Who doesn’t like an attractive healthy smile? Ever since I was little a little girl, for some strange reason, I always enjoyed going to the dentist. I decided to become a dental hygienist when I was a junior in High School. I once heard that you should pursue a career in something that you love, that way you will enjoy what you do for a living. Throughout my life taking care of my teeth and smile has always been important to me, so I decided I should become a dental hygienist and provide this service to others.
Thankfully this career will not take over my life. Generally dentist offices are open from 8 to 5 Monday through Thursday, so my career won’t take over my life, it will just be a large part of it. I also plan on having a family one day and dental hygienist can work part time, so I could work two or three days a week, in one or multiple offices. Thankfully I will still have time to take care of my family as well as continue my career. I feel very secure in seeking a job in this field. The employment rate is steadily increasing and estimated that by 2016 there will be over 12,000 job openings in Florida alone. Dental Hygienists are always needed and will always be around as long as people continue to care about their oral hygiene.
Once I graduate from the two year dental hygiene program I will have completed all the training that is required. This is very convenient. I can begin to look for a place to work and as soon as I graduate I can be available for employment. Finding employment in my field should not be difficult. I may have to move out of Gainesville, but there will be plenty of jobs available in Florida, the only state I will be certified to practice. However, if I do decide to move out of the state, finding a job in another state should not be a problem because like dental hygienists are widely used and needed.
I do feel that I will be able to maintain an adequate lifestyle with the salary of a dental hygienist. I plan on having a husband that works as well which will ensure that we have an adequate amount to be comfortable. The “standard” two weeks’ vacation should be a sufficient amount of time with my lifestyle. Two weeks seems like it would work especially since I plan on having children. When they are young I can take off the week of their spring break so we can do something fun and I will still be able to take off some time in the summer to take a vacation with them. I plan to stick with this career for the rest of my life or at least as long as I can. However if I do become bored with this occupation I have thought about continuing on and becoming a dentist. It would take a lot of hard work, determination and money so I would have to be sure I was ready to give it my attention, time and resources.
In the future I would like to use my skills and serve on medical mission teams in places where dental care is greatly needed and often not available. Through my church I have opportunities to travel to Honduras, Costa Rica and Africa and I will continue to look for other ways I can share my knowledge and technical training.
Katie Little