I have never been interested in college. The jobs never sounded like something I’d like to do. Until recently, that is. I’ve been to a dentist before and I’ve had my teeth cleaned a couple times, so I have an idea of what hygienists do.
What really surprised me was… the high pay, and the low amount of schooling needed. I read hygienists make around 70,000 dollars a year. And I saw all you need is an associate degree (2 year degree). These things surprised me because, it seemed relatively easy to become a hygienist. And the potential to make like 30-50 dollars an hour is nothing to just ignore.
My last job was warehouse work. It paid minimum wage. And when I see job postings for hygienists on Indeed.com, offering like 50 dollars an hour, I love the idea of it.
Do you think I should become a dental hygienist? If so, I would need to finish my GED. I would then probably go to a community college that has a dental hygienist program.
Well,you might not earn that much right away but definitely more than minimum wage.
Get the GED and you could start in the spring at the community college
Just one thing: beware of ‘for profit colleges’ - they’re not in it for your Education, but for themselves, to make a profit off of you. It’s right there in the name but they ensnare students by promising quicker paths … Which never turn out to be true. To top it off, most professionals consider for profit "diplomas"to be bought, not earned, and thus worth nothing.
Community college is not glamorous but it works. It’s backed by the state and thus recognized. Get your Associate’s degree and double/triple your take home pay ;).
Finish your GED and then start on the prerequisites required for hygiene school. Most schools have waiting lists for the two-year program before you even start, so you are probably looking at the least at 4 years before you would graduate and get licensed. Most hygienists start out for working PT for several offices and you won’t be earning $50/hr early on (if at all) unless you are in CA. Hygiene school is a full-time “job”—you’ll be class or clinic 8-5 5 days a week.
Be sure you REALLY want to be in dentistry for more than the money. If it’s only money, you will be miserable. Shadow your dentist a few times and watch what a hygienist really does, the people s/he deals with, the multiple skills and tasks that go into what you might think is a “routine” appointment for everyone. Volunteer at a dental clinic and gain more experience. If you are still excited about dental hygiene, then go for it.
I have a friend who was a bright girl but whose mother was dying of cancer when she was in HS and she was the oldest of 4 kids. She wound up barely graduating HS because she was essentially nursing her mom and raising her siblings (this was in the late 1970’s, early 1980’s before hospice, etc.) and becoming a waitress. She met a cop and married him and then became a dental assistant. She really enjoyed it, so when her kids were about 2 and 4, she went back to school for dental hygiene. She started with a temp place, filling in for hygienists who were on vacation or sick. After working at a bunch of places, she found two that she really liked and began working for each of them part-time. She was able to get a schedule that let her be home when her kids were. She did very well and enjoyed her work enormously. She got her dental hygiene degree at NYU. She was babysitting one of my kids for spending money at the time she was in school (he was an infant) so I would sometimes study with her. I am not stupid (I’m a lawyer), but the things she had to memorize stumped me in some cases. Every dental hygienist I have ever spoken to enjoys the work, even if they may not love the dentists they work for. Also, if you are bright and organized, you can work your way to be office manager.
