OT: Medical School

[Chugga44]

Yep that's true to a certain extent! 16 years of training to pull out wisdom teeth. LOL. But hey I like the the fact that I get to go back to uni but still work in the medical field while studying.

Oh and if I did dentistry first, no way would I have pursued maxfac pathway. Hell no! I would have been happy with a technical and satisfying job which happens to pay really well too! My mate who is only 2 years older than me and done dent is now looking to buy the 458! Add to his GTR.... But hey GTI is not too bad i guess:mad0259:

there is no doubt that in the sub 40 agebracket, dentists will make substantially more than medicos ON AVERAGE, but they can both still be very comfortable livings.

however, if you think dentistry is a good way to make HEAPS of cash then you are wrong. my two best mates are real estate agents and i play golf with a couple of wanker bankers, all of whom crap all over me for income.

saad, my final comment on this is that if you want to be helping people when you go to work and can still have time for a family and support them well financially then dentistry is going to suit you better than med in general.

/out

 

[johno]

ask yourself what are the really important things in a man's life:

I think Food, Sex, and Sleep

Ain't gonna be getting much of any when you are training to be a doctor.

 

[CiaranGTI]

Dentistry sounds good, but Im not too sure, looking at people teeth sounds rather boring!

TLR sorry if I am reposting someone else's trivia tidbit, but apparently dentists have the highest suicide rate of any profession.

Saad weren't you starting the new job in accounting when I sold you the car? Without wanting to generalise, you are fulfilling the stereotype that everyone boxes gen y'ers into. In 12 months you have been an accountant, an IT conslutant (and yes I spelt it as slut on purpose, IT conslutants are whores) and you want to be a doctor. I am all for living the dream, but employers will find it hard to take you seriously when you have changed jobs like your underwear.

If you are considering a career change, make sure it is something you really REALLY want to do. I know from recent personal experience in the IT industry (business analyst for 3 and a half years) that it does pay well but is about as satisfying as piercing your own scrotum. Hence why I am going back to uni to become a high school design and tech teacher, using my earlier degree in Industrial Design. One and a bit years and I am into the sweet sweet world of 8-4 and 12 weeks of annual leave per year. thats what I'm talkin bout!

Anyway, try to see if you can get some volunteer work like becoming a St Johns Ambo while you are still earning good coin in IT. That way you can deal with some injury first aid and basic patient care and maybe even some blood and guts. Work at a dance party and you will definitely get to work on drug od's.. :wink: That way you can see if you honestly do like the work before you are way out of your depth in more course fee debt.

Best of luck either way man, I know I am currently in the between jobs phase and it definitely bites the big one going from a very well paid IT job to working casually in retail (in an apple retail shop though, staff price macs WOOT!) but I know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, I just have to get there. You seem like a pretty driven guy though, so you'll probably be fine.

Cheers,


Ciaran

 

[srbsta]

ask yourself what are the really important things in a man's life:

I think Food, Sex, and Sleep

Ain't gonna be getting much of any when you are training to be a doctor.

:biggrin: i have nothing else to add

 

[zz2]

:biggrin: i have nothing else to add

you forgot soccer and serb music :bellyroll:

 

[saad]

Cheers Ciaran. I hated my accounting job, really hated it, and got the IT one so was a good opportunity. Going back to uni to study IT which should be useful, and at the same time will see if I can get into med. So got 2 years to decide fully what Ill be doing.

Sameatworld, what your background? Did you do med or dentistry, and what are you workign as....I want to be like your friend and be looking to buy a 458....

 

[Ice Halo]

ask yourself what are the really important things in a man's life:

I think Food, Sex, and Sleep

Ain't gonna be getting much of any when you are training to be a doctor.

LOL

I remember a few shifts where I didn't piss, eat or drink for >12 hours. Non-stop work.

Also 24 hour on calls 7 days a week for most of the year is not unheard of when you're a registrar in some specialties.

 

[Big Yellow]

I want to be like your friend and be looking to buy a 458....

sounds to me like the real reason you want to be a doctor/dentist is so you will be rich and be able to buy anything you want. :iono:

its probably the wrong reason to make such a drastic career change.

 

[TimT]

A Ferrari 458 is like $500k isnt it? What are your parents gonna say when you blow that much cash on a car? you will be disowned!

 

[YouSnooze]

apparently dentists have the highest suicide rate of any profession.

Unfortunately my profession has the greatest success rate for suicide because we know how to do it properly. I personally know at least 6 anaesthetists that have offed themselves over the last couple of years :frown:.

 

[saad]

Unfortunately my profession has the greatest success rate for suicide because we know how to do it properly. I personally know at least 6 anaesthetists that have offed themselves over the last couple of years :frown:.

Thats shocking....

And I dont want to be a dr/dentist to be rich it was a joke

 

[DRMAT]

Unfortunately my profession has the greatest success rate for suicide because we know how to do it properly. I personally know at least 6 anaesthetists that have offed themselves over the last couple of years :frown:.

Chiropractors apparently have the highest divorce rate... but my wife is a chiro as well... does that mean we're twice as likely or it just cancels out? :thumbsup:

 

[funny]

Having been down the med vs dent decision before the whole GP provider number crap many years back, dentists should have a better "lifestyle" than medicos. Medicos may earn more, but they work pretty damned hard for it - they SHOULD be paid well if you ask me. Then again, some medicos (like one on here) like shift work because it gives them good pay and family time, so it's not necessarily all bad. I for one would like to work less hours so spend more waking hours with my son.

As for dentists earning money - sure it's not bad. But don't think that all of the $$$ you hand over goes into the pocket. Dentistry is a high overhead business. Back in the 80's a sobering statistic (IIRC) was some 50% of dentists retiring broke. It's not all $$ and golf (though that might be the case for lots).

Nowadays it's all marketing and doing things quick for money. Thankfully i don't need to lower my standards to do that as I earn enough and sleep better at night knowing i've followed the "mother principle" and not ripped people off or f%^ked them over.

At the end of the day Saad, it's better to get good info on where you will head.
Talk to medico friends (or better still family/extended family) to get an idea of what they went thru. Maybe even sit in on a day with someone (need to take leave i guess) to see what they do. Don't forget to think about where you will work too. Good places to earn are not necessarily metro. How up to moving (constantly or not) are you?

Remember to look at the downsides. Don't want to be pessimistic, but you'd be deluding yourself if you only ever look at the positive side of things.

 

[DRMAT]

What does your average GP/ dentist/ surgeon/ specialist pay in PI insurance? Obviously varies wildly depending on what you do but for those of you on here with direct experience? I've heard of obs paying around $100k/yr just in PI insurance!

 

[nath_mkVI]

Not wanting to be rude but it always makes me laugh when people talk about how hard they work and no sleep rest etc, when it comes down to it you get out of any job what you put in, if you work the extra yards then you get the benefits of this.

And anyway, I spent a number of years in the Navy at sea, try working 20 hours in a day 7 days for 6 months and tell me how tired you are.... :wink: