I have just completed my bachelors degree and now trying to figure out what the next step is for me. I have always thought I would be applying to dental school but there have been some setbacks to this journey. I have a 2.6 science gpa and 3.1 overall gpa. I got an 18 on my DAT. This was already my second attempt as my first attempt, I got a 16 AA. I was told by a few dental schools that my stats are not competitive. I was told to enroll in a post-bacc or masters program and retake the DAT again. If I do this route, it still may not guarantee admission into dental school. I don't know how to proceed and don't think it makes sense anymore to continue applying to dental schools. I really appreciated the work/life balance, the pay, be your own boss, own your own business, and help people. What are some good back up options? I don't mind doing extra schooling. I just want to ensure I can make at least 100k with whatever career I choose. I am open to any suggestions! I appreciate the advice!
What are some good back up options if dentistry doesn't work out?
- Thread starter galaxmart
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Hi, you should look into optometry. It's very different from dental but has the qualities you are looking for in a career. Start by shadowing some ODs to see if it would be a good fit, and ask them why they chose optometry and what they like/dislike about it.
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My back-up plan was to be a preacher with a traveling salvation show.
Pack up the babies
And grab the old ladies
And everyone goes
Love, Brother Love say
Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show
The people skills to be a success as dentist are pretty much the same as those to become a good revival preacher.
Pack up the babies
And grab the old ladies
And everyone goes
Love, Brother Love say
Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show
The people skills to be a success as dentist are pretty much the same as those to become a good revival preacher.
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I could say nearly related to your course so that you won't have difficult time for adjustment.
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I'm a firm believer that if you are good at whatever you do, you can be successful. Being a good people person/communicator can also help a lot. What is your degree in? That would be the cheapest option by far. Are you set on medical field? Also why 100k? Are you married, have kids? I know tons of people that make less than that and basically live the life they want and are very happy. As far as other options military (still has pension option, travel etc.) or being a realtor. If you want to make $$$ go into a business related field 100%.
That is why I am looking to stay in healthcare, but I haven't seen any jobs that provide similarities to lifestyle and income that dentistry provides
You mention a business-related field, what careers in business can guarantee a minimum of 100k?
I have looked into optometry but have read that they only make around 90k. I haven't been able to get solid answers on salaries for optometrists. I don't want to take on additional debt and do 4 more years of schooling if my income won't compensate for it.
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Guarantee... none. Not even most dentists are guaranteed 100k and have to work for it. Most work off production excluding DSOs. I'm going to be frank, you probably will be hard pressed to find a job STARTING over 100k with a bachelors degree (still don't know what it is btw) and lower gpa. That being said there are some that can get close. Petroleum engineering comes to mind pre COVID. You will need to get hired and work your way up. I mentioned business because you have the most potential for growth (not going to go look up careers for you). As I said before, if you are good at what you do you can be successful. You don't seem very passionate about either dentistry or optometry and need to do some soul searching and shadow as mentioned above. Any admission committee will ask why this career, and the lifestyle/income reason is far from ideal.
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One potential issue is that OP would have to take the OAT, which is almost identical to the DAT.
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OK I'm going to be the bad guy here. As a person who has been in your shoes but is now in Dentistry, I feel you, but at the same time, I don't. I put in a lot of effort after a series of unfortunate events unfolded onto me. I worked a full time job, took prereqs, studied for the DAT, and shadowed all at the same time and as a result, I got my GPA up and killed the DAT. In fact, every single one of us here went into dentistry for the reasons you listed, but every single one of us put in effort to either get a good DAT, good grades, or both. Yes, dentistry is hard to get into and your stats aren't competitive, but just because of that you want us to give you another path, but only if it makes 100k+? How are you certain you'd even achieve it?
If you're just looking for a back up path to dentistry that guarantees 100k+, I can tell you that there's no such thing, at least not without being extremely lucky or a lot of hard work. So here's the thing. You don't need another path. You need to change your mindset. You need motivation and to put in hard work. With the 50 percentile of the DAT being close to a 18-19 now, scoring a 16 tells me that you did not study. No one who went through 4 years of a biology degree will get a 16 on the DAT if they studied. You proved it the next time you took it, which you scored an 18. Not great, but it means you are capable of growth.
So there's the big secret. If you want to make 100k+, you need to find ways to get motivated and put in the effort. I’m not telling you to keep trying for dentistry. Maybe dentistry isn't for you, maybe it is, it doesn't matter what you choose. You just need to find something that gets you motivated enough to start putting in effort. Realize that these get rich quick schemes usually don’t work out; we can’t just suggest a path for you to take that guarantees 100k+ and you’ll magically get there by taking a few courses. If you can get motivated and get some results, you’ll definitely find a good job, be it dentistry or something else. If you cannot do that, then you will have to settle for a less than glorious job, or a job that doesn't pay 100k+.
If you're just looking for a back up path to dentistry that guarantees 100k+, I can tell you that there's no such thing, at least not without being extremely lucky or a lot of hard work. So here's the thing. You don't need another path. You need to change your mindset. You need motivation and to put in hard work. With the 50 percentile of the DAT being close to a 18-19 now, scoring a 16 tells me that you did not study. No one who went through 4 years of a biology degree will get a 16 on the DAT if they studied. You proved it the next time you took it, which you scored an 18. Not great, but it means you are capable of growth.
So there's the big secret. If you want to make 100k+, you need to find ways to get motivated and put in the effort. I’m not telling you to keep trying for dentistry. Maybe dentistry isn't for you, maybe it is, it doesn't matter what you choose. You just need to find something that gets you motivated enough to start putting in effort. Realize that these get rich quick schemes usually don’t work out; we can’t just suggest a path for you to take that guarantees 100k+ and you’ll magically get there by taking a few courses. If you can get motivated and get some results, you’ll definitely find a good job, be it dentistry or something else. If you cannot do that, then you will have to settle for a less than glorious job, or a job that doesn't pay 100k+.
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I appreciate your input. I put in the work and got an 18. I studied my ass off even when I got a 16. Its just the luck of the draw on what difficulty of test you get that day. What was your science gpa and overall gpa ? How can I improve from the position I am in now. Obviously retaking the DAT is one way, but do you even think a post-bacc will help raise my science gpa?
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Even if some versions are harder than others, the scales are calibrated so that performance is the same. Blaming the version of the test you get is not the right mindset to have when it comes to improving your score.
If it's all about "lifestyle": 100k+, own boss, schedule, etc. then just stop now. If you want to be a dentist, because you actually like dentistry, then it will be a long hard road. Honestly, you're far from earning it. You have a TON of 4.0 credits ahead of you before you will be considered. You must become a good student if you want to do dentistry. Right now you're way below average.
There are a ton of fields that will allow you to make 100k. But again, why would you deserve that? If you want an above average salary you must be an above average performer and demonstrate expertise. People who are high earners are not the type of people who have to ask other people what field to go into to be a high earner. You need to assess your own situation, what your motivations are, and decide what's best for you and square that with what you're capable of.
Right now the federal minimum wage is $7.25, so I would put you at $15,080 per year FTE and that's only because it would be illegal to pay you less.
There are a ton of fields that will allow you to make 100k. But again, why would you deserve that? If you want an above average salary you must be an above average performer and demonstrate expertise. People who are high earners are not the type of people who have to ask other people what field to go into to be a high earner. You need to assess your own situation, what your motivations are, and decide what's best for you and square that with what you're capable of.
Right now the federal minimum wage is $7.25, so I would put you at $15,080 per year FTE and that's only because it would be illegal to pay you less.
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jesus take it easy here. no need to be this harsh. everyone goes into each field for different reasons. dentistry is not all rainbow and sunshine so a financial motivation is a good start to push OP through.
i don't know if you are already a dentist or a predental student but insulting someone like this will not cut it in real life.
These type of people think they're the ****. If dentistry made less than 100k, I'm 100% certain this person wouldn't be doing dentistry. No one chooses this job solely based on liking teeth.
Life happens and there's been some roadblocks in my path. I have an upward trend but it isn't easy to repair my GPA when it was low to begin with. I came here for advice and positivity, which I didn't get from you. I can see why people avoid SDN forums, it's because of toxic people like you.
I saw a dramatic difference in my reading passages from both times I took my test. Passages were significantly longer and more difficult. You would be a fool to say that a version of a test doesn't have an impact on your score.
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There can be more difficult or more easy versions of the exam. The score is still scaled to compensate for variations in difficulty. You would be a fool to blame your test version for your score rather than your preparation (or lack thereof).
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I remind everyone to treat each other with civility.
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On a lighter note...
Big Hoss
Big Hoss
Someone suggested Petro-engineering, the DNC wants a Green New Deal which will Negativity effect that industry in the U.S.
AS far as making $100K/ yr several years ago Caterpillar had openings for 12 heavy equipment mechanics, they would pay for your education, pay $50K, and their graduates after 3 years was making over $100K.
Why not take a year off and work, try several jobs ?
A friend of mine was a MD, before he became a Doctor he was a high school health teacher & football coach.
One guy tried comedy and failed, so he worked a vinyl siding sales rep,, until the age of 40. He tried comedy again and ended up being one of the highest paid comedics, starring in movies, tv shows.
So we never know
If you read back over this thread, and are self critical, you will realize that all you've done is offered excuses for your poor performance. I'm not mad about it as it doesn't affect my life in the slightest. However, I don't think you will ever be successful unless you learn to admit mistakes and learn from them. Low GPA - Low DAT - Unless you change your academic performance you will not be a dentist. You need to achieve high marks in school if you want to be a dentist because dentistry is not finger painting. Indeed, you're going to have to do a lot of 4.0 credits, as you correctly pointed out, to bring your GPA's to a level demonstrating competence. The DAT needs major improvement too.
I am a dentist. If you become a dentist know that the general public expects you to be excellent. Patients, and the public through licensing, places a lot of trust in healthcare providers. It's your responsibility to live up to that trust. You do that by working hard, not making excuses, and EXCEEDING THE STANDARD. In every metric you've shown you fall below the standard.
Dentists don't become dentists because they "like teeth" the same way a surgeon doesn't choose that career path because they "like gallbladder". Ideally you go into a field you find engaging, challenging and interesting because 100k doesn't mean a whole lot when you have to do something you don't like for 20-30 years and have to pay a signification cost of entry via sweat equity, time and money (debt). Most dentists I know that are happy became dentists because they find it rewarding to treat oral disease - not because they "like teeth".
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Easy. be a RN, do NP if you want that life. Accelerated nursing programs are easy af, and some of the people there are not the brightest. You should do fine. Or, you can learn to code python and become a python developer. That pays well. You likely won't have to pursue more university, you can just do an online coding class, or that harvard online free education stuff, and be fine. I mean, I had a friend in comp sci in university, got an internship at FB, then didn't even finish and didn't get a comp sci degree. You don't need a degree to do anything meaningful in IT.
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Petro engineering isn't going anywhere. Pretty much everything not metal or wood is made from oil.
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Try to figure out what makes you passionate. Explore/shadow different fields/professions. Are you sure you like healthcare/sciences? This may be a reason for your performance.
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My sister in law just finished her bachelors in nursing last may, first job out getting paid over 50/hr, only has to go to work 3 days a week, it’s a pretty good ROI in my opinion.
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Friends who are earning 100k+ while I’m still in school...
Electrical engineer, computer engineers, mechanical engineer, PAs, advanced nurses who have worked their way up the career chain and take overtime, a kid who started a gym (before Covid he was crushing it), guy who tutors rich white kids for the SAT/ACT/DAT, day trader wiz living with mom (pre-Covid), most people who studied business at the college I went to, one girl who rents out a whole bunch of rental properties and AirBnBs (pre-covid) using family’s money, kid who deals (making more money now than ever), cute girl who scored a bartender job at a very upscale resort, guys who resell sport and concert tickets, kid who took over dad’s funeral home.
This list goes on and on...
Electrical engineer, computer engineers, mechanical engineer, PAs, advanced nurses who have worked their way up the career chain and take overtime, a kid who started a gym (before Covid he was crushing it), guy who tutors rich white kids for the SAT/ACT/DAT, day trader wiz living with mom (pre-Covid), most people who studied business at the college I went to, one girl who rents out a whole bunch of rental properties and AirBnBs (pre-covid) using family’s money, kid who deals (making more money now than ever), cute girl who scored a bartender job at a very upscale resort, guys who resell sport and concert tickets, kid who took over dad’s funeral home.
This list goes on and on...
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I foresee potential broken hearts with this tunnel vision mentality. I'm in the rarest minority of practicing dentists because I'm not smart, I'm not handy, I have selective dyslexia and I got into DS through the "skin of my teeth." I got lucky with the DAT and scored 98 percentile despite fire alarms at 2 am the morning of the test. I agree that the DAT is calibrated and based on the bell curve. If the exam is "easier," then many will perform better and the bell curve will score you accordingly.
Dental school will be at another level. In undergrad, I deliberately took Biochem, Phys, Microbiology, Histology, etc in hopes to get better prepared. However, those classes didn't help me at all because everything was different. Dental School in my opinion is like the academic Navy SEALs BUDS training without the physicality and water torture. There is a lot of hazing from the instructors & staff. The class before mine lost 13 out of 50 students the first year while we lost 5 and inherited 8. There are a lot of things beyond our control. We had to cement 4 bridges to graduate and it doesn't matter if one of your bridge patient moved out of state while your completed bridge you slaved over was for nothing. Your denture pt is in the hospital with a heart attack and the dentures you spent hours on would get no credit. Pediatric requirements can be tricky because you have to juggle around the child getting sick and the parent's work schedule. In my DS, the only thing that counts is the results with all the fees paid and not the effort or any left over balances. I had to bribe a 16 yr old kid who ran away from home to come back so I can polish a post-op test filling.
After you pass the Boards (Part 1 with about 400 questions, Pt 2 with 600 questions) and practical Regional Boards making sure your patients show up and approved to proceed, you enter a field that is less lucrative. Insurance companies are decreasing their payments because they can. Overhead can get overwhelming and out of control. Saturation is getting unsustainable. Even in the boonies where there are no McDs or Subway, there are too many dentists per population unless you go to places where not many can afford your work or you will get shot. I live in a very desirable area and my wife finds it sad that one of my dentist friend has to do his own janitorial work and billing insurances after hours. Fortunately he has his dad to help with the bills.
Many careers are getting less lucrative. The trend is someone will do your job for less money. I had a colleague who use to do IT and had to set up a system where they sent medical radiographic images to India to be interpreted. If you get an 8 to 5 job, be prepared to train your replacement after receiving your hard earned raises and promotions.
