Salary vs job satisfaction?

[JIM600]

Ok, quick overview. I am 20, 4 A levels, various bits or work experience, rented flat, no real commitments. Took a couple of years out of education after school but I'm not really progressing.

Please don't take this as a whinging thread, I know I'm lucky to have the option in the first place, but in terms of deciding what to do long term - I'm currently stuck in a "salary vs. job satisfaction" spiral.

I've been looking at something like dentistry, I have the grades, it's potentially a relatively big money earner, and it's probably the most interesting (to me) of the higher salary jobs.

However I would be near enough 30 before I had finished the degree/training, it’s a (relatively) long working week, Uni fees are going to be upwards of 100k and it's a competitive course to get on to in the first place.

On the other hand - I would much rather be out working as a tree surgeon, landscape designer, anything with engines etc. But these "fun" jobs are unlikely to bring in the salary that dentistry etc will.

Right now, I'm edging towards something outdoorsy, with (comparatively) lots of free time, and quicker training. But I also have no mortgage or real outgoings to take into account at the moment.

I suppose I'm worried about looking back in 10 years time and knowing I "threw away" the chance at a high salary job, or alternatively, just coming out of uni with a 100k debt and working an xhr week wishing I had spent the last 10 years doing something I enjoy.

I know it's a decision only I can make, but are there any people 10/20 years down the line who have made the choice? I notice quite a few accountants and alike quitting the city life to become gardeners etc, but not many gardeners becoming accountants...

Thanks
Jim600

[bonsai]

You reckon you'd have a good chance of getting into Dentistry? It has seriously high entry requirements (not just A levels) and also won't you have missed the UCAS date for this academic year?

[JIM600]

bonsai said:

You reckon you'd have a good chance of getting into Dentistry? It has seriously high entry requirements (not just A levels) and also won't you have missed the UCAS date for this academic year?

You're right, and I honestly couldn't say for sure. I have all the GCSE/A levels that the top 5 or 6 Unis are asking for, and I'd spend the next 6 months - 1 year working my arse off doing dentistry/medical work experience etc to give myself the best shot, in addition to my existing CV. So in actual fact I would be 21 when/if I got on the 2011 course. But no, theres certainly no guarantee.

[Mojooo]

Satisfaction, but i doubt dentistry is one of those utterly awful jobs

that said i owuldnt do it because its manky.

[okgo]

And I would guess the accountants beccoming gardeners have earnt a crust in the city before leaving...

I have alaways had the dilemma, and I always think the grass is greener, this has resulted in my doing many different things and earning about 2/3rds of what I could be had I stuck to the first or second thing I tried

[JIM600]

okgo said:

And I would guess the accountants beccoming gardeners have earnt a crust in the city before leaving...

Chances are you're right about that - it's certainly easier to go from an accountant to a gardener than visa versa.

I guess that's one of the issues really, The high paying, 7/8 year uni course jobs are going to be far more difficult to swap to later in life.

[Rob13]

Tree Surgeons are fairly low paid from what I remember when looking around. Dentistry is a big earner but seriously would you like to poke around in someones mouth who has rotten teeth and bad breath?

They get paid all that money but they pay a lot into it all to start which suggests that if you failed, you're going to end up with a hefty debt.

I'm about 6 years on from uni now, and can honestly say that I made the wrong choices. I'm on a fair salary with good future prospects, but I dont think its the right role for me. I'm looking around currently but its probably the worst time to career change.

[johnfm]

orthondal work. My kid's braces cost £2k. Th waiting room was rammed.

My mate owns the place. He makes a lot more than the dentists!

Do the dental thing - you can always revert to the tree surgery job in your thirties.

You are very, very young and seem to have the right idea. Go for it.

[GSP]

I have a friend who did dentistry at uni... believe it was in nottingham.

They now work in a tiny private surgery in one of the worst towns to live in.

She is pulling in over £50k a year... After only 2 years of working properly, not even as a partner in the surgery.

She's considering buying an AMV8

If I was in your situation I would go for the money.

However, from my own experiences, I am currently in a job I hate, it used to pay resonably well. Just not worth it.

[JIM600]

Thanks for the input - the last couple of posts go to reinforce that there definitely is money to be made from dentistry and its variants. I suppose it all comes down to whether 50k+ per year and an Aston V8 outweigh 10 years of training and sacrificing the “fun” jobs.

Don't get my wrong, If I decided that salary was the key factor, I'd have no problem putting the work in - it's not that I have an issue doing the work if the reward is there, more that maybe the reward just isn't really all it's cracked up to be – does lot’s of money outweigh doing the job you love, or does doing a job you like less outweigh being skint.

PS – Rob13 - I wouldn’t say poking around is someone’s mouth is my calling, but the job as a whole interests me a lot more than some of the more “desk” based, high earning jobs. I guess it’s not all that different to poking around setting valve clearances and timing on an engine head, which is what I’m currently doing.

[GSP]

The problem with being a detist... in her words,

'All the skanky people that, drink coke, smoke and never brush their teeth'

They are the people she is dealing with day in day out, rotten digusting teeth. She has nearlly been assaulted twice by idiot council house types.

[okgo]

JIM600 said:

Thanks for the input - the last couple of posts go to reinforce that there definitely is money to be made from dentistry and its variants. I suppose it all comes down to whether 50k+ per year and an Aston V8 outweigh 10 years of training and sacrificing the “fun” jobs.

Don't get my wrong, If I decided that salary was the key factor, I'd have no problem putting the work in - it's not that I have an issue doing the work if the reward is there, more that maybe the reward just isn't really all it's cracked up to be – does lot’s of money outweigh doing the job you love, or does doing a job you like less outweigh being skint.

PS – Rob13 - I wouldn’t say poking around is someone’s mouth is my calling, but the job as a whole interests me a lot more than some of the more “desk” based, high earning jobs. I guess it’s not all that different to poking around setting valve clearances and timing on an engine head, which is what I’m currently doing.

do remember you can earn £50k in many types off job, not just professional type roles. And if you are in the south, or don't mind commuting down here or moving then it makes it even more likley you will earn these figures...

[Alex]

Someone on only £50k a year would have to be mad to buy an AMV8.

[GSP]

Sorry to go off topic but why would they have to be mad?

I believe she said take home was in the region of £3200 after tax. Mortgage and bills are around £1k a month...

Leaving £2.2k a month to play with, Her partner earns slightly less but has an equally good safe job.

Edited by GSP on Thursday 11th February 11:23

[JIM600]

okgo said:

JIM600 said:

Thanks for the input - the last couple of posts go to reinforce that there definitely is money to be made from dentistry and its variants. I suppose it all comes down to whether 50k+ per year and an Aston V8 outweigh 10 years of training and sacrificing the “fun” jobs.

Don't get my wrong, If I decided that salary was the key factor, I'd have no problem putting the work in - it's not that I have an issue doing the work if the reward is there, more that maybe the reward just isn't really all it's cracked up to be – does lot’s of money outweigh doing the job you love, or does doing a job you like less outweigh being skint.

PS – Rob13 - I wouldn’t say poking around is someone’s mouth is my calling, but the job as a whole interests me a lot more than some of the more “desk” based, high earning jobs. I guess it’s not all that different to poking around setting valve clearances and timing on an engine head, which is what I’m currently doing.

do remember you can earn £50k in many types off job, not just professional type roles. And if you are in the south, or don't mind commuting down here or moving then it makes it even more likley you will earn these figures...

As you say, 50k is possible in lots of jobs - It's difficult to get average figures, but speaking to local dentists (particularly those owning their own practices or specialising) after 5-10 years you can be looking at a lot more than 50k. In some of the paperwork I've been given, there are figures of a 80-100k average for NHS dentists and several private partners on 250+. As I say, it's hard to find real-life figures, but 50k is achievable through hard work in a lot of fields, some of the dentistry figures do seem to justify the massive degree/time put in.

Edit - Just to add, the figures from the States are (relatively) even higher - lots of figures of $180,000+ average for cosmetic dentistry and orthodontists.

Edited by JIM600 on Thursday 11th February 11:31

[Alex]

GSP said:

Sorry to go off topic but why would they have to be mad?

I believe she said take home was in the region of £3200 after tax. Mortgage and bills are around £1k a month...

Leaving £2.2k a month to play with, Her partner earns slightly less but has an equally good safe job.

Edited by GSP on Thursday 11th February 11:23

An AMV8, even a secondhand one, is going to cost at least £1,000 a month to buy and service. If she wants to spend nearly half her disposable income on a car, then that's her choice. As I said, I think that would be mad.

[okgo]

JIM600 said:

okgo said:

JIM600 said:

Thanks for the input - the last couple of posts go to reinforce that there definitely is money to be made from dentistry and its variants. I suppose it all comes down to whether 50k+ per year and an Aston V8 outweigh 10 years of training and sacrificing the “fun” jobs.

Don't get my wrong, If I decided that salary was the key factor, I'd have no problem putting the work in - it's not that I have an issue doing the work if the reward is there, more that maybe the reward just isn't really all it's cracked up to be – does lot’s of money outweigh doing the job you love, or does doing a job you like less outweigh being skint.

PS – Rob13 - I wouldn’t say poking around is someone’s mouth is my calling, but the job as a whole interests me a lot more than some of the more “desk” based, high earning jobs. I guess it’s not all that different to poking around setting valve clearances and timing on an engine head, which is what I’m currently doing.

do remember you can earn £50k in many types off job, not just professional type roles. And if you are in the south, or don't mind commuting down here or moving then it makes it even more likley you will earn these figures...

As you say, 50k is possible in lots of jobs - It's difficult to get average figures, but speaking to local dentists (particularly those owning their own practices or specialising) after 5-10 years you can be looking at a lot more than 50k. In some of the paperwork I've been given, there are figures of a 80-100k average for NHS dentists and several private partners on 250+. As I say, it's hard to find real-life figures, but 50k is achievable through hard work in a lot of fields, some of the dentistry figures do seem to justify the massive degree/time put in.

Edit - Just to add, the figures from the States are (relatively) even higher - lots of figures of $180,000+ average for cosmetic dentistry and orthodontists.

Edited by JIM600 on Thursday 11th February 11:31

I do agree from what has been said on here, it does seem like one of the more efficent uses of a degree. But its getting popular too, I gather.

[AyBee]

Alex said:

GSP said:

Sorry to go off topic but why would they have to be mad?

I believe she said take home was in the region of £3200 after tax. Mortgage and bills are around £1k a month...

Leaving £2.2k a month to play with, Her partner earns slightly less but has an equally good safe job.

Edited by GSP on Thursday 11th February 11:23

An AMV8, even a secondhand one, is going to cost at least £1,000 a month to buy and service. If she wants to spend nearly half her disposable income on a car, then that's her choice. As I said, I think that would be mad.

What?? £1000 a month for an AMV8? Really? But then what else do you spend your money on? You have £2k/month to play with, even with £1k on a car you still have £1k to play with....what would you spend that on if all your living expenses have already been paid? I'd do it if I was her But then that's why I'm on PH

Going back to the OP, it all comes down to priorities, I'm finishing uni this year with a good degree from a decent uni, my debt won't be anywhere near what you're predicting but then I didn't have top-up fees But I'm either looking to go it alone, or become a wage slave, I'm young, hardworking and there's plenty of time later in life for rest/settling down, it's all down to your priorities in life. If you have the grades for dentistry then I'm not sure why you haven't taken them further with a degree already? When all said and done, you'll be a maximum of 3 years older than your peers, probably 2 because quite a lot of unis for medicine/dentistry seem to like to take on students after they've had a gap year.....2 years isn't much, I'd go for it if I were you

Edited by AyBee on Thursday 11th February 12:04

[Alex]

AyBee said:

Alex said:

GSP said:

Sorry to go off topic but why would they have to be mad?

I believe she said take home was in the region of £3200 after tax. Mortgage and bills are around £1k a month...

Leaving £2.2k a month to play with, Her partner earns slightly less but has an equally good safe job.

Edited by GSP on Thursday 11th February 11:23

An AMV8, even a secondhand one, is going to cost at least £1,000 a month to buy and service. If she wants to spend nearly half her disposable income on a car, then that's her choice. As I said, I think that would be mad.

What?? £1000 a month for an AMV8? Really? But then what else do you spend your money on? You have £2k/month to play with, even with £1k on a car you still have £1k to play with....what would you spend that on if all your living expenses have already been paid? I'd do it if I was her But then that's why I'm on PH

Disclosure: Ten years ago, I ran a new Griffith 500 for three years, which cost less to run than an AMV8. At the time, I was on more than £50k. I loved the car, but with hindsight, it crippled me financially. Which is why today I drive a ratty old Honda.

[GSP]

Struggled to run a a Griffith 500, 10 years ago, whilst earning over £50k

Your either have really big issues budgeting your money, or you talking out your arse. I imagine the latter.


Back on topic I guess