Working during dental school?

[heyitscyndi]

I am wondering if I'm going to have time to work a job during dental school. But if not, will I need to take out a bunch of loans in order to pay my bills? I still live at home so I haven't had to deal with cable bills, phone bills, etc. so I'm wondering how tough it is going to be to get by. What do you guys do?

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[DrTacoElf]

I am wondering if I'm going to have time to work a job during dental school. But if not, will I need to take out a bunch of loans in order to pay my bills? I still live at home so I haven't had to deal with cable bills, phone bills, etc. so I'm wondering how tough it is going to be to get by. What do you guys do?

I think it would be possible to have a job for a few hours per week (less than 10) I've done some calculations. For me living will be about 25K for 4 years and tuition is about 69K for 4 years. Now lets assume you get $10 per hour at your part time job (most likely it will be less than this). Lets say you do 15 hours per week (more likely this will be like 10), and you work 45/52 weeks per year and multiply that by 4 years. That comes out to 27000 before taxes not bad but it might not even be worth your effort.

 

[JRogoff]

I've only gone through one semester, the semester which is soposed to the the least difficult, and i would have to say that a job is totally out of the question. There are some people in my class that do work study as lab monitors, but they can study during this time. So unless you can study during whatever job you take on, i would say forget the job idea.

 

[psiyung]

I am currently in dental school, and work two days a week. Saturday and Sunday from 6AM-1PM...its tough, but I really need the money. This past semester I was still able to make A's and B's.

 

[DrTacoElf]

I am currently in dental school, and work two days a week. Saturday and Sunday from 6AM-1PM...its tough, but I really need the money. This past semester I was still able to make A's and B's.

Congrats! May I ask what type of job you have?

 

[DrTacoElf]

I've only gone through one semester, the semester which is soposed to the the least difficult, and i would have to say that a job is totally out of the question. There are some people in my class that do work study as lab monitors, but they can study during this time. So unless you can study during whatever job you take on, i would say forget the job idea.

Hey josh, whats the name of that condition pictured in your avatar?

And is that shape common

 

[psiyung]

Congrats! May I ask what type of job you have?

Yeah bud, I am currently off for Chritmas break, but believe it or not, I'm a car mechanic at a Toyota Dealership. I use to work for them full time during undergrad for 3-4 years, so my manager gives me a lot of leeway during the week when I need it

 

[toofache32]

If you work, don't count on specializing. There is no way I could have done it...I barely had time to get my school work done, and I don't watch TV, party, or procrastinate. I used every free minute of my time to study and to perfect my lab work because I was such a big gunner. I was the guy that looked forward to Super Bowl weekend because that was extra time I had available to study that my classmates didn't (I hate football....a bunch of grown men chasing a ball...but that's another thread).

It could be done, but your grades will show it. But if you don't want to specialize then grades don't matter.

 

[JRogoff]

Hey josh, whats the name of that condition pictured in your avatar?

And is that shape common

That is called a tours. It is a boney growth of the hard palate. When stimulated it tends to enlarge.

 

[psiyung]

If you work, don't count on specializing. There is no way I could have done it...I barely had time to get my school work done, and I don't watch TV, party, or procrastinate. I used every free minute of my time to study and to perfect my lab work because I was such a big gunner. I was the guy that looked forward to Super Bowl weekend because that was extra time I had available to study that my classmates didn't (I hate football....a bunch of grown men chasing a ball...but that's another thread).

It could be done, but your grades will show it. But if you don't want to specialize then grades don't matter.

Absolutely right...If it weren't for the fact that I HAD to work during dental school, I would probably be in the top 10 percent of my class.

 

[Supernumerary]

I am probably one of the biggest slackers in my class and I don't know if I would have time for a job. Assuming your school schedule is 8-5 with a half hour commute you have already spent 10 hrs of your day and 50 hours of your week. Add in a very low average of 1 hr studying/day and 2 hrs on the weekends and you are up to 60 hrs./week.


So even if you only want to do a half-baked job of dental school, that's still a 60 hr/week undertaking. And you're thinking about adding a part time job to the mix?


You'd also have to find an employer who was flexible enough to accomodate all the mandatory all-night cram sessions and the after hours lab time (that even a slacker like me has to put in once in a while. ) I suppose if you could find someone who just needed weekend help you could pull it off. But unless you have some sort of specialized skill a weekend job probably isn't going to pay enough to even make it worth the effort.

 

[jessUMD]

But unless you have some sort of specialized skill a weekend job probably isn't going to pay enough to even make it worth the effort.

how about bartending on the weekends?

 

[heyitscyndi]

So how are you guys getting by then? By taking out a bunch of loans? I think I do want to specialize and from what you all are saying it is going to be very difficult to find time for a job. I'm just wondering how tight the money is going to be. Will I still get to go on random shopping sprees?

 

[psiyung]

So how are you guys getting by then? By taking out a bunch of loans? I think I do want to specialize and from what you all are saying it is going to be very difficult to find time for a job. I'm just wondering how tight the money is going to be. Will I still get to go on random shopping sprees?

If you have a job, you cant specialize, much less pass (for some people). it's all about time management, and when you have a job, you have no time. I'm pretty good at absorbing information in class, and hence my grades are pretty decent. I don't recommend getting a job in d-school

 

[aphistis]

Dental school will BE your job--particularly if you want to specialize. If you want to pull a 4.0 in dental school *and* have a second job...well, sure, you'll have plenty of money to go on random shopping sprees. You just won't have the time.

 

[PERFECT3435]

working while in dental school?

not a good idea at all. take however much loans you need in order to make it through. at the end, you will pay it off. i personally HAVE to take out about 10k per year. thats me living the low life but its something i have to do. i wont do anything to make my life any harder than it is. i.e get a job.

 

[toofache32]

I could never justify spending my precious weekly hours working while in dental school because I had no special skills or previous experience that would allow me to earn much more than minimum wage. On the other hand, when I was in medical school I moonlighted 20-30 hours per week as a general dentist and made buckets of money because I already had a professional degree. I also never had 20-30 hours to spare each week in dental school.

 

[shopaholic]

You should try to find a job in the school's library. At my school, the student librarians didn't do anything but study. Plus you'll be the first to get access to all the books and dental decks...you won't have to buy any.

 

[aphistis]

So how are you guys getting by then? By taking out a bunch of loans? I think I do want to specialize and from what you all are saying it is going to be very difficult to find time for a job. I'm just wondering how tight the money is going to be. Will I still get to go on random shopping sprees?

Yes, taking out a ton of loans is exactly how most students pay for dental school. If you have access to funds that will help you pay your way through, great. But for the rest of us, free time is too rare & too precious to waste at a second job. You'll make the money to pay off the loans after graduation. Be careful inviting unnecessary headache while you're in school; there's more than enough of the necessary sort for most folks.

 

[tinker bell]

A few of my classmates do work (research, private dental office, et...) And they still amazingly do extremely well.

 

[Derock]

Who cares about working to make a little extra money? It is a drop in the bucket in the long run. When I start dental school, if I am not studying, I want to be relaxing and enjoying myself. You work all those hours at a job that pays, if you are lucky, 10 bucks an hour. Get out of school and you will make up for all the potential money you could have earned in no time flat.