11111111111111111111111111 Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 I'm contemplating between going into dentistry or med like many people. The main con I have with medicine is the additional residency you have to do, which can be 2-6 years. I think the safe bet would be FM since it's the easiest to get into, through I'd want to do a ROAD specialty, of course, but that's kind of unrealistic. Anyway, I was wondering how "hard" is residency? Can you still have a life, or are you just working and sleeping for the entire time (I heard its 80 hours of work per week + calls in the middle of the night)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiceWine Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 I'm contemplating between going into dentistry or med like many people. The main con I have with medicine is the additional residency you have to do, which can be 2-6 years. I think the safe bet would be FM since it's the easiest to get into, through I'd want to do a ROAD specialty, of course, but that's kind of unrealistic. Anyway, I was wondering how "hard" is residency? Can you still have a life, or are you just working and sleeping for the entire time (I heard its 80 hours of work per week + calls in the middle of the night)? life in general is "hard" ...choose something that will make you happy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloh Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 through I'd want to do a ROAD specialty, of course, but that's kind of unrealistic. Sadly this is why our health care professionals are largely miserable. Gunning for **** for the wrong reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11111111111111111111111111 Posted May 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 Salary wise, I heard that dentists make around 120k/year , but family doctors make 200+/year. Is that true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nasket Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 Salary wise, I heard that dentists make around 120k/year , but family doctors make 200+/year. Is that true? I honestly do not understand why you're so big on the salary issue! There's another thread where you're saying the same thing. Job satisfaction is not directly correlated to the size of your paycheck. UGH. Quit school, join the trades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldnk Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 To be glib, dentists supposedly have a higher rate of depression/suicide than medicine. So yes, there is no residency requirement for dentistry, but there are stressors in life regardless of what you go into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdy Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 Salary wise, I heard that dentists make around 120k/year , but family doctors make 200+/year. Is that true? You seem to have issues with hard work yet want to make a lot of money. Those two things don't generally go together particularly well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Med0123 Posted May 15, 2012 Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 you should definitely NOT base your future solely on the difficulty (or not) of the residency... satisfaction in your day to day practice should be your #1 concern Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11111111111111111111111111 Posted May 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 Okay, forget salary, but in terms of residency do you think one could still have a life? Or are your 20s pretty much "wasted." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goleafsgochris Posted May 15, 2012 Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 Holy, leave the OP alone for caring about money, the preaching around here is honestly redic sometimes--this is an internet forum not a job interview, let the OP ask whats actually on his mind lol. Dentists do tend to make a bit more than GPs. That being said, dentistry job market is MUCH more saturated, esp in major cities. Also, they dont make THAT much more--I would say the average selary's are within 20k/yr of each other, so not really worth choosing one over the other for that reason. When your selary is in the upper 100's to low 200's, the differences are small. My honest advice is to shadow a dentist for a day. Once I was in meds, i realized I really couldnt have done dent--I just hate procedures/working with my hands (I went into neurology). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11111111111111111111111111 Posted May 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 Main reason I want to go into dentistry is because I actually do care about teeth. I think it's one of the most important features of our body, as I used to have bad teeth, but I got braces etc. and it improved my confidence 10-fold. And I've been really interested in teeth and how orthodontists, especially, are able to straighten teeth. My main goal is orthodontics, but I realize how unrealistic it is (probably harder than getting into a ROADs specialty imo), which is why I'm focusing on how life would be as just a dentist. I realize that getting 100k+ in salary is a lot, but for the amount of work we go through, I don't think I'm out of line for caring about maximizing my earnings. I've shadowed a dentist, and IMO it's still pretty interesting, and probably more interesting than sitting at a desk as a family doctor (or at least that's how it is for my family doctor when I go to his office). Thanks for the responses guys, still unsure what I really want to do because I know I won't regret either decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trojjanhorse Posted May 15, 2012 Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 Okay, forget salary, but in terms of residency do you think one could still have a life? Or are your 20s pretty much "wasted." Don't think of it as wasting. Think of it as a journey to a greater fulfillment in life. Sure it's going to be time consuming and mentally demanding, but that's euphoria to some individuals as it is what they truly want to do. I wish you the best, but don't do it for the money. If you're good at what you do, money will come on its own. I'm sure university was hard at the beginning, but after getting used to, it was manageable. I'm sure it will be the same with residency. Plus: In residency you get paid, but the Hospital practically owns you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slashsev Posted May 15, 2012 Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 Salary wise, I heard that dentists make around 120k/year , but family doctors make 200+/year. Is that true? CEOs make 20 million Hedge fund traders make on ave 100 million Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11111111111111111111111111 Posted May 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 CEOs make 20 million Hedge fund traders make on ave 100 million Cool?..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slashsev Posted May 15, 2012 Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 John Paulson made 13 BILLION in 3 years If u want $ ur in the wrong field Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted May 15, 2012 Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 here's the low down: psychiatry, path, fm, derm, er, WIN! John Paulson made 13 BILLION in 3 years If u want $ ur in the wrong field Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futureGP Posted May 15, 2012 Report Share Posted May 15, 2012 Main reason I want to go into dentistry is because I actually do care about teeth. I think it's one of the most important features of our body, as I used to have bad teeth, but I got braces etc. and it improved my confidence 10-fold. And I've been really interested in teeth and how orthodontists, especially, are able to straighten teeth. My main goal is orthodontics, but I realize how unrealistic it is (probably harder than getting into a ROADs specialty imo), which is why I'm focusing on how life would be as just a dentist. I realize that getting 100k+ in salary is a lot, but for the amount of work we go through, I don't think I'm out of line for caring about maximizing my earnings. I've shadowed a dentist, and IMO it's still pretty interesting, and probably more interesting than sitting at a desk as a family doctor (or at least that's how it is for my family doctor when I go to his office). Thanks for the responses guys, still unsure what I really want to do because I know I won't regret either decision. what work? 4 yrs of dental school / med school = not a lot of work -- + if you enjoy it, it won't be work for you but more entertaining Earning > 100k+ by mid-20s (considering general dentist or FM), How many other professions guarantee it? sure i-banking, finance, some fields of engineering have good salary right after ugrad - but how's the job market for them, workload? we'll all have to work our asses off for some good $$, it all depends on what work you want to do. and sure residency will be busy and you might not have a life outside of it, but if you enjoy the work you do, it won't matter. If you don't then you'll probably hate it (and hate the rest of your career). med/dent = both great career choices. It all comes down to what you enjoy the most (a few years in residency won't hurt you when you're in 30s, 40s). Plus if you get a job doing other things - you'll most likely be busy too during your 20s. Sometimes, i feel like we're all whiners saying how residency is hell etc. -- it all comes back as compensation for the time we spend, so why whine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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