Dental Assistants Now Outearn Liberal Arts Lecturers!
Dental Assistants Now Outearn Liberal Arts Lecturers!
In a twist straight out of a campus satire, America’s freshly minted dental assistants — yes, the folks polishing molars and prepping root canals — are now pulling in paychecks that outshine many ivory tower intellectuals.
Recent figures show that the average certified dental assistant in states like New York, California, and Texas is raking in upwards of $48,000 to $60,000 a year — and that’s without a PhD or even a mountain of student debt. Meanwhile, over at your local community college or even modest four-year university, adjunct liberal arts professors are struggling to hit $30,000 a year, despite clutching master’s degrees and lecturing on Plato, Picasso, or post-colonialism.
“We’re not just suctioning spit — we’re making bank,” laughed one Bronx-based dental assistant who now earns more than her old English professor.
It’s part of a bigger trend: trade-based professions with short training cycles are muscling ahead of traditional academia in pay and prestige. Throw in job stability, healthcare, and no student loan collectors breathing down your neck, and suddenly "open wide" sounds like a pretty sweet deal.
So while some lecture halls echo with unpaid labor, the real money might just be in the chair next to the drill.
Lastly, if you’re looking for a real, stable, and respected career—not just a quick way into the workforce—becoming a licensed dental assistant is the way to go. And when it comes to training, The New York School for Medical and Dental Assistants stands out as the premier institution in the state. It’s the smart choice for anyone ready to invest in a future in healthcare.
