Is Dental School a better option? Forum

[heythatslife]

Depending on how you define "good income," everyone who earns one has to suffer to do so. (Choose two of three: make money; like your job; stay within the law.)

I agree with you. But you can join a dental group as an associate and make 150K+ working only Monday to Thursday from 9 to 5 with Fridays off. Earning a 150K+ salary while having a 3 day weekend and only working 9 to 5 the other 4 days of the week gives you LOTS of time to chill/relax. Let's be honest, MOST jobs sucks. Even low-level jobs like Marketing, Sales etc really suck. You have to suffer to make even SHITTY money. I know because I worked a horrible Marketing job that didn't pay much money and I wanted to kill myself everyday because it's was so pointless and stupid. Being a dentist isn't as bad because you are a high-skilled professional, you are helping patients and you aren't working for a huge corporation. You can have autonomy. Working for a big corporation is what causes most of the suffering in America. Most corporate jobs truly suck.

Is this why the dentist suicide rate is notoriously high? Self-selection by people who mistakenly believe that dentistry will be less soul-crushing than other jobs?

Really dude, if you just want to support a decent lifestyle without stress, then go be a programmer or IT guy. High demand, no formal training required. But it seems like you're hung up on having a six-figure salary and a prestigious job title, so your question is really "I have this psychological hangup where I think I must be a lawyer, doctor, or dentist. Which of these is easiest?"

Well MOST lawyers don't even make 6 figures so I wouldn't put them in the same category as doctors/dentists....Programmer or IT is not a good job and it doesn't interest me. Programmer/IT is even MORE boring than being a dentist.

I am an Asian female. My mom would be happy if I became a Doctor or Dentist and married a male Doctor.

For Christ's sake, you're an adult. Don't make career/spouse choices to appease your parents. That applies whether you're an Asian female or whatever else ethnicity/gender.

[Helioze]

Truck Driver is a terrible profession to go into right now.

I would bet anyone I meet in real life $50 that truck drivers will be made almost completely obsolete in about 10 years or less.

[pollywolly88]

Actually Physicians have the highest suicide rate since it's the most stressful profession. And you can't go by statistics anyway.

[Hikikomorist]

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[pollywolly88]

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[ReasonableNprudent]

Lol. I was mostly joking about the truck driving thing. But I don't see it going anywhere. Even if rail or something else picks up the long hauls (which they won't since rail predates trucks) there will still need to be trucks for local delivery.

Drones won't be delivering gas, groceries to supermarkets, soda to convenience stores, and so on. Trucks are here to stay.

[Hikikomorist]

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[ReasonableNprudent]

Lol. I was mostly joking about the truck driving thing. But I don't see it going anywhere. Even if rail or something else picks up the long hauls (which they won't since rail predates trucks) there will still need to be trucks for local delivery.

Drones won't be delivering gas, groceries to supermarkets, soda to convenience stores, and so on. Trucks are here to stay.

I think that person was thinking of self-driving trucks.

Ooooh. Hmmm...maybe. Still, getting a CDL is easy and self-driving trucks must be at least 5-10 years away from being common. I still don't see it.

Nah. Be a trucker, OP. Tiger Mom will LOVE it.

[RZ5646]

Well my mom hasn't PRESSURED me but she strongly encourages me to become a dentist. She said I can go to law school if I want but she wouldn't be as happy about it.

I don't mind her encouraging me to do stuff--I still do want I want anyway. Plus she introduced me to a really HOT doctor so I don't mind it anyway lol. He specializes in head and neck surgeries. I would let him stroke my carotid artery any day lol

TLS attracts some interesting personalities, I'll say that at least.

I would bet anyone I meet in real life $50 that truck drivers will be made almost completely obsolete in about 10 years or less.

I'd take this bet. There's no way we're going to have widespread use of self-driving trucks by then. (And the other, more exotic replacements—drones, ubiquitous home 3D printing, etc.—are even less likely.)

[Helioze]

Yeah I'm not saying the mechanical concept of trucks are out, just the human driving them.


From an AI standpoint, the easiest kind of motor vehicle to operate effectively would be the long haul truck.

The first thing to go will be the freeway truck drivers. Computers can already basically drive a car in normal traffic, they will certainly be able to drive in straight lines with limited decisions to make.


You might see like depots where humans take over for the computer in city driving environments, but whatever can be automated will be as soon as it is technically feasible and socially palatable. I think the resistance to computers taking jerbs will be no insubstantial hurdle to overcome. (truck driver is like the top 3 in total # of jobs provided in like 48 of the 50 states or some shit like that.)

[pollywolly88]

Lol. I was mostly joking about the truck driving thing. But I don't see it going anywhere. Even if rail or something else picks up the long hauls (which they won't since rail predates trucks) there will still need to be trucks for local delivery.

Drones won't be delivering gas, groceries to supermarkets, soda to convenience stores, and so on. Trucks are here to stay.

I think that person was thinking of self-driving trucks.

Ooooh. Hmmm...maybe. Still, getting a CDL is easy and self-driving trucks must be at least 5-10 years away from being common. I still don't see it.

Nah. Be a trucker, OP. Tiger Mom will LOVE it.

My Tiger Mom is hilarious

[ReasonableNprudent]

Well my mom hasn't PRESSURED me but she strongly encourages me to become a dentist. She said I can go to law school if I want but she wouldn't be as happy about it.

I don't mind her encouraging me to do stuff--I still do want I want anyway. Plus she introduced me to a really HOT doctor so I don't mind it anyway lol. He specializes in head and neck surgeries. I would let him stroke my carotid artery any day lol

TLS attracts some interesting personalities, I'll say that at least.

I would bet anyone I meet in real life $50 that truck drivers will be made almost completely obsolete in about 10 years or less.

I'd take this bet. There's no way we're going to have widespread use of self-driving trucks by then. (And the other, more exotic replacements—drones, ubiquitous home 3D printing, etc.—are even less likely.)

Beat me to it! I'd take that bet too. You're out $100, Helioze!

[Helioze]

Lol come find me in 2025 and we will see

self driving cars are already on the road in California

[ReasonableNprudent]

Lol. I was mostly joking about the truck driving thing. But I don't see it going anywhere. Even if rail or something else picks up the long hauls (which they won't since rail predates trucks) there will still need to be trucks for local delivery.

Drones won't be delivering gas, groceries to supermarkets, soda to convenience stores, and so on. Trucks are here to stay.

I think that person was thinking of self-driving trucks.

Ooooh. Hmmm...maybe. Still, getting a CDL is easy and self-driving trucks must be at least 5-10 years away from being common. I still don't see it.

Nah. Be a trucker, OP. Tiger Mom will LOVE it.

My Tiger Mom is hilarious. She was panicking that I don't have a DOCTOR HUSBAND yet

Be a trucker and marry another trucker. Do long hauls together. Send your mom selfies from the front seat of the rig in various cool places around the country. It will be awesome.

[ReasonableNprudent]

Lol come find me in 2025 and we will see

self driving cars are already on the road in California

Meh, they still require an operator last I heard. A truck is slightly more complicated and requires someone to manage the load.

OP, in the event truck drivers go away you can be a ride-along load manager. Try telling that to your Tiger Mom!

[mvp99]

only reason dentists, the tail of health related professions, make a lot of money is because they over diagnose e.g. you need deep cleaning, $600!

[03152016]

I just want to make a decent income so I can buy a nice house, nice car and have a good lifestyle

Computer programming.

yeah in retrospect i wish i had done that instead

[TheOnePercent]

Better option? Sure, if suicide rate by profession is a salient factor in the decision.

ETA: scooped

[DoubleChecks]

My state Dental School only costs 15K a year. Dental graduates in my area earn around 150K per year if they join as an Associate at a dental practice after graduation. I shadowed a dentist and he only works Monday to Thurs and has Fridays off. He works in total 32 hours a week. He has his own practice and makes around 250K

Is Dental School a much better option than law school? Lawyers have to work 80 hours a week for a 160K salary...I did well in premed requirements and had the grades/scores to get into medical school so I am quite confident I can get into my state/public dental school.

Would this be a better option? Being a dentist isn't my passion but to be honest, being a lawyer isn't a passion of mine either. I only considered being a lawyer because I enjoyed "writing" but I looked into it recently and actually legal writing is very boring to me. I also find reading legal documents to be kind of boring---especially having to read dry legal documents and sit at a computer for 80+ hours a week. Since neither is a passion of mine, I am thinking being a dentist might be a better option. What do you think?

Thanks!

I don't get it. If you don't want to be a dentist and you don't want to be a lawyer, do neither.

Dentists have the highest suicide/depression rate of any grad-level profession fwiw, and its not really close

I don't think the bolded is true. Heard that a lot over the years, actually did some research and found out it was not dentists. It was psychologists or something, which makes WAY more sense.

[ilikebaseball]

there's no equivalent in the legal profession that nitrous oxide gives a dentist's patients and probs the dentist whenever he wants to bro out

[Mack.Hambleton]

Can we get back to truck related discussion

[ub3r]

We can't introduce widespread automobile use! What will the horse buggy drivers do without a job???

[zaetoroftheprotoss]

I have a passion for English literature and writing. I won awards for my writing and I am a voracious reader of all types of literature (from classic literature to contemporary literature). If these are my interests, would I enjoy law and being a lawyer?

Thanks

In another thread, you said you had a passion for English Lit...so why not just do something along those lines instead of looking at law school / dental school? Perhaps becoming a teacher and helping the next generation gain a similar appreciation for literature?

[buckiguy_sucks]

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[umichman]

This is entirely subjective. If you want to be a dentist...dental school. If you want to be a lawyer... you probably dont know what a lawyer does, but you get the point.