Dentalcompare
Clinical Director
U.S. News and World Report issued its latest in rankings, this time covering the Best Jobs of 2013. They looked at careers with an eye for those offering overall employment opportunity, good salary, manageable work-life balance, and job security. Dentist landed in the top spot out of the 100 different jobs to make the list. Close behind at the number 10 spot was Dental Hygienist.
In many ways, I am not that surprised. I feel lucky that I get to go to work every day and have the opportunity to do what I do. Dentistry is a unique blend of healthcare, science and artistry. In our office we have geeky high-tech gear to us that allows us to do better dentistry and have fun doing it. I also get to work with a great staff, and an amazing group of patients from my community.
Further, I am lucky to have a relatively regular schedule. I have many friends in other lines of work who have to travel all week, keeping them away from their families. Others stay in town, but log 60+ hours a week at their jobs.
One of the hardest things about being a business owner, father, husband, etc., is trying to find balance with everything. It is hard to make sure you are working enough to propel your career, but not so much you miss out on your kids growing up. Dentistry is a rare business that does allow such a balance. No one has made the importance of this clearer to me than Dr. Mark Hyman whose kids are now grown and out of the house.
Dentistry allows us the opportunity to set schedules and not miss out on those random Christmas performances, soccer games and recitals. It really is a great career, and deserving to be ranked in the top spot on this list.
It is interesting to note that the top 10 jobs in this report were all either health care related or computer IT related. In fact, just two of the top 20 were outside of those arenas. Dental Assistants also made the top 100, but came in at just number 46.