Hey Guys/Ladies,
I've been checking out these forums since about my senior year of high school (I'm now a senior in college applying for dental school). I've wanted to be a medical doctor since I was about 6, but recently switched to dentistry so that I can hopefully start a family earlier and reap some of the lifestyle benefits available in that career (regular work hours mainly), and I can still travel around the world and help people. Good deal, right?
So, I'm in the application process right now and I'm starting to get cold feet. The debt load if I get into my in-state university after living expenses and interest will come out to about 320K. On an average dental salary, the payments to get payed off in 6-7 year simply doesn't add up. BUT, I want to own a practice, and I know that there are some practice owners out there that come out of school, buy a practice 2-3 years later and crush it. They tend to have no problems paying the loans back.
My question here is, do any dentists here that own a private practice have advice as to how I can get to your position? Is there something the top echelon of dentists are doing that puts them head and shoulders above everyone else, and is it something that I can learn to do? How can I strengthen my business skills while in dental school? Is it crazy to basically bet on myself to come out and run a very successful practice within the first 5-6 years of graduation? I believe I have the drive and ability to get there, but some people are morbid as ************************ about the career and some times its hard to tell the difference between the people sitting around wishing for the "old dentist lifestyle," or if they're people working their asses off that simply can't get it done under today's student debt load and the environment of current dentistry.
Thanks!
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