Crazy Career Move?

why not? if you want to do it then you should. but don't confuse dentists with orthodontists... the orthodontists i know take in WAY more per year than dentists especially those with their own practices.

I'm in a similar situation, except my primary consideration is doing something meaningful and something I'm interested in. You should view the "connections" at JP Morgan and MS as a sunk cost- it's great that you've accomplished those internships through networking and you've probably sharpened your business sense in the process, but this lingering interest in something else- in this case, dentistry- will turn from a curiosity into a regret. Don't let it get there.

The fact that you're getting this sort of advice on a finance forum speaks for itself.

why dentistry? go to med school, be a surgeon, join a private practice, make 500k a yr with a stable job, reasonable hours, live anywhere you want.

I'm under the impression you can only really break into the ibanking industry at a young age (or if you have lots of experience in finance, but if you go to med school you won't have that) and that you can really go to med school anytime (please correct me if I'm wrong).

Therefore, the better move would be ibanking and then quitting for med school because the other way around is much harder.

But of course you studied at Wharton with a great GPA, that probably allows an exception or two...

^^^ There just seem to be too many problems with the med school route. Doctors have to have waay more schooling than dentists. They pay ALOT more in malpractice and what they do isn't decided upon until residency time (which could force a doctor into a low pay/high hour job like primary care/family practice). Plus, most doctors work significantly longer hours than dentists.

Also, with regards to ortho versus general dentistry, I agree that orthodontists make more money. However, I think according to the ADA, your standard orthodontist makes 400k a year. That is crazy good for the amount of time they put into their schooling and everything. However, the 200k a year average dentists make ain't shabby at all given they have NO residency and work on average around 40 hours a week.

Passion is also something I agree is important. Obviously, I'd shadow and do my DD on the field if I chose to look into it more. Right now, though, I just am making sure that there is no major pitfall to dentistry financially and given that alot of people on this forum are highly career-oriented, this seemed like a good place to start comparing dentistry to other lucrative fields.

Do whatever you like. If you do ibanking after undergrad its not like you will be doing it for the rest of your life. There are so many other interesting things you can do after a few years gig in IB, obviously anything business/finance related. So if you have that business acumen and risk tolerance then go for banking. Again, it takes the A-type, hard working, sharp eyed person to be successful in this business.

If you like medicine and you want to do that for the rest of your career, and you think you will be good at it then go for that route. There are many good doctors. surgeons, dentists out there who are respected for what they do. You will have job stability, a good amount of pay/prestige if you are good. But it is not an easy ride to the top whatsoever.

yeah being a surgeon takes longer, but its much more lucrative and prestigious. private practice surgeons can easily pull 500k after malpractice. dentistry is kinda lame, but I guess its a personal choice.

that said, im only encouraging you bc clearly you are bright enough to get into a good med school, with a penn 4.0.

go for plastic surgery, that the best way to make big bucks.

i would shadow first considering what you'd be giving up are you actually cool with dealing with people's teeth all day? do you get squeamish at the sight of blood?

become a radiologist. Those cats are weird as hell, but they work 40 hours a week and pull 400K+. Now, with teleradiology available (ie, reading scans remotely), alot of them read from home as either their primary source of income or supplemental source of income.

I had the pleasure of managing 14 of the SOB's. Guys were nuts. One of our contractors told me he would not transcribe another dictation from this radiologist who had asperger's. I asked him why...he played me his dictation: "patient has a large lump in the aorta...GINGER, YOU'RE A FUCKING PORKER!!!". Yep. Random. Radiologists are crazy.