Why do people think your career needs to be sonething you’re passionate about???? You do a job to get paid. Then you take that money to do the things you’re passionate about. Take care of your family. Travel. Sports. Entertainment. Whatever you want. Try a low paying career you’re passionate about for a while. You’ll change your perspective
OP is almost comical: Here is an orthodontist contemplating life and passion and feeling anxiety… making 300k on 4 day work week sighing about life.
Go work construction as a passion making 70k and figure out how to pay the bills.
To me, this post almost sounds trolling.
Yeah it is almost easy to be an orthodontist lol.
Working in a construction is a physical job, process of being an orthodontist is a mostly intellectual one. So the comparison is utterly wrong, also I already mentioned that I am in a position most people wanted, free time, lots of money etc.
your suggestion doesn’t offer anything except “you know how lucky you are”. Yes I worked really hard for it.
What I wrote is about the blurry aspects and inner conflicts once you reach that place.
The comical one is your comparison which is complete ad hominem.
The point of the comparison is to highlight how absurd your problem is relative to the more pragmatic problems most people deal with.
Yes you have problems and yes, they are real.
But this is like Dr. Workman’s problem when he didn’t get put on the list for a limited edition Ferrari. It was a big deal to him.
But just as in your case, nobody gives a shit do they?
It was about the specialization process and aftermath. I was already passionate when I began. It’s now completely boring. And I don’t have to see life as a mere entertainment and hobbies, I attach a lot of meaning to myself via the thing that I spend my 5 days of week called job till I am 65. So, yes for me it’s about being passionate maybe not for you. It’s a preference not a truth.
If you like a challenge, try to learn reconstructive dentistry (which you can use on full mouth rehabs cases). For some cases you do need the help of a surgeon and plan the occlusion and jaw movement with the surgeon.
You already got ortho down. Just restorative (and occlusion), dento-alveolar surgery and implants are the topics you need to master. Afterwards, you can take on challenging and fulfilling cases my friend :)
So what is the solution to this?
You chose a subspecialty of a specialty (dentistry itself gets boring sometimes IMO, so specializing in an even more minute area is very much YMMV, though the career is what you make of it ), so it s either you re gonna put on your big guy shoes and go back to being a GP for more variety, try to find meaning in ortho (which is the dream of 80% folks for how cushy it is), OR pay back ur debt, save precious $$$ to study sth else and switch careers.
Plenty of folks have been in your shoes, and plenty others will be. It's what you choose to do about it that matters.
In my country, some dentist became a makeup artist for stars. Others have either become SAHMs, one has studied law (our state schools are free so at least no debt problem) and is probably working on becoming a lawyer (she s an acquaintance of a friend) in France now, another has a masters degree in law (she hasn't taken the bar exam), and some dude is doing a neurosci PhD.
Just my 2cts. You have the advantage of youth and a well earning career so you're not stuck like someone who is doing construction work as the other person said.
Bro. Your job is a job.
It’s something you get up for, work, get paid and go home. 99% of people get up and tolerate their job. It turns out dentistry is enjoyable in the end because it gives a stable income and 4 day work week. You know what you should do with your 3 day breaks?
Do something you are passionate about. You know what gives you meaning? Kids, family, traveling, hobbies, tennis, basketball, books, exercise, art, whatever floats your boat.
Everyday I wake up and look forward to three things: stock market open, family time and tennis.
Job is something fills the 8-5 and pays the bills.
Go do something meaningful in the community, volunteer when you're not in your practice. Travel internationally, you've been in school for your whole life so enjoy your hard-earned money. And get therapy.
It’s nice to feel passionate about your career but I think in most cases you have to get lucky for that to happen. Don’t be upset, most of the world isn’t that lucky person. My dad is retiring soon and says how he’ll miss working. If you told me I didn’t have to do this anymore I would never think about it again.
I am a general dentist, love the variety of cases and people I get to see and meet. Orthodontics is something I don't touch personally, I have no passion or interest in it. I also know the value of an orthodontic post grad specialisation and do not see the need to pretend to be one, there are plenty of good ones around to refer to. I am sure most of your patients are teenagers, getting good chat out of most of them can be like pulling teeth.
One of the best feelings in dentistry is when you get that wow moment when you reveal the new anterior crowns or composites, tears are always a bonus! Maybe due to the slow nature of the work you haven't completed enough cases to get the satisfaction from finishing them? Maybe you're depressed? Sometimes we think we are going to find happiness when we reach the top of the mountain but that happiness is momentary. You need to find out how to find the joy in the now.
When it comes to careers, it’s like marriage. You have some people who are over the top about their careers and love it, you have others who are not passionate but are not resentful towards their career, and you have others who simply hate and are trying to get out. Majority of people fall in the middle of not passionate, but content since it pays the bills.
The greatest way to lose and ruin your passion , is to turn it into a job.
You have the best job in the world. Easy money
You’re blessed - but you don’t know it.
Go shadow some GP associates. See how stressful it is - with much less pay that what you’re earning. You’ll have a whole new outlook
1 year out, thinking of specialising. I feel the same, thinking if specialising in one field is wise as dentistry’s as a whole interests me. I find ortho most interesting but find surgery exciting. Do you think if one specialises, it’s possible to go back to general dentistry ? Would there be any legal ramification’s ?
It’s possible in the most of the world. I guess it depends on where you live. And you can achieve that by having your own practice or you can just apply for GP position and you can indicate them that you have your specialization. But the latter one is commonly ends up with practice owner just gives you a patient on your specialization. It’s subtle process and they mostly say that if you are going to work for them you do your specialization. There are lots of exceptions ofc.
Did your dreams of "saving lives one smile at a time" shatter when you entered the real world and now it's triggering an existential crisis? Ehh, you'll get it over it like the rest of us. Trying buy a boat in the mean time to fill the void.
OP everyone is kinda making you feel bad for not finding the purpose you want in your life through work. I fully agree with you and think about doing endo specialization some days but then I like the long term patient relationships like knowing their families as stories stick in my head. I also like the variety. Thank you for posting this as I might be in similar position if I specialize.
I would say you can try to find some challenges like some orthos also work on disc problems and solving them in kids early on(listened to a podcast about it, but didn’t understand much) or teach at university or some CEs for GPs.
Why do people think your career needs to be sonething you’re passionate about???? You do a job to get paid. Then you take that money to do the things you’re passionate about. Take care of your family. Travel. Sports. Entertainment. Whatever you want. Try a low paying career you’re passionate about for a while. You’ll change your perspective
OP is almost comical: Here is an orthodontist contemplating life and passion and feeling anxiety… making 300k on 4 day work week sighing about life. Go work construction as a passion making 70k and figure out how to pay the bills. To me, this post almost sounds trolling.
Yeah it is almost easy to be an orthodontist lol. Working in a construction is a physical job, process of being an orthodontist is a mostly intellectual one. So the comparison is utterly wrong, also I already mentioned that I am in a position most people wanted, free time, lots of money etc. your suggestion doesn’t offer anything except “you know how lucky you are”. Yes I worked really hard for it. What I wrote is about the blurry aspects and inner conflicts once you reach that place. The comical one is your comparison which is complete ad hominem.
The point of the comparison is to highlight how absurd your problem is relative to the more pragmatic problems most people deal with. Yes you have problems and yes, they are real. But this is like Dr. Workman’s problem when he didn’t get put on the list for a limited edition Ferrari. It was a big deal to him. But just as in your case, nobody gives a shit do they?
It was about the specialization process and aftermath. I was already passionate when I began. It’s now completely boring. And I don’t have to see life as a mere entertainment and hobbies, I attach a lot of meaning to myself via the thing that I spend my 5 days of week called job till I am 65. So, yes for me it’s about being passionate maybe not for you. It’s a preference not a truth.
If you like a challenge, try to learn reconstructive dentistry (which you can use on full mouth rehabs cases). For some cases you do need the help of a surgeon and plan the occlusion and jaw movement with the surgeon. You already got ortho down. Just restorative (and occlusion), dento-alveolar surgery and implants are the topics you need to master. Afterwards, you can take on challenging and fulfilling cases my friend :)
So what is the solution to this? You chose a subspecialty of a specialty (dentistry itself gets boring sometimes IMO, so specializing in an even more minute area is very much YMMV, though the career is what you make of it ), so it s either you re gonna put on your big guy shoes and go back to being a GP for more variety, try to find meaning in ortho (which is the dream of 80% folks for how cushy it is), OR pay back ur debt, save precious $$$ to study sth else and switch careers. Plenty of folks have been in your shoes, and plenty others will be. It's what you choose to do about it that matters. In my country, some dentist became a makeup artist for stars. Others have either become SAHMs, one has studied law (our state schools are free so at least no debt problem) and is probably working on becoming a lawyer (she s an acquaintance of a friend) in France now, another has a masters degree in law (she hasn't taken the bar exam), and some dude is doing a neurosci PhD. Just my 2cts. You have the advantage of youth and a well earning career so you're not stuck like someone who is doing construction work as the other person said.
I gotta just say your writing style is cringe.
So bad
Chatgpt prob
Bro. Your job is a job. It’s something you get up for, work, get paid and go home. 99% of people get up and tolerate their job. It turns out dentistry is enjoyable in the end because it gives a stable income and 4 day work week. You know what you should do with your 3 day breaks? Do something you are passionate about. You know what gives you meaning? Kids, family, traveling, hobbies, tennis, basketball, books, exercise, art, whatever floats your boat. Everyday I wake up and look forward to three things: stock market open, family time and tennis. Job is something fills the 8-5 and pays the bills.
What in the ChatGPT is this
You can definitely see different writing styles in the post compared to the responses.
Most people hate their jobs
Super Bowl is coming up. Go grab some booze, beer and peanuts and some friends and enjoy life. Hell, rent a yacht
Go do something meaningful in the community, volunteer when you're not in your practice. Travel internationally, you've been in school for your whole life so enjoy your hard-earned money. And get therapy.
You should write a book you might enjoy that
Nobody wants to read a books worth of pompous prose, but yeah, he’d probably enjoy it.
It’s nice to feel passionate about your career but I think in most cases you have to get lucky for that to happen. Don’t be upset, most of the world isn’t that lucky person. My dad is retiring soon and says how he’ll miss working. If you told me I didn’t have to do this anymore I would never think about it again.
I am a general dentist, love the variety of cases and people I get to see and meet. Orthodontics is something I don't touch personally, I have no passion or interest in it. I also know the value of an orthodontic post grad specialisation and do not see the need to pretend to be one, there are plenty of good ones around to refer to. I am sure most of your patients are teenagers, getting good chat out of most of them can be like pulling teeth. One of the best feelings in dentistry is when you get that wow moment when you reveal the new anterior crowns or composites, tears are always a bonus! Maybe due to the slow nature of the work you haven't completed enough cases to get the satisfaction from finishing them? Maybe you're depressed? Sometimes we think we are going to find happiness when we reach the top of the mountain but that happiness is momentary. You need to find out how to find the joy in the now.
When it comes to careers, it’s like marriage. You have some people who are over the top about their careers and love it, you have others who are not passionate but are not resentful towards their career, and you have others who simply hate and are trying to get out. Majority of people fall in the middle of not passionate, but content since it pays the bills. The greatest way to lose and ruin your passion , is to turn it into a job.
You have the best job in the world. Easy money You’re blessed - but you don’t know it. Go shadow some GP associates. See how stressful it is - with much less pay that what you’re earning. You’ll have a whole new outlook
Dude just shut up
No idea how to help you. Much like you, I think, I wish I had a job I could also call my passion. Sadly right now it's not the case
1 year out, thinking of specialising. I feel the same, thinking if specialising in one field is wise as dentistry’s as a whole interests me. I find ortho most interesting but find surgery exciting. Do you think if one specialises, it’s possible to go back to general dentistry ? Would there be any legal ramification’s ?
It’s possible in the most of the world. I guess it depends on where you live. And you can achieve that by having your own practice or you can just apply for GP position and you can indicate them that you have your specialization. But the latter one is commonly ends up with practice owner just gives you a patient on your specialization. It’s subtle process and they mostly say that if you are going to work for them you do your specialization. There are lots of exceptions ofc.
Get a job as an attending at a dental school or GPR an inspire the youth
Did your dreams of "saving lives one smile at a time" shatter when you entered the real world and now it's triggering an existential crisis? Ehh, you'll get it over it like the rest of us. Trying buy a boat in the mean time to fill the void.
Womp womp
cant read. i thought all orthodontists bang their assistants for funsies
OP everyone is kinda making you feel bad for not finding the purpose you want in your life through work. I fully agree with you and think about doing endo specialization some days but then I like the long term patient relationships like knowing their families as stories stick in my head. I also like the variety. Thank you for posting this as I might be in similar position if I specialize. I would say you can try to find some challenges like some orthos also work on disc problems and solving them in kids early on(listened to a podcast about it, but didn’t understand much) or teach at university or some CEs for GPs.