I'm at Ameritech college right now...do I have a future in this industry?

[spacemanspiff]

How old are you? Can you put of having kids for a couple of years?

26 and my wife is 29. She wants kids now because she is "getting old". Why do you ask?

 

[Labwa]

Just thinking of risk. It's a bit more difficult to jump into something with one income and a kid or two.

 

[SiKBOY]

You have to ask yourself if you are willing to put 60 Hrs plus a week into this job when you get out.

It's not uncommon for a normal tech to b e a slave to the bench. Ask any of the others that post here the hrs they are at work compared to home hrs I hope your wife and kids are understanding if you do decide to take the tech life.

 

[Affinity]

I disagree.. here in switzerland everyone puts their career first before kids.. and all the other parents i see with babies are in their 40s.. its a bit creepy..

Jump in the pool! Having kids is awesome, we just had our 2nd.. and my life, owning a lab with one income, is nothing but risk. You gotta have faith and work hard, find a balance, and never look back. Theres always an excuse to wait on having kids.. but theres nothing wrong with another tax deduction or two.
Live humbly, and dont be afraid to move to find a good job. If you want to drive a new car, then thats a different priority.

Ill give you an example, my sister had her baby at 18y/o for free because shes low or no income.. my daughter cost around 10k, with a $7500 ins. deductible.. haha So which is more risky? Get your insurance in order first, something i didnt look into!

 

[Affinity]

DENTAL LAB TECHNICIAN -

Take a look, this is the reality of jobs out there.. this wouldve been my dream job 10 years ago.. unfortunately it takes about 10 years experience to be qualified for it probably.

 

[Flipperlady]

I disagree.. here in switzerland everyone puts their career first before kids.. and all the other parents i see with babies are in their 40s.. its a bit creepy..

Jump in the pool! Having kids is awesome, we just had our 2nd.. and my life, owning a lab with one income, is nothing but risk. You gotta have faith and work hard, find a balance, and never look back. Theres always an excuse to wait on having kids.. but theres nothing wrong with another tax deduction or two.
Live humbly, and dont be afraid to move to find a good job. If you want to drive a new car, then thats a different priority.

Ill give you an example, my sister had her baby at 18y/o for free because shes low or no income.. my daughter cost around 10k, with a $7500 ins. deductible.. haha So which is more risky? Get your insurance in order first, something i didnt look into!

What's creepy about it? I had my one and only at 42, took care of him and worked all night building my lab (no welfare Al, but have husband).
You may want to start earlier though because at 30 you have much needed energy. At 45 not nearly as much. My son can tell you all about 1970's music however!

 

[Affinity]

to each his own.. I would never claim that older parents love their kids less.. Every couple knows when theyre ready.. Energy level is important.. and the older parents I see look like theyre walking the dog.. not really enjoying it. I dont see the passion or enthusiasm..

If you want kids because youre getting old, or because now your career is established.. maybe thats not the right reason to have a kid. Have them because you WANT them.

If you want kids, the time is now. Its the most fun Ive ever had in my life, only parents know how it feels.

 

[Flipperlady]

to each his own.. I would never claim that older parents love their kids less.. Every couple knows when theyre ready.. Energy level is important.. and the older parents I see look like theyre walking the dog.. not really enjoying it. I dont see the passion or enthusiasm..

If you want kids because youre getting old, or because now your career is established.. maybe thats not the right reason to have a kid. Have them because you WANT them.

If you want kids, the time is now. Its the most fun Ive ever had in my life, only parents know how it feels.

Sounds like you may have issues with people over 30, did your mom treat you well

 

[Affinity]

Im over 30 so how does that work..? this is turning into the Dr Phil thread...

 

[Flipperlady]

I suspect Freud himself would run screaming from this group

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XfmVBmDKLZI

 

[spacemanspiff]

We both want kids a lot because we want kids. I have been waiting until we were both close to finishing school to start having them though. I am grateful for all the responses. No matter how much money we make together we want to have kids. I just want to give the life I had to my family as well, which isn't an unrealistic standard.

What schools/programs are good for learning about cad/cam?

What would you recommend I do as a recently graduated student to move my career forward as efficiently as possible?

 

[jthacke3]

Hey spaceman...call JD at Utah Valley Dental Lab. He's happy to visit with you privately about this matter. 503-930-0135

 

[RileyS]

There ya go Spiffy! Utah valley is an awesome lab!

 

[martintay]

Nice one . Good luck !

 

[Affinity]

Boom baby, looks like youre on track!

 

[2oothguy]

Just like most people have said you will need to put in your time before you will make any kind of money. You will need to be a leader become indispensable and put in a lot of hrs. I have been in the lab for 21 yrs. Worked in a lot of labs large and small and learned a lot from both. But if I were you I would get out of school and start working in a lab. Because experience pays more than a piece of paper. Get in a lab and then take classes on we're you need too. Or want too

 

[spacemanspiff]

experience pays more than a piece of paper.

Does this apply to the CDT as well?

 

[wwcanoer]

Currently, being a CDT doesn't mean much.

Speaking for myself, I've been a CDT for 35 years and proud of it. Like you, I went to an accredited two-year at the local junior college, graduating with an AA degree plus certificate of completion in Dental Technology. My class started out with 20 students, 13 graduated, and less than half are still in the field-including myself I know of three. The main reason, low entry wages . About six years after I graduated, the program closed.

If I did this correct, the link below will send you to an interesting discussion regarding whether a CDT is worth the paper it's written on.

http://dentallabnetwork.com/forums/f22/cdt-not-ortho-forum-2798/


My two cents worth, unless you're willing to get into CAD/CAM, etc., get out while you can learn to do something else. Yes, I love what I do, but on the other hand don't see a future in it.

PS

Also keep in mind that this can be rather hard on your body: hearing, wear ear protection, but I think the biggie is repetitive motion injuries i.e. carpal tunnel and tendinitis.



Kids! Love them!
Have them early in life, you will probably still have the energy to be active after they've flown the coop. Or wait until you are more financially secure, and you probably be able to do more with them before they fly the coop.

just remember to enjoy life

 

[Toothmouth]

Demise of the Dental Lab.

Just found this site. Wish I had years ago. I've been doing High quality, fixed restorative for 35 years in southern California and I can tell you this, the dental lab business will shrink dramatically in the next 5 years. Mainly do to in-operatory cad-cam systems which will be a common fixture in the majority of dental practices, in the near future. I'm already seeing this first hand. One of my oldest accounts, ( over 22 years),purchased the newest generation of Cerec , ( CEREC Omnicam). If you're not familiar with this unit, you should be. The software is much easier to use then the earlier versions, plus it doesn't require disclosing powder and the optic scanner is much easier to use, allowing subordinate employees to scan, design, mill, crystallize and glaze a three unit e-max posterior bridge in about an hour. I'll tell you this, the aesthetics of a stain and glaze emax , IMO are no match in quality to the layered technique, however the cost to the Dentist is so much less that it's mind blowing, with a total material cost of about 50 bucks! In comparison, I charge $185 per unit for emax.

So, if are considering a carrier in the Dental lab arts, may I suggest a rethink in vocations


Toothmouth

 

[Tayebdental]

My friend, may I suggest to you to study hard at school and change your carrier path, study computer engineering, civil engineering , you are still young, do something deferent. good luck.