>>Registered Nurse or Dental Hygienist?<<

HI! I will be graduating soon and am curious about what career YOU think might be better for someone like me.

Dental Hygienist:
Pros:
flexible scheduling
less stress
good-excellent pay
overall nice atmosphere
relatively clean
not having to worry about killing someone (no offense meant)
less female-like politics (I'm female BTW)
less "upper politics"
I'll be somewhat respected
Many areas I could work
not having to worry too much about being sued over something dumb

Cons:
repetitive motions causing debilitating permanent problems
mostly no benefits compared to Nursing which has lots of benefits
limited with the field

Important Differences:
not nearly as many advancement oppurtunites compared to Nursing
not as easy to find a job compared to Nursing
nowhere near as 'limitless' compared to Nursing
I don't know if I could spiritually 'touch' that many people compared to Nursing (this is important to me)


I know it looks like I already have my mind made up but I don't. Please give me your insight. Perhaps some of you even know a dental hygienist? I don't know which career would be better in the long run.

Free virtual beer and balloons to all people who reply!

PS. Any other BSN health careers that you suggest?
less stressless female-like politics I'll be somewhat respectednot having to worry about killing someone less "upper politics"not having to worry too much about being sued over something dumb
""There's a few things on your pros list for dental hygiene that a few of my dental hygiene friends have listed as their own cons for their line of work.""Really? I'll be the first to admit that I'm very naive in the 'real-world.' But, might I ask, which items and why?
Also, are they happy in their career choice?
No offense, but I don't even see any comparison between the two. I couldn't imagine a worse job than the dental thing, although , of course, it's a necessary one. The opportunities in Nursing are endless, ER, Flight Nursing, Trauma, ICU's, Travel Nursing, Not to mention the money issue. Most travel RN's with a decent company are making on up to $100K per year.RJ
Quote from ILuvMyKittyKat&Gerbs""There's a few things on your pros list for dental hygiene that a few of my dental hygiene friends have listed as their own cons for their line of work.""Really? I'll be the first to admit that I'm very naive in the 'real-world.' But, might I ask, which items and why?
Quote from rjbaileyrnNo offense, but I don't even see any comparison between the two. I couldn't imagine a worse job than the dental thing, although , of course, it's a necessary one. The opportunities in Nursing are endless, ER, Flight Nursing, Trauma, ICU's, Travel Nursing, Not to mention the money issue. Most travel RN's with a decent company are making on up to $100K per year.RJ
Quote from ILuvMyKittyKat&GerbsAlso, are they happy in their career choice?
Quote from Marie_LPNI quoted them in my post.
Quote from Marie_LPNThey're in nursing school.
They wanted more opportunities for advancement.A job that could go anywhere.
My stepsister and a couple of other people I know have pursued dental hygiene, basically for the reasons you listed: good money, no nights/holidays/weekends, etc.I thought about it because the advantages are pretty good, but it just boiled down to the fact that it wasn't what I wanted to do each day. I'm kinda funny about teeth - even though I do gross stuff in nursing, cleaning teeth just sounds nasty to me. LOL
And some people will shower everyday, yet brush their teeth occaisionally, which is the reason i skipped in the idea of dental hygience school.