In speaking with students about to embark on their university career, it is apparent that they experience great anxiety over choosing and schedul-ing their courses. They want to keep several options open while still satisfying all the necessary requirements for a particular degree. In addition to the normal fears of starting university and becoming part of a culture with which they have no previous experience, new students are overwhelmed with the multitude of choices they feel they must make immediately.
In an effort to allay some of their concerns about course selection, the Student Counselling and Career Centre recently implemented several pre-registration workshops for University 1 students. The perception of new students seems to be that there is a great urgency to enter the "right" faculty in order to get the "right" degree, which will presumably lead directly to the "right" job. This approach to course selection and career choice leaves out two essential steps: self-exploration and knowledge of careers. Many students do not take the time to reflect on their personalities, interests, abilities, and skills, and they don't know how to relate such knowledge to various careers. They may also be getting their perceptions of careers from the wrong sources, namely TV and movies, which do not reflect the reality of the world of work, nor do they depict the wide range of available career options.
It is most important that students look inside themselves to discover who they are prior to determining which university program to enter. Researching careers in the Career Resource Centre, talking to real people doing real jobs, and using University 1 as an opportunity to try out one or two different areas should be priorities for first year students. All decisions do not have to be made right now, but investing time in the first year can yield great rewards in the future.
| Do you have an interest in health care and working with people? Are you looking for a career that is challenging and rewarding? Then perhaps a career in dentistry is for you. There are many jobs that fall under the umbrella of dental careers, ranging from technical and skilled positions such as dental hygienists and denturists to professional designations in dentistry and oral and maxillofacial surgery. The following is an overview of some of these occupations. |
 It's
the "tooth":Dentistry offers a wide range of opportunities |
Dentists may specialize in several areas. Some examples: Orthodontics, the treatment of problems related to irregular dental development; Endodontics, dealing with diseases of the root canal; Periodontics, relating to diseases of the gums and jaws; Prosthodontics, replacing teeth or parts of the jaw and face lost due to disease or injury; and Oral and maxillofacial surgery, which deals with the repair of injuries and defects to the teeth, jaws, and associated structures. Forensic Odontologists collect and evaluate dental evidence in order to assist law enforcement officers either through the identification of human remains, bite-mark analysis, or the examination of oral-facial injuries. In addition, there are Pediatric dentists who specialize in the treatment of children, and Public Health dentists, who monitor and control the incidence of dental disease in the community.
In order to become a dentist, one must complete a 4-year university program in dentistry after a minimum of 2 years of undergraduate work. There are 10 schools in Canada, including the U of M, that offer recognized degrees in Dentistry. It is often necessary to complete further training in order to specialize. Currently, there are about 15,000 dentists practicing in Canada. Check out our web page.
Dental Hygienists typically complete at least 1 year of university followed by a 2 year program such as the one offered at the U of M's School of Dental Hygiene. Check out our web page.
For More Information:
Canadian Dental Association
1815 Alta Vista Dr.
Ottawa, ON K1G 3Y6
Denturist Association of Canada
P.O. Box 46114, RPO Westdale
Winnipeg, MB R3R 3S3
College of Dental Technologists of Ontario
#309, 2100 Ellesmere Rd.
Scarborough, ON M1H 3B7
Or contact the Career Resource Centre, 474 University Centre
Dr. Kevin Coombs is a researcher at the Basic Medical Sciences Building in Winnipeg, a part of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Coombs completed his undergraduate studies at The State University of New York, with majors in Biology and English. He went on to complete graduate studies in Microbiology at the University of Texas. It was at this time that Dr. Coombs started to work with viruses and made the choice to continue working with them in the future. From there, he received a post-doctorate research position, which is an internship type of training, in Boston. This type of training is recommended for individuals planning to go on to work in university positions. Once his post-doctorate work was completed, Dr. Coombs came to Winnipeg.
Dr. Coombs emphasizes that a position such as his has three main components: teaching, research and administrative work. Hand-in-hand with doing research is the necessity of obtaining grants. The process of applying for a grant is no easy task mainly because you are in heavy competition with others for money, which leads to the fact that there is no such thing as a typical day in this job. The grant determines the kind of research that one will be doing at any particular time and if the grant expiry is close at hand, then the researcher will be focusing exclusively on that. Dr. Coombs pointed out that on average, he probably spends about 20-30% of his time on grant applications.
Like every job, this one has its pros and cons. For Dr. Coombs, some of the positive aspects of this position are centered around its relative flexibility. He gets to be his own boss and make his own hours. Aside from that, Dr. Coombs loves what he does and he acquires great satisfaction from teaching. So, it can be said that this job is great, as far as personal satisfaction goes. However, to be successful in a job such as this one you really need to put a lot of time and effort into it. Dr. Coombs also stresses that if a person wants to be financially secure, the field of academia might not be the place to go.
The current labor market in the area of virology is very competitive. According to Dr. Coombs, there aren't as many positions available as there are good people to fill them. However, it would appear that many educational institutions currently consist of faculty members who are close to the retirement age. One would expect that as these people leave their jobs, positions will open up for the fresh faces that are entering the field. Dr. Coombs reminds students that there are no set paths in terms of where you are going to go and how you should get there. However, if students do decide that they want to work in a university setting, it is almost a necessity to follow a post-graduate path. Getting hired at an educational institution depends heavily on the number of publications that a student has had in their academic career. A second important factor that contributes to a student becoming a part of the faculty is the research that they did in their post graduate studies and how it relates to the institution that they are trying to gain employment with.
When asked what students should know before considering academia as a career, Dr. Coombs stressed that students be true to themselves when they make the choice to go into post graduate studies. He reminds students that it will be a very important decision which will go hand-in-hand with what is an equally important commitment to their work. Dr. Coombs also says that it will be beneficial to your success in school to realize that there is going to be serious competition at every level and that acknowledging this fact should help the student to be more devoted to their studies. Students have to realize that it's going be a very long haul and above all it is important to remember that success in the field of research requires hard work and dedication.
Do you want more information about a career in research & teaching? Talk to your professors, visit the Career Resource Centre, or sign up for the Career Mentor Program!
The Career Resource Centre is just one component of the career services available through the Student Counselling and Career Centre at the University of Manitoba. Depending on which stage you are at in your career search, one or more of these services may be just what you're looking for: