jobs(Wage) in Business comparable to Med

Parents Forum
1

<p>Hey everyone,
<em>I am reposting in the parent's thread because I think as parents, who are already in the workforce, you will be offer me advise through experience in regards to choosing college and career. Thank you!</em></p>

<p>I was accepted to Penn and received a full-ride(tuition+r from r&b+book expenses) from Ohio State U. I am from a middle-class family who really values return on investment---as in what job (salary-wise) I can get if I were to attend the university after graduation. I had been set in going to dentistry previously because I thought I would never be accepted to Penn, but now that I have been accepted, I am no longer so sure if that's what I REALLY want to pursue. These are three possible scenarios for me if I were to choose these universities:</p>

<p>1) accept full-ride at OSU, major in bio, graduate 1-2 yrs early, go to OSU Dental School, only have debt from dental school, get a career as dentist and make 150k-200+k </p>

<p>2) go to Penn,dual-major in Evironmental Science/(or another science)+business, job-IDK
wage=?</p>

<p>3) go to Penn, major in Ev. Sci, go to Dental school, after 8 yrs, have debt from undergrad+dental school, get a career as dentist and make 150k-200k. </p>

<p>Penn makes me think that there's hope in realizing my passion (entrepreneur+environment) but because of the uncertainities of actually being able to secure a job that would make the equivalent of a job in dentistry, my parents are I are having second thoughts about going to my dream school. Thus, I would be really grateful for any advise that would allow me to make this college decision with greater certainty. </p>

<p>While I'm still primarily interested in environment-related careers (energy develop, urban develop etc)I am generally interested in a job where I can apply both science+business. My parents expect that if I were to choose a different career path apart from dentistry, the salary should at least be >/= 150k-200k. Suggestions are greatly appreciated. </p>

<p>Thank you so much for reading this extensive post! I am so glad to have CC for support.</p>

2

<p>I don’t understand why you think the UG college is going to dictate whether you’ll go on to dentistry versus your ‘passion’. You could do either of those by attending either of those colleges. </p>

<p>Don’t worry so much what your parents expect of you years down the road for income - think about what ‘you’ want to do keeping your passions, interests, and practicalities as well in mind. It’s your life - not theirs. Also don’t forget that your interests and plans are likely to change over the next 4 years or so anyway.</p>

3

<p>You could definitely make more over a lifetime with a Wharton degree in the clean energy field which is getting a lot of venture investment now. You probably will make more as a dentist at first in that starting salary will be higher, but good business jobs will pay more over time.</p>

4

<p>" … good business jobs will pay more over time."</p>

<p>And you won’t have to pay obscene malpractice insurance premiums, and you won’t have to pay a staff out of your earnings, and you won’t have to fight with insurance clerks for payment, you’ll be able to take a long weekend without reducing your income (but not your expenses), and … most important of all … if in twenty years you’d like to do something else, you’ll have more options.</p>

<p>Bottom Line: If you have to ask if being a Dentist is right for you … it isn’t.</p>

5

<p>

This depends on WHEN you are going to make such a salary.</p>

<p>Heck, most parents here do not have a salary of >= 150k-200k in their whole life unless they have a lucrative professional degree or eventually get an upper management position (and can keep that position for long.)</p>

<p>The majority of college graduates, with a BA or BS degree only (or even with an MS or higher degree) do not make that much in their first 6-8 years.</p>

<p>Why set a goal so high? Especially, why let your parents set such a high goal for you? It puts too much pressure on you and it is not healthy.</p>

<p>Some business majors will make it big. But I believe only, say, 10-15 percents of them (yes, even from a school like Penn) will be that successful. You may or may not be among those 10-15 percents, depending on a lot of factors in addition to your degree and knowledge (and what kind of experiences you happen to have in your first 5 years after graduation. – Just a few months ago, a 40-something upper-level manager with a Wharton degree at my company was let go just because the company’s business has been changed and he happens to lack the experience the company needs now. Well…the lack of personal charisma is likely also important factor here.)</p>

6

<p>In other words, dentistry is a safer way to make bigger money than business. However, before one goes into dentistry, one needs to make sure they meet the physical demands of the job (dexterity, working with tools and very small things) and with the ‘yuk’ factor of digging into peoples’ mouths. </p>

<p>Problem 2 is that dentistry is a single-career path. Once a dentist… In business one can re-invent themselves or develop lots of portable skills.</p>

7

<p>Are you able to pay for Penn?</p>

<p>An OSU undergrad degree would put you in the position of pursuing your passion…you do NOT have to become a dentist if you go to Ohio State. It’s a HUGE university with tons of different majors.</p>

8

<p>This looks like a “parents want to force the student into a particular major and career path that the student does not want” type of post.</p>

<p>If the student truly does not want to do what the parent is pushing, and has a full ride offer, going to the full ride school is the obvious choice to eliminate parental leverage and therefore end the conflict. However, the twist in this particular case (if the student is concerned about high job pay rates after graduation) is that Penn may make it more likely to get a high paying investment banking job, though [investment</a> bankers may need more health care services](<a href=“Warning: Banking May Be Hazardous to Your Health - WSJ”>Warning: Banking May Be Hazardous to Your Health - WSJ).</p>

<p>Note that pre-dental course work may be doable alongside various majors; check dental schools on the pre-dental course work requirements to see if you can do it with the majors you actually want to do, if you want to keep the dental school option open while majoring in something other than biology (which generally leads to low paying jobs and careers if one does not get into professional school or gets through the fierce competition to get the good PhD level jobs in the field).</p>

9

<p>@ucbalumnus</p>

<p>Actually, dentistry is of my own choosing because I prefer it to becoming a doctor(generalized to include pediatrician, ob/gen, anethesiologist, general practitioner, etc) —but my parents do emphasize the “med route”. Going to my full-ride college would actually increase my parental leverage because of that college’s proximity to my house <20min, whereas Penn’s is about 9 hrs away. Additionally, I would feel compelled to pursue the bio to dental route if I attended the state school because 1) I wouldn’t “explore”–and would most likely adhere to fulfilling dental requisities of the state’s dental school and complete undergrad as quickly as possible 2) OSU’s finance/business program offers me less assurance of job placement. Summary: state school= 2-3yrs undergrad no debts+4yrs dental about 280,000+ early retirement for parents</p>

<p>@thumper1
Penn expects my parents to pay $35,000. While my parents are able to pay, it will mean draining most of their savings. T_T—thus the barrier from barrier from my dream. </p>

<p>@mcat2
“Why so high pressure?” Because my parents have toiled their entire lives to give me the opportunity to attend college and whether I choose Penn or dental school, I will be emptying their savings. I want to repay them as quickly as possible, allow them to have a early retirement, and provide for them financially. </p>

<p>Thanks everyone for the feedback. @NewHope33, will definitely keep the malpractice and other expenses of a dental practice in mind. Will be having another very long conversation with my parents about college+career selection. Ah…and I was fooled enough to think I can finally relax.</p>

10

<p>Easy answer. Go to Ohio State and save your money. Choose your courses and major based on your interests and abilities. Save Penn State or another school for graduate or professional school if you want it and get in. No guarantee you will get accepted to a dental school regardless of where you go to college and many dentists don’t earn that much money due to local competition. You have a few years for your parents to realize you need to follow your dreams and not theirs. It doesn’t matter how close your college is- I grew up 8 miles from the UW campus eons ago but lived on campus and was worlds away from home. Your parents have no say in your schedule. Sign up for the courses you want. As a freshman you can always say you are getting required breadth courses out of the way and once you are a college student you will find it easier to learn what most intrigues you and how to deal with your parents as an adult.</p>

11

<p>Wis…I think this student got accepted at UPenn…</p>

12

<p>I know- but the cost is too high. He can choose it for post undergrad study if he still wants it, hence the specific name mention.</p>

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<p>It seems unwise to go into medicine/dentisty purely with monetary incentive. You’d need passion to survive the demands of schooling and career responsibilities.</p>

14

<p>Pre-dental courses appear similar to pre-med courses, although pre-dental students may be encouraged to take some art sculpture courses (think about it) and business courses (since many dentists go into private or small group practice). Taking these courses does not require any specific major, so you can do them alongside any major you choose.</p>

<p>Also, if you have a full ride, you do not have the financial pressure to graduate early.</p>

<p>Even if they are only 20 minutes away, do you expect them to come by every day to tell you to go to medical school? Seems like their leverage would be much greater if they are paying anything for your school – you would eliminate such leverage by taking the full ride.</p>

<p>Consider another option: take the full ride, major in something you like that will have decent job and career prospects at the bachelor’s degree level, and let your parents keep their savings for their retirement. I.e. they won’t have to pay for your school, but you won’t have the pressure to get the highest paying job possible to support them.</p>

15

<p>If you want to save your parents some money so they can retire early, go to Ohio State. Do you really like dentistry? Don’t do something you don’t like because it pays well. The practise of dentistry has changed as in most other medical profession, it’s hard to be self-employed unless you buy an existing practice.</p>

16

<p>Freedom to follow your own path and find something that you love will be easier if you don’t have debt. If you actually like OSU then take the full-ride. Unless you really love biology, don’t major in it-just take the prereqs for dental school. While there, take every opportunity to explore and network. You may find another career that you love.</p>

17

<p>If you are intent on attending a professional school/grad school after undergrad degree, then the Undergrad school you attend is not critical, provided it is of reasonable caliber. A potential employer/client only cares about the LAST school you degreed in.</p>

<p>Don’t pick a profession soley for the money. Trends change. Radiology & Law used to be sure bet high-paying fields, but now they’re being outsourced to India. Financial analysts are headed that way too.</p>

<p>Anyway, isn’t UPenn in a pretty dodgy neighborhood?</p>

18

<p>OP,
It’s nice that you have consideration for your parents, but if they raised you to follow their wishes for YOUR adult life, that’s not fair to you.</p>

<p>Get independent (OSU), do your best for YOU, and it will likely also be best for them.</p>

19

<p>Boy, I know a lot of dentists who’d be thrilled to be earning 150K right now. A successful dental practice can gross 500K and after expenses (hygienist, billing staff, equipment leases, malpractice insurance, rent, etc.) pay the dentist a nice but hardly luxurious salary of 95K. And those are the successful practices, not the ones being sold or acquired because the dentist can’t make a living.</p>

<p>Don’t do it for the money- which may or may not be there 10 years from now when you get there.</p>

20

<p>+1 for blossom.</p>

<p>The real money in dentistry is specialization in things like endodontics, orthodontics, and any other term ending in -dontics. Even there, dentists are squeezed by the ‘in-network’ alternatives (why pay $60 copay when $20 in-network will do?)… and so on.</p>

<p>The -dontics crowd does gross $150-200k easily but the generalists, not so much.</p>