I decide between dentistry and podiatry?

[BTR1208]

I am having the hardest time deciding between dental and podiatry...

Did anyone else have a similar situation?

I have shadowed both and would enjoy either career.

I am already 24 so I am just so ready to get onto the next step in my life as far as education/career goes.

Pros Pod:
Into school next Fall as opposed to Fall 2017 with dental.
SURGERY!
Larger scope of practice
Good money, not great, but good.
Cheaper school, with possibility of scholarships.

Cons Pod:
Longer/harder/more stressful school
Would not be out of residency until I was 31 (29 for dental)
Less potential income as opposed to dentistry


I guess you could say lifestyle means more to me as opposed to having a prestigious career. I want to be able to spend time with my family and be able to take vacations and enjoy my kids and wife.


Stats: 3.7 oGPA, 3.6sGPA.

Thanks everybody!

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[HappyHobPod]

I am having the hardest time deciding between dental and podiatry...

Did anyone else have a similar situation?

I have shadowed both and would enjoy either career.

I am already 24 so I am just so ready to get onto the next step in my life as far as education/career goes.

Pros Pod:
Into school next Fall as opposed to Fall 2017 with dental.
SURGERY!
Larger scope of practice
Good money, not great, but good.
Cheaper school, with possibility of scholarships.

Cons Pod:
Longer/harder/more stressful school
Would not be out of residency until I was 31 (29 for dental)
Less potential income as opposed to dentistry


I guess you could say lifestyle means more to me as opposed to having a prestigious career. I want to be able to spend time with my family and be able to take vacations and enjoy my kids and wife.


Stats: 3.7 oGPA, 3.6sGPA.

Thanks everybody!

I spent my undergrad with the mindset of pursuing dentistry, and I changed my mind during the end of my senior year. If lifestyle is more important to you, then you have chosen a good career either way you go here. A lot of the local pods with their own private practices where I live are seeing patients Mon-Wed in the office, and doing surgeries on Thurs-Fri. Weekends off. You don't have to be on call necessarily through the late hours of the night, and you can end your days before 5pm. Now it is going to be what you make it of course. The more you put into it, the more you will get out of it. Dentistry can operate in a very similar manner here. I did a lot of shadowing in dentistry and ultimately came to find that I did not have a real relatable interest or foreseeable future in that career pathway. However, it was a particular dentist who really showed me why I wanted to be a physician and is still one of my most valued mentors to this day. You just have to try to envision yourself in each position and be excited and happy with what will be your career. I couldn't find that in dentistry. A lot had to do with my interest in biomechanics and running for myself, and became a no brainer for me once I really shadowed and was able to see just how much more I would be able to do in this career concerning body systems that I am familiar with and interested in. It surely is a different scenario for you, but to reiterate you will be able to have plentiful opportunities to spend time with family and enjoy life.

 

[BTR1208]

I spent my undergrad with the mindset of pursuing dentistry, and I changed my mind during the end of my senior year. If lifestyle is more important to you, then you have chosen a good career either way you go here. A lot of the local pods with their own private practices where I live are seeing patients Mon-Wed in the office, and doing surgeries on Thurs-Fri. Weekends off. You don't have to be on call necessarily through the late hours of the night, and you can end your days before 5pm. Now it is going to be what you make it of course. The more you put into it, the more you will get out of it. Dentistry can operate in a very similar manner here. I did a lot of shadowing in dentistry and ultimately came to find that I did not have a real relatable interest or foreseeable future in that career pathway. However, it was a particular dentist who really showed me why I wanted to be a physician and is still one of my most valued mentors to this day. You just have to try to envision yourself in each position and be excited and happy with what will be your career. I couldn't find that in dentistry. A lot had to do with my interest in biomechanics and running for myself, and became a no brainer for me once I really shadowed and was able to see just how much more I would be able to do in this career concerning body systems that I am familiar with and interested in. It surely is a different scenario for you, but to reiterate you will be able to have plentiful opportunities to spend time with family and enjoy life.

Thanks for your input man! You make some good points and i def think it's something I need to think about because honestly looking into mouths all day long seems somewhat bland and boring. However dental school is a lot less work and allows I think a better lifestyle in the end.

Which job would I like better? Probably pod. But I would be happy with dentistry as well. And dentistry is less schooling and potential for more money. But I would likely be in much more debt (~$400k+) since I only have one state school and don't really want to put all my eggs in that basket.

Ahhhh decisions decisions.

 

[rushrhees]

Podiatry and dentistry have similar pay really. Not sure how the math comes out of the increased cost of dental school but being able to practice right away vs only make 50-60k a year for 3 years in residency. Shadow both honestly

 

[DocBlin]

You need to ask yourself what you would like to be doing the next 40 to 50 years? Since the mouth is 180degrees from the foot.

 

[PodasaurusRex]

I never had too much of an interest in dentistry but I decided to shadow a mentor of mine in undergrad to who was dentist. The wow factor just wasn't there for me. There are tons of similarities as far as demographic you work with, how much you use your hands, and overall structure assuming you go into private practice. Something that may sound funny but stuck out to me the most was the fact that a podiatrist can have uninterrupted conversations with their patients as oppose to a dentist. I love the fact I can talk to a patient while I treat them. I think it makes your work day and experience with patients more enjoyable for everyone. I think this is a big reason why podiatrist are most patients favorite physicians, so they say. The big pull for me switching from general medical school to podiatric med school was the fact I am guaranteed a surgical residency and training. I didn't want to leave that up to chance after school. Hope this was some food for thought.

 

[skim25]

I was originally going for dentistry, due to my parents sort of pushing me in that direction. I ended up picking podiatry because it's a pretty diverse profession and I was having more fun learning and experiencing pod.

Both professions should make roughly the same amount of money. Pods can certainly make a lot depending on the practice and the level of hard work you put into it. Dentists can make a lot money, especially if you are specialized as well. However, becoming specialized in dentistry isn't easy. From what I remember, less than 5% of students manage to get into one.

By comparing the years it takes, dentistry looks a lot more appealing ( 7 years compared to 4 or 5). However, you will not be able to make the big bucks right out of dentistry. You will have to work under/with someone in order to get the experience and save up enough money to maybe open your own clinic (if this is how you plan to obtain one). It's sort of similar to residencies for pod. We have 3 years to gain experience and knowledge, but we do get paid for it.

You should also think about the amount of general dentists there are today. I just feel like the market is pretty saturated (not saying that you won't get a job, you most likely will). I usually see like 2-3 dental clinics like right next to each other. Because of this, you will have to work extra hard to sort of stand out.

Did you end up taking the mcat test in September or are you waiting for Jan? Did you take the DAT yet? DAT may be easier than MCAT, but it's still a pretty tough test. Your GPA is good for both, it just depends on what test you want to focus on. Did you apply for Podiatry already or are you holding your application?

At the end of the day, you really should pick the profession that you enjoy. You will be doing it for a long time, so pick something that interests you the most. Don't worry too much about having time to spend with your family. Both professions are flexible and should provide you the time you need.

 

[BTR1208]

I've still been studying for the DAT just because I have a test date. Strongly considering switching to MCAT for January test date. I have been scoring around a 20 on the DAT practice exams. If I was to cover physics would I be pretty likely to get what I need for pod school on the MCAT with minimal studying. Maybe just going over all EK and some practice passages?

 

[PodasaurusRex]

DAT is an incredibly different animal. Much more of a science based test and not nearly the critical thinking aspect the MCAT holds. If there's one thing that has killed so many people's chances of getting into a program it's taking the MCAT lightly then not being able to get the score they need. DAT success if completely different than MCAT success. There's a reason MD's give dentists so much crap as being "failed doctors" and the relative ease of the DAT compared to the MCAT is one of them. I obviously don't hold that view of a dentist, just trying to give some advice to not assume the MCAT will be a give me.

 

[PodasaurusRex]

It is obvious that the MCAT and DAT are two different tests. I was a predental student that is now a premedical student so I think i can offer some insight on the DAT vs MCAT especially since I already took the DAT. I took the DAT this past summer and did amazing (Ts-23 (98%), AA-23(98%0, PAT-20 (85%)). This is approximatly equivalent to around a 36-38 ish on the MCAT (although there is no way one can compare the exams like this). I am currently taking practive MCAT's and am scoring no where near what i scored on the DAT. Its definatly embarrasing how bad i'm doing in comparison. The main reason for that is that the DAT is 75% knowing the material and 25% taking the test whereas the mcat is 25% knowing the material and 75% taking the test (in my opinion).

DAT MCAT
BIO- 24 (98.7%) BS-8
GC- 20 (81.3%)
OC- 30 (100%) PS-5 (this is solely based on OC since I havn't
taken physics yet)
RC- 22 (90.3%) VS-6 (Ahhh!)
With that in mind...Does anyone have any advice on how to improve my verbal score....I want at least a 9-10. I have gone through EK already and a couple of other books. But i just can't seem to pull it up....Any advice?

Here's a post a kid had a couple years ago before the MCAT was more comprehensive (including a lot of biochem and behavioral sciences). It's clear this kid absolutely dominated the DAT and is struggling on the MCAT. Just wanted to give you some kind of first hand comparison to back up my thoughts. I will add that you don't exactly need to knock your MCAT out of the park with your GPAs but still this kid isn't even scoring well enough to get into 8 of 9 pod schools probably with his MCAT scores.

 

[HappyHobPod]

I've still been studying for the DAT just because I have a test date. Strongly considering switching to MCAT for January test date. I have been scoring around a 20 on the DAT practice exams. If I was to cover physics would I be pretty likely to get what I need for pod school on the MCAT with minimal studying. Maybe just going over all EK and some practice passages?

Like was already mentioned, they are completely different test in the way that you have to study for them. I spent a long time studying for the DAT before I decided dentistry was not what I wanted to do. When I began studying for the new MCAT it was so much more involved than the DAT, especially the critical thinking aspect of the test. I studied for about 6 months for the MCAT whenever I would get off work at 6pm, and then studied until about 1-2am. That was my life for 6 months...but I didn't have as many resources as I would have liked and it was definitely difficult to study after working all day, so I gave myself a lot of time. I also had to make the switch to the way of thinking the test required. So I would say to give yourself some time if you can afford to. Just depends on how competent you are already with the material and how well you can access and manipulate it for the questions they will ask.

 

[Screwtape]

You seem to be more interested in pod...so go pod!

 

[bing12]

I am not very familiar with podiatry, but I am a new grad dentist(grad may 2015). I can give you some insight on the field from a new grad perspective. The DAT is much easier than the MCAT, there is no debate there. If anything, I would brag about it, an easier route to an amazing profession. I personally was attracted to dentistry mainly due to the ability to form long term relationships with patients, lifestyle, income potential and the business aspect. I am working in a rural area, and just do give you an example, most of my classmates and I are guaranteed anywhere from $500(most common)-about $650(less common). I am making $600 as a daily minimum for the first 6 months(which is higher than avg, and longer than avg, most will offer the first 2-3 months only). So in general, the avg range of a starting salary is between 100-200k, its highly variable obviously.

If you are more interested in surgery, there is deff a good amount of that in dentistry. There are dentist out there that place dental implants, do sinus augmentations, and 3rd molar extractions. As a general dentist, you can do all these procedures, only catch is you are held to the standard for a specialist if anything goes wrong, so taking a lot of continuing education is key and knowing your limitations.


Things I love so far:
- I did 4 years of training(dental school) and I am working already.
- I dont have to be on call
- I have a 8:30-4:30 job.
- The business aspect, I deff want my own private practice soon( next few years).
- Finding a job was super easy( i dont think I know anyone who had an issue finding one). I was offered contracts from several offices.
- I think the potential for a higher income is deff attainable, I know those who are a few years out making 200-300k( like I said, this is deff above the avg and not the norm, just telling you what I know, and these friends are working in philly who work about 6days/week as associates). I think the avg income for a dentist is 200k according to the ADA and about 150k according to BLS.
- I love Triage, getting people out of pain almost instantly is very satisfying.

Disadvantages:
- costs of dental schools are insane
- I prob hear" I hate the dentist" atleast a few times/day, it gets annoying after some time. alot of phobia
- back problems can easily occur, must work on posture


If you have any questions please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Both fields are great, so you can't go wrong.

GL

 

[BTR1208]

Congrats to everyone that's getting acceptances. Big time stuff!

I took my DAT yesterday and scored where I needed to; however now it's becoming so real and I got this revelation of "do I want to look into mouths the rest of my life"?

The possibilities of procedures in podiatry really draws me in. Dentistry seems very repetitive. I think I would take the potential pay cut to do something interesting and be able to be up moving around interacting with patients; and SURGERY.

If I do decide to go to podiatry I think I will apply next cycle as I would really love to attend DMU or MW-AZ and I just don't see it happening this late in the cycle. I would go to Scholl, Kent or Barry but again is it too late? And I'm fresh for the DAT but to prepare for the MCAT in 4 weeks might be a stretch.

I appreciate everyone's input, thoughts and time replying to my thread.

Question for you current student or anyone that knows: during pod school would spending time with family or starting a family, I guess is what I'm trying to ask, realistic? I recently got engaged. My fiancée is great. About to finish her masters in health care admin and wants to start a family in 3 years or so. Unfortunately I would be right in the thick stuff of school. Dental I know it's very possible. Podiatry not sure as I've heard pod school is considerably more difficult and stressful.

Thanks everyone!

 

[BTR1208]

Jan 23 is 42 days away. Should I try to take that MCAT since material is fresh from the DAT. I guess all I would have to study really is physics and just do a TON of passages daily. I already have EK books. Could I score what I need given 42 days?

Which schools would still be an option applying this late?

Scholl?
Kent?
Barry?
NYCPM?

 

[HappyHobPod]

Jan 23 is 42 days away. Should I try to take that MCAT since material is fresh from the DAT. I guess all I would have to study really is physics and just do a TON of passages daily. I already have EK books. Could I score what I need given 42 days?

Which schools would still be an option applying this late?

Scholl?
Kent?
Barry?
NYCPM?

You certainly could study for the MCAT in 42 days from now, especially since you just came off of some DAT studying. However, there are a few things to consider. The MCAT is historically a more difficult (in my opinion) and certainly a very different test. I studied for the DAT before I studied for the MCAT and was actually in a nearly identical situation to you about a year ago. The MCAT requires much more critical thinking than the DAT does from what I found. It's entirely passage based and requires sifting through information within the passage, which becomes easier the more you do it. But again, 42 days from now you would I imagine HAVE to have been spending 6-10 hours a day studying. It will be a bit more than just learning physics, which is a huge part of it smashed together with chemistry seeing as how it comprises one section of the test. I gave myself 4 months to study for it on a 6-8 hour a day schedule and I still didn't feel like I knew enough, but I ended up scoring a 504. My practice test averaged around 510 so I may have just choked on test day. But other people I talked with did shotgun study sessions in 6-8 weeks and did well. It really depends a lot on what you actually know, what you need to learn, and your comfortableness and speed with the testing style. So could you prepare for it in 42 days from now? Certainly. Should you? That's up to you. I would visit the dedicated MCAT reddit. I used that quite a bit to help guide my studying and found it pretty helpful. Your MCAT score can make or break your chances of a scholarship too, so you want to do well.
In this stage of the cycle you could apply to all of the schools and potentially get an interview/acceptance to any of them. But this will be highly dependent on your GPA and MCAT score. Your chances are likely better at the schools with more seats. Off the top of my head that'd be Temple, NYCPM, Scholl, Kent at ~100 per class. The smaller class sizes at other colleges will certainly fill up more quickly as they do so on a rolling basis; there's alway a chance though to get in until they fill up, and you would probably have to call the school to let you know how full they are. MW-AZ admits ~30 students into their class and DMU ~50. I see your biggest challenges right now as taking the MCAT and getting some experience shadowing a DPM. Seeing as how you may be pressed for time to study for the MCAT, get shadowing experience, and then putting your application together, applying next cycle wouldn't be a bad idea at all! This is a big switch you are making if you decide to go through with it, you owe it to yourself to make sure it's the switch that you want to make.

 

[Podman16]

Jan 23 is 42 days away. Should I try to take that MCAT since material is fresh from the DAT. I guess all I would have to study really is physics and just do a TON of passages daily. I already have EK books. Could I score what I need given 42 days?

Which schools would still be an option applying this late?

Scholl?
Kent?
Barry?
NYCPM?

As far as studying for the MCAT goes, I studied for 8 weeks. I scored a 497, which isn't great but it got me into school! My practice tests were actually all over 500 but I ended up not scoring as well on the bio section as I had been doing so I'm sure you could do it with the given timeframe that you have. You would have to make sure to stay dedicated and spend ample time everyday and I think you could pull it off. You have a solid GPA so I would think that you have a little wiggle room with your MCAT score.

 

[BTR1208]

As far as studying for the MCAT goes, I studied for 8 weeks. I scored a 497, which isn't great but it got me into school! My practice tests were actually all over 500 but I ended up not scoring as well on the bio section as I had been doing so I'm sure you could do it with the given timeframe that you have. You would have to make sure to stay dedicated and spend ample time everyday and I think you could pull it off. You have a solid GPA so I would think that you have a little wiggle room with your MCAT score.

Awesome! Congrats! What were your main study resources?

 

[Podman16]

I used everything Kaplan and also bought question packs from the aamc.

 

[BTR1208]

Should I go ahead and submit my app now even though I wouldn't take MCAT until Jan 23? Do I even stand a chance at interviews until MCAT is completed?

So realistically no shot at MWU-AZ or DMU this late?

Best shot would be, from my understanding:
Kent
Scholl
Barry
New York
Temple

 

[HappyHobPod]

Should I go ahead and submit my app now even though I wouldn't take MCAT until Jan 23? Do I even stand a chance at interviews until MCAT is completed?

So realistically no shot at MWU-AZ or DMU this late?

Best shot would be, from my understanding:
Kent
Scholl
Barry
New York
Temple

You can still submit your app. without your MCAT. Some of the schools may give you an interview, but more than likely they will wait until they get your scores in I would think. Especially at this point in the cycle. But you never know! You should also still submit apps to DMU and MWU-AZ if they are your top choices because there is still a realistic chance to be accepted to those schools. People that are already accepted to a school may decide on different schools, careers etc. and that will free up spots. When I interviewed at MWU-AZ, the student who was showing us around the campus interviewed in May and was accepted, taking the last spot for that class. I'd say give it a shot.

 

[BTR1208]

You can still submit your app. without your MCAT. Some of the schools may give you an interview, but more than likely they will wait until they get your scores in I would think. Especially at this point in the cycle. But you never know! You should also still submit apps to DMU and MWU-AZ if they are your top choices because there is still a realistic chance to be accepted to those schools. People that are already accepted to a school may decide on different schools, careers etc. and that will free up spots. When I interviewed at MWU-AZ, the student who was showing us around the campus interviewed in May and was accepted, taking the last spot for that class. I'd say give it a shot.

Cool! Wow, good to know!

J you the man!

 

[BTR1208]

My fiancée is thinking i should wait until next cycle. That way I have more options for schools, less stress for MCAT (have more time to study), and she will be done with her masters and making $60-80k. Seems like the smart move to me.

 

[HappyHobPod]

My fiancée is thinking i should wait until next cycle. That way I have more options for schools, less stress for MCAT (have more time to study), and she will be done with her masters and making $60-80k. Seems like the smart move to me.

Your fiancée is a smart woman haha. Again, I was in a similar situation to yourself about a year ago. I'm extremely glad I didn't rush it because I wouldn't have had the chance to take everything into consideration, gain as much actual shadowing experience as I did, or probably have done as well on my MCAT. Not to mention potentially wasted a lot of money! I'm not sure how long you studied for your DAT, but studying for a test like that is a drain on most people as it is. So you'll also have time to decompress and relax for a little while.

 

[BTR1208]

Your fiancée is a smart woman haha. Again, I was in a similar situation to yourself about a year ago. I'm extremely glad I didn't rush it because I wouldn't have had the chance to take everything into consideration, gain as much actual shadowing experience as I did, or probably have done as well on my MCAT. Not to mention potentially wasted a lot of money! I'm not sure how long you studied for your DAT, but studying for a test like that is a drain on most people as it is. So you'll also have time to decompress and relax for a little while.

Exactly I was going to wait until after winter break then start studying back up. Looking like I will take the July 8 MCAT with release date of August 9th. Or should I am for having scores released before the cycle opens. Imagine I would be considered early either way correct?

I do work full time but my job is pretty lax. Also have classes Tuesday/Thursday. How long should I study for the MCAT? I can only commit maybe 3-4hrs a day until first week of May then I can hit it hard until test day. So last 10 weeks I can study as long as needed. Until then minimal. How would you go about setting up studying?

 

[HappyHobPod]

Exactly I was going to wait until after winter break then start studying back up. Looking like I will take the July 8 MCAT with release date of August 9th. Or should I am for having scores released before the cycle opens. Imagine I would be considered early either way correct?

I do work full time but my job is pretty lax. Also have classes Tuesday/Thursday. How long should I study for the MCAT? I can only commit maybe 3-4hrs a day until first week of May then I can hit it hard until test day. So last 10 weeks I can study as long as needed. Until then minimal. How would you go about setting up studying?

If your scores were released on August 9th, you would definitely still be considered an early application. The application for that cycle would only have been open for a few days at most. I wouldn't worry about that part too much.

I worked full time at my job while I studied too and essentially went home after work to study for 6-8 hours. That went on for about 4-5 months, which needless to say was a meager existence. And thankfully my girlfriend put up with it haha. So it is possible with your plan. If you can dedicate 3-4 hours a day until May and hit it hard like you said those last ten weeks, I don't see why you couldn't do well. I probably overdid it myself, but I just didn't want to leave it to chance. As far as planning your studying, I would just do practice test and practice questions. Maybe you can do some initial review for a few weeks, just depends how comfortable you are with the material. Check your work and familiarize yourself with concepts you get wrong by going back and studying it, rinse and repeat. The hardest part is just familiarizing yourself with the way that they ask questions on the test and managing your time. I spent the last 2 months just doing practice questions and test, and that is where I improved the most on my practice scores and really began feeling comfortable with the MCAT.

 

[ssmlt]

I am in the situation as the OP. I feel like it is almost a flip of a coin situation (not joking). I am currently 25 (turning 26 soon) and still need about 1-2 years of pre-req coursework (1 gen chem, 2 organic chems, and 2 physics and I guess maybe more social sciences if I take the MCAT). I feel as if I am too old to start this up but honestly I being social with people and helping people. Currently I am a Blood Bank Technologist (4 years of medical laboratory experience, 1 year as a supervisor) and I do not see patients anymore. My first job I obtained blood as well but no patient contact anymore. Which one of the committees (podiatry or dentistry) looks more favorable on job experience in healthcare? I really hope my four years of full time work will help me out a ton on an application because I have a 3.5 sgpa/3.5 cgpa. Also, is either dentistry or podiatry more "snooty" about where coursework was taken? (I got my Associates degree at a Community College).

 

[bobtheweazel]

Also, is either dentistry or podiatry more "snooty" about where coursework was taken? (I got my Associates degree at a Community College).

I had a bunch of classes (including some prereqs) from community college. The Podiatry schools didn't seem to care at all. Also, AZPod, arguably the best pod school academically, keeps track of students who take community college versus university courses and compares that to how well they do throughout pod school and so far there has been no difference.

 

[ssmlt]

I had a bunch of classes (including some prereqs) from community college. The Podiatry schools didn't seem to care at all. Also, AZPod, arguably the best pod school academically, keeps track of students who take community college versus university courses and compares that to how well they do throughout pod school and so far there has been no difference.

Thank-you for responding to my post I am glad to hear that. #FeeltheBern Bernie is my profile pic. on FB!

 

[BTR1208]

I keep going back and forth one day I'm set on dental the next podiatry. Hardest decision ever!!!

I'm just terrified of giving up my life with my fiancée and our soon to be children. We want kids in the next 2-3 years and if I can't enjoy them because school is so stressful and demanding it makes me wonder if it's worth it. In dental school I know I would have at least SOME time for them.

I have heard some pod schools, like DMU, maybe AZpod do not require attendance to lectures. I'm an early morning person so studying in my own would probably be best anyway and maybe that would free up some time later in the day for family.

I know I will earn good money in ether career. I would enjoy the day in and out work of podiatry more but will my lifestyle be good? We love to travel and are very family oriented. Dental would eventually allow me to set my own schedule. Does pod offer that?

Thanks everybody and hope winter break is treating you all well! In Denver right now myself!

 

[feet2017]

I keep going back and forth one day I'm set on dental the next podiatry. Hardest decision ever!!!

I'm just terrified of giving up my life with my fiancée and our soon to be children. We want kids in the next 2-3 years and if I can't enjoy them because school is so stressful and demanding it makes me wonder if it's worth it. In dental school I know I would have at least SOME time for them.

I have heard some pod schools, like DMU, maybe AZpod do not require attendance to lectures. I'm an early morning person so studying in my own would probably be best anyway and maybe that would free up some time later in the day for family.

I know I will earn good money in ether career. I would enjoy the day in and out work of podiatry more but will my lifestyle be good? We love to travel and are very family oriented. Dental would eventually allow me to set my own schedule. Does pod offer that?

Thanks everybody and hope winter break is treating you all well! In Denver right now myself!

With both dentistry or podiatry depending on the setting you choose to work at you can work as much as you want or as little as you want. Some things to keep in mind in case you haven't thought about is traveling/living situation/moving. In dental school you essentially go to the school and do rotations in that area and you don't have to move, also there is no residency required. In podiatry school during your 3rd year you may have to move to another city or commute a long way to your clinical rotations depending on which podiatry school you go to. During your 4th year you have 5 months or so depending on the school and you travel around the country, also you HAVE to do a 3 year residency and that residency may not be in denver. Just some food for thought.

 

[BTR1208]

With both dentistry or podiatry depending on the setting you choose to work at you can work as much as you want or as little as you want. Some things to keep in mind in case you haven't thought about is traveling/living situation/moving. In dental school you essentially go to the school and do rotations in that area and you don't have to move, also there is no residency required. In podiatry school during your 3rd year you may have to move to another city or commute a long way to your clinical rotations depending on which podiatry school you go to. During your 4th year you have 5 months or so depending on the school and you travel around the country, also you HAVE to do a 3 year residency and that residency may not be in denver. Just some food for thought.

See this doesn't bother me; actually sounds great! Also, not from Denver just visiting for break. Appreciate this and your response in the "typical day" thread. Really swaying me to pod for sure! Overall are you happy with your decision to go to pod school?

 

[feet2017]

See this doesn't bother me; actually sounds great! Also, not from Denver just visiting for break. Appreciate this and your response in the "typical day" thread. Really swaying me to pod for sure! Overall are you happy with your decision to go to pod school?

Yeah it's been great.

 

[BTR1208]

Yeah it's been great.

In your opinion is starting at 25 and not practicing until 32 really late?

 

[feet2017]

In your opinion is starting at 25 and not practicing until 32 really late?

Not really. Most people that become "doctors" dpm/md/do don't practice till their 30's. Most other surgical residency for do/md are twice as long as podiatry. The average age of students in your classes will be mid 20's.

 

[BTR1208]

Not really. Most people that become "doctors" dpm/md/do don't practice till their 30's. Most other surgical residency for do/md are twice as long as podiatry. The average age of students in your classes will be mid 20's.

Actually after looking at the 2015-2016 handbook it says average age for entering students is 25!

Thanks again for all your help!

 

[JohnDOCTOR1234]

Podiatry and dentistry have similar pay really. Not sure how the math comes out of the increased cost of dental school but being able to practice right away vs only make 50-60k a year for 3 years in residency. Shadow both honestly

In my opinion feet is better than mouth.

 

[zukunft195]

In my opinion feet is better than mouth.

This is a thread from 2015. OP is enrolled in dentistry school.