Pre-med or pre-dental?

Tale of Two Docs: Why Dentists Are Earning More

Today's Wall St. Journal has a lengthy article comparing dental and medical practice.  Since the WSJ is a subscription only site, here are a few highlights:

• On average, general dentists in 2000, the most recent year for which comparative data are available, earned $166,460 -- compared with $164,100 for general internal-medicine doctors.
• From 1988 to 2000, dentists' incomes more than doubled, while the average physician's income grew 42%. The rate of inflation during that same period was 46%.
• Dentists typically work 40-hour weeks; physicians typically work 50-55 hours per week.
• Dentists have largely avoided the effects of managed care and are now frequently plugging expensive cosmetic procedures that patients pay for personally.

If you are trying to decide between a career in medicine and dentistry, you should make it a point to read this article.