Would the wife of an air force dentist reccommend going through the air force?

[Madaboy27]

My husband and i just found out the school we are hopefully going to is going to be 80 grand a year. That's a lot of money!!!! Are their any air force wives out there who would reccomend we go through the air force to pay for this? We have a toddler and are hoping to have more kids soon. Is it good for families?

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[BuckeyMcGee]

I'd say since it is a private school I am assuming it would be a wise choice to take the scholarship, think of all the money you'll save and you can spoil your toddler with, . Of course it is a sacrifice, but so is taking out a ton of loans, so weigh your options and research it thoroughly. The fact that my school was a very expensive one really sold me on the scholarship, but you should also consider how you will enjoy the military way of life - moving and relocating, and being under orders. Good luck!

 

[Focker2Fillings]

My husband and i just found out the school we are hopefully going to is going to be 80 grand a year. That's a lot of money!!!! Are their any air force wives out there who would reccomend we go through the air force to pay for this? We have a toddler and are hoping to have more kids soon. Is it good for families?

One of my classmates' wife did the HPSP scholarship a while ago, before he went to dental school. She has had nothing but good things to say about it. She is out now, working in private practice while her husband is going to dental school. I believe they had at least 2 kids while in the military. She must think it's a good program, because he is applying for the scholarship now. I think that's a pretty good recommendation for the HPSP program.

 

[Madaboy27]

Really? Do you think we could email her and ask her questions? I really want to talk to someone who has done it and get their perspective of it other than a recruiter.

 

[UNR.Grad]

I have heard the officer residences on air force bases are better than those of other branches.

 

[KOM]

Even better if you want to have kids...they pay for everything.

 

[ysrebob]

My wife would tell you it has been good on her end. I personally have been pretty unhappy as a military dentist, but from a family perspective doing the HPSP scholarship was an excellent decision. We went USAF so I can only speak to our experience with that:

The good, from family's point of view:
1. avoiding the crushing debt of dental school (hugely important)
2. 100% job security / a predictable salary to budget with
3. 100% medical coverage (we had our first child last year and never saw a single medical bill)
4. predictable weekly hours (though long) and duty schedule
5. little or no weekend work
6. very liberal amount of vacation time

The bad, again from family's point of view:
1. minimal control over where you will be assigned to live, and a definite possibility of being assigned to a fairly godforsaken part of the USA (although you're unlikely to be stationed overseas unless you ask to be)
2. long hours. My work week fluctuates around 60 hours, which is probably on the long end, but I doubt your husband will be able to stay on top of the endless paperwork in less than 50 hours a week
3. lower salary than civilian jobs / private practice... but HPSP tuition benefits more than make up for this at a private school.

Bottom line: doing HPSP was an unequivocal "win" for my family. The only real negative is lack of control over where in the USA you will live. Perhaps you are wondering if your husband will be suddenly involuntarily deployed to the Middle East or etc. Although not impossible, from what I have seen this is very unlikely for new/inexperienced dentists: deployments are actually hard to get and sought-after by experienced military dentists looking to advance their USAF careers... so deployment worries probably do not need to weigh on your decision much.

Hope it helps.