Posts Tagged ‘Job Opportunities’

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Dental Hygienist: One of the Hottest Job Opportunities


2010
07.11

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If you have considered changing your career to “dental hygienist” now would be a good time to do it. The United States Department of Labor reports that this job is one of the fastest growing jobs and will continue to be that way for the next ten years. Dental hygienist is a relatively good paying job, with flexible hours and schedules which is good for working moms and it is in a respected field. You will need to have some additional schooling, but the payoff may be well worth it in the end. Here are some questions and answers to help you decide if being a dental hygienist the career for you:

What additional schooling will I need to be a dental hygienist? You will need to have a high school diploma and at least an associate’s degree in dental hygiene. You can take these courses through a trade school or at a community college. Some trade schools require that you have at least a year of college first. You will take classes such as biology, anatomy and chemistry. When you have your degree, you will take a written and a clinical exam to get your license as a dental hygienist.

What will I do as a dental hygienist? You will clean patient’s teeth and remove stains from them. You will teach patients about proper dental care and hygiene. You will take x-rays and in some states you will even give patients anesthesia as a dental hygienist. You will also take notes on the patient’s oral health to give to the dentist.

What does a hygienist get paid? It all depends on experience, schooling and where you work. But, the average is around $29 an hour. Hygienists who have a bachelor’s or master’s degree and work as a teacher or clinician can make up to $40 an hour.

Can I choose to work part time? Yes. In fact, many dentists have hygienists who work for 2 or 3 days a week in their office. Some hygienists work in more than one office so that they can work full time.

Will I get benefits? Most hygienists who work in private practice offices get paid vacation. They also get paid dental coverage.

The job outlook is good because people have healthier teeth which requires them to get more preventative care which a hygienist provides.

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Dental Hygienist Pay – Salary Ranges, Job Opportunities


2009
01.13

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As with most types of jobs, dental hygienist pay rates vary based on a lot of different factors. These include location, the setting of employment, and also how much experience the dental hygienist has.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the dental hygienist salary ranges from the lowest 10% being paid less than $20.42 an hour to the highest 10% being paid more than $43.07 an hour. The median salary for a dental hygienist is $31.21 per hour, or about $64,910 per year for a full time hygienist.

One thing that can affect salaries is the location of the job. The states with the highest mean dental hygienist salary are Alaska ($91,960 per year), Washington ($86,920 per year), California ($81,730 per year), Nevada ($76,240), and Oregon ($74,470). However, make sure you also consider the cost of living when you make salary comparisons, you want to base your decision on how far your salary will go, not just how high it is. California has a higher cost of living than many other states, so it makes sense that the dental hygienist salary there would be on the higher side.

California has four out of five of the metropolitan areas with the highest dental hygienist pay. These are the Santa Rosa-Petaluma metropolitan area, Salinas, Napa, and the Oakland-Fremont-Hayward metropolitan area. The fourth highest paying metropolitan area is Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA.

Besides location, another important factor in the determination of dental hygienist income is years of experience. According to Payscale, the median salary for a dental hygienist with less than one year of experience is $45,379, while that of a dental hygienist with 20 or more years of experience is $50,483, which shows that experience does make a difference.

The level of training that a dental hygienist has had will also affect his or her salary. Someone who has graduated from a training program offering a certificate only will most likely earn less than someone who has earned an Associate’s, Bachelor’s or Master’s degree who is working in the same location.

Due to the nature of the employment, dental hygienist pay might be in the form of an hourly rate, a yearly salary, or even on a commission basis. Depending on the employment setting, benefits such as health insurance may or may not be available. Many times a dental hygienist needs to work full time in order to be eligible for benefits. Louis Zhang, Certdentalhygienist dot com