay your application if your academic record is strong. If you have a borderline application, it might be a more important consideration.

Since you already have a pretty firm idea which school you want to attend, the most reasonable course of action is to schedule a face-to-face meeting with the Director of Admissions. He or she will be able to answer your questions better than anyone speculating here, and having a face to put with your name can't hurt in the competitive environment of dental admissions.

Feel free to send me a PM if you have any more specific questions.

 

[kamjah]

thank you all so much for your helpful info. it's definitely put things in perspective for me. i should mention that my final GPA in engineering was pretty weak (2.97). my plan is to bust my ass when i'm doing my pre-reqs to bump it up. i plan on setting up a meeting with the director of admissions at UIC to get a professional opinion of where i am now and where i need to be to get this ball rolling.

from what i can tell, UIC doesn't have a post-bacc program for dental. what are the advantages of taking a post-bacc program vs. just registering for the individual classes?

 

[UCSFDentistry]

A Formal PostBac Program is just more structured. They help you choose classes and become a better dental applicant in what ever way they can(mentors, provide dental assisting, etc) They are also usually associated with a in-house dental school that makes it much easier to be accepted if you do extrmely well in the program or do what they ask. You can do an informal postbac and just take the required prereqs, but do not take all of them at a community college. Most schools do not like that. I would take them at your local state college. I do agree with the other statment. I do think dental schools like engineering majors. Because your undergrad GPA is not strong make sure you get pretty much all A's in the prereqs, and also make sure you have a lot of dental experience to add to your future app. Hope this helps.