Want to know my best tip for finding alternative careers for dentists?

Stop asking everyone else what they do outside of dentistry!

I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but the truth is, the question never works. Instead, you end up with a list of ideas, none of which sound good at all.

I see this happen all the time in my Facebook group and with my clients. Plus, that used to be me when Google was the only resource available. I would find myself on the endless roller coaster, vacillating between obsessive googling of other career options and deciding to settle back into my career… because my work wasn’t really that bad.

Or was it?

That’s what we do when we feel stuck. We spend hours googling, “alternative careers for dentists” or “what other jobs can dentists do.” We might find a few ideas. But either we don’t know how to execute, or nothing we find sounds good.

We disqualify most options before they make it onto our brainstorm list because nothing out there seems better than dentistry. Ironic, isn’t it, that nothing sounds better than the thing making us miserable every day.

Then, work gets a little better for a few weeks, and we start making excuses that justify why it’s not so bad and why we should just stay.

It’s a vicious cycle that ends up sucking us into the Google abyss. We never find a way off the roller coaster. Ask me how I know this. I’d been down that path many times over my decade in dentistry. It was an endless, never ending loop that added years to my progress.

The problem isn’t that there are no alternative careers for dentists out there.

The problem is you. Oh, did I mention I love you? I really do, and that’s why I have to tell you the truth: the problem is you.

Instead of looking outside of yourself for ideas, you need to look inside yourself to change what’s really getting in your way: your beliefs.

The key is to change your attitude. The reason no other options ever sound good is because you haven’t given yourself permission to explore something else. Whatever rules are dictating how you live your life are actually keeping you stuck. Instead of asking what options are out there, work on yourself. Work on believing that you are capable of doing anything you set your mind to.

The opportunities are all around you. You’re just not seeing them.

It’s not entirely your fault that you’re so stuck. You’re part of a system, and the whole culture of dentistry thinks this way. They think the only way to be successful in dentistry is to make a lot of money owning a private practice.

If you’ve actually searched for what alternative careers for dentists are out there, it’s dismal. It is the elusive question that no one can answer. Even now if you search this on Google, there are few creative answers. The ADA has a limited list of different ideas, but many dentists want more.

Don’t allow what others have done to limit your possibilities.

It’s great to get ideas from others, so you can spark new ideas in yourself, but if you think you can only do things dentists typically do, you are limiting what’s possible.

Dentistry is isolating, especially if you don’t fit into the dogmatic belief system that accompanies this career. If we remain in that isolation, we only increase the shame we feel for what we are experiencing. The more you can be around others who see opportunities and share their experiences of growth and change, the more courage you will gain. You will start to know that you can do it too.

It’s not really about what others do besides dentistry, because there is no answer. But instead, it’s about knowing that you can do something else.

That’s how you want to tap into the right community. Once you believe you can, then you will begin to see the opportunities that have been there all along.

It’s not too late to learn more about who you are and what is important to you! You are not the same person you were when you first chose dentistry. In fact, you were just a kid then. How could you know who you were, what you love, or what it is really like being a dentist?

When I was going through my own career change, I thought life was all about getting it right the first time. I thought it was about picking my path and sticking to it. But, through my experiences, I’ve learned to see life as a process. We grow and change over time, and that process itself helps us learn who we are.

Becoming a dentist itself was the very process that helped shape who you are and what you know to be true today. If you can do something as challenging as dentistry, then you can be or do anything.