Career goals differ for each career pathway and the career pathway that I hope to follow for Orthodontics does not have as many short term goals as it does long term goals. The schooling to become an Orthodontist takes about 11 years before you are able to work full time in an office. A short term goal for me would be to get a job immediately in another Orthodontists office so that I am able to begin paying off loans. I would also want to get some business experience and management skills so that once I have a feel for what it’s like to work in an Orthodontists office, I can open my own practice. Another long term goal would be to excel to the best of my ability in a job that I enjoy going to everyday.

In the informational interview with orthodontist Dr. Ed Shehee, he described what a typical day was like in his practice along with requirements you need to become and orthodontist and also the best and worst parts of his day. Starting off in the interview describing what his day was like, Dr. Shehee mentioned that some orthodontists own their own practices so they are in charge of everything in the office. Having orthodontist assistants is very helpful for him because not only do they meet with about 50-70 patients a day, but that are also diagnosing the problems of the patients teeth and designing a personal plan for them. Most patients will come back to the practice every 4-6 weeks to get their wires adjusted and other important treatments that are included in their orthodontic plan. Dr. Shehee mentioned that the best part of his day would be when they are able to take the braces off of a patient after the treatment plan is over, this is very rewarding because the patient is then satisfied with their newly straightened teeth. The requirements that are needed for this job start out with a four year college degree followed by four additional years in dental school. During the first four years of college alot of science courses are required and also a high GPA since dental school is very competitive. After dental school, students will then apply to an orthodontic residency program which takes about two or three more years of schooling to specialize in orthodontics. This is mostly clinical work to get you used to what it will be like working in a practice. It helps to be every interactive with patients and also have somewhat of a business background if you plan on owning your own practice. The last form of advice Dr. Shehee had was to become personally involved whether it be with your family dentist and orthodontist or others in the area and try to volunteer and go behind the scenes to see what it is really like to work in a practice. Good grades again are very important and this is a difficult pathway that you need to stay focused for but it is well worth it in the end.

My ideal job would consist of owning my own Orthodontist office somewhere close to where I live now in a rural area and not the city. I am interested in this position because I had such a great experience at the Orthodontist office I attended in middle school and some of high school. I would want the environment of my office to be as welcoming and full of happy and helpful people as my Orthodontist office was for me. In this field there are a few different duties that can be done alone in the office while there are others that could be worked on together. There are many different tasks being handled in this office and people who specialize in each one. One main thing that I would like about this career is that even though it’s in the medical field it does not have crazy hours as some do such as doctors and surgeons being on call and open everyday of the week. An Orthodontist office can be closed on the weekends and also have hours that are 9-5 because there are not many problems with braces that need to be handled right when they happen. After going to school for many years to become an Orthodontist, it  definitely pays off with the salary and benefits you get. On average most orthodontists make about $186K per year. Another positive factor about this job is that it is very flexible especially if you have a family. Traveling is not required at all unless you have another practice in a different area. All of the factors of this job contribute to why it would be a dream job, having a flexible job that allows me to still be home with my family is something that is very important to me and it is great when you can enjoy what you are doing everyday along with good benefits.

My intended major has changed from neuroscience to Medical Laboratory Sciences, this major connects with my career goals because I have always wanted to eventually work in the medical field after graduating college but I was not quite sure what it was I wanted to do. With this major, I am able to be exposed to different lab machines that med lab scientists use everyday and become more exposed to how the system works along with diagnosing patients from taking urine or other bodily fluid samples. I will also be able to participate in clinicals at the hospital allowing myself to work with patients which leads to certain skills I will need in this field. Being able to communicate and speak with patients is an important part of working in the medical field because you are interacting everyday, this major will be prepare me for while I am in clinicals. Another skill that I will need is to be able to work with computers and different computer systems that certain labs use, my major also helps me to prepare for this by having courses that are strictly for learning the computer systems. With this major I will also be able to see what my weaknesses may be in this field very quickly so that I am able to figure out how to turn them into strengths. Having a major that I am very interested in will also make it much easier to achieve career goals that I have for myself if I really enjoy what I am doing, this will also motivate me to continue to improve my skills needed for this job.

In my opinion, I feel that while it is important to study something you love doing it is also important to make sure you can take what you love further in order for it to make you successful. However, I do not agree that you should only look at one factor when deciding what you should or should not study. Making a decision to study something should not just be based on whether or not you will make a lot of money in the future because if you do not enjoy studying or learning the materials needed then it will show later on that you do not enjoy what you do. When deciding to study something that you really enjoy learning about and find yourself interested with all the material, be sure to do some extra research about what you are studying so you are able to see what your options for the future are and if you are able to get a job that will help you support yourself and pay off your college loans! Money is not the most important thing in life and should not be the only reason you decide to study something, but it is definitely an important factor. It is not impossible to incorporate both of these factors when deciding what to study in school and it will most likely make the outcome much better in the future if you do not just depend on one factor when deciding what to study. Many people say if you find something you love doing you will not work a day in your life, and that may be true but you do not want to  depend on doing something just because you love it if it is not going to benefit you in the future.

Welcome to Sites.udel.edu – WordPress for UD. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start creating your site.