 Hello, everybody. Andrea Troska here with Dental Tutoring. So let's talk about why you should not become a dental assistant. So I have been in the dental profession now for about 13 years, and I was a dental assistant first, so I know what it's all about. And I've seen the good assistants and I've seen the bad assistants. I've seen assistants that pretty much tell me why they hate their job, okay, and things that they wished they had known before getting into it. Now it's a good idea to think about these things before you start your program, because then obviously you spend the money, and if you realize it's not something that you want to do, I mean things happen, but you are out all of that money. So let's talk about what qualities you may have that would not make you right for the dental assisting position. Okay, so number one is if you're not a team player, and that can be hard to admit by some people. But think about it. Do you prefer to do things on your own? Do you get annoyed when people ask you for help, or do you get annoyed when you have to do something for somebody else? And dental assisting isn't for you, because that's what a dental assistant is. You help out around the office. You're the one where the dentist comes to, or the dental hygienist comes to, or the receptionist comes to if they have a question, if they need something, because you are the one that has to know a little bit about everything. They will come to you if they're 20 minutes late with a patient, and they need help. They will expect you to clean up a room, set up a room, whatever it takes, and handle that patient the best you can. It could mean calling them back to have them sit down, updating their medical history, getting started with a polish, or x-rays, or whatever it may be. So you're the one that people go to for help. So if that annoys you, then dental assisting is not for you, okay? I hear a lot of dental assistants that don't like their job say things like that. They will say, I get annoyed when people come to me for everything. Where do I go if I need help? Well, you're pretty much the only one, okay? If there's other dental assistants on your team, then yes, you can go to them for help, but it's a dental assistant where people go to for help. But that's also an amazing thing, too. So you can always feel like, oh, wow, so I just help out everybody. People will say thank you to you all day long because you are helping them stay on time. You are helping them clean up, set up, sterilize the instruments, helping them with everything. And you know a little bit about everything, which is nice. But some of the reasons why you might not want to be a dental assistant or why you shouldn't be a dental assistant if you have these qualities. So to go to school to be a dental assistant, it's typically a year depending on where you live. So that's all it is. But it's also expensive, again, depending on where you live. But I have to say that as a pro and not necessarily a con. Coming out of high school, if you want a good profession in the dental field where you don't have to go to school for too long, you don't have to spend a crazy amount of money. It's still a lot, but not a lot compared to becoming a dental hygienist or a dentist. Then dental assisting is for you. But there is a but. A lot of people don't stay assistants because you don't make as much money as the other people in the dental profession. Okay. So if you're the type of person where that might annoy you, where you will always know that you're making less than anybody else. If that annoys you, then this isn't something for you. Now, and I'm not even saying that as a bad thing. As a dental assistant, I loved it. I didn't care how much money I was making because I still made good money. I was 19 out of high school. I made great money. But some people get annoyed when they see other people on their team making a lot more where the dental assistant still has to do a ton of stuff. You guys, we really, really do as a dental assistant, you will be doing, as I said earlier, everything. But if you're looking to get paid more, then you want to think about either becoming a dental hygienist or a dentist. Now, that may annoy a lot of people for me to say that, but it's true. I'm being honest. I am being totally honest. And I can say that because I was a dental assistant. I made great money as a 19 year old, but now I like making the money that I make. You know, let's just put it that way. You still make good money. As a dental assistant, you make a lot more than you used to. I remember starting off at $13 per hour. Whereas now, I'm not a dental assistant now. So I can't say for sure, but you would make at least $18 per hour, if not more, but there's only so much you can make. So that's another thing. As a dental assistant, even if you've been working for 20, 30 years, the most that an office will probably pay you is $25 per hour. Again, depending on where you live, it could be more. It could be less. I know in my city where I live, the most you can get paid as an assistant is $25 per hour. They just simply won't pay you more than that. It's just how it is. So if you're looking for something to constantly build upon, then assisting may not be the thing for you, because there's only so far that you can go. So think about it like that. Those are the main reasons. I think being a dental assistant is awesome. I really, really do, but it just depends on what you want to do in the dental office. I hope that helps, but if you guys have questions, let me know and stay tuned for next time. See you guys later.