u/Sweet-Ad488

Hi everyone, I’m posting this because I genuinely want to hear the opinion of people in the dental lab industry. Right now, I’m very discouraged and I’m not even working in the field, not because I don’t want to, but because I feel like opportunities are not really going to people who are trained and qualified. I went through a CODA-accredited Dental Laboratory Technology program, which took me two years. I had to work extremely hard to get in. I passed my RDT Board exam while still in school, graduated with honors, and was recognized as an Outstanding Student. When I went into the clinical part of the program, I was told that I had basically wasted my time studying, since “you don’t really need a degree or prior knowledge to work in a lab” and that everything is learned on the job. That was honestly very discouraging. Even so, I kept going and decided to focus on digital dentistry, since many programs in the US still feel outdated. I completed about six months of full-time training in digital design, technologies, and materials outside the US. After returning, I worked in a fixed prosthetics lab where I was essentially running the entire workflow by myself—design, milling, and aesthetic finishing—from start to finish. Later, I moved to another state and worked in a removable lab (denture setups, conversions, All-on-4, custom trays, etc.). I actually enjoyed the work, but the work environment was extremely toxic and unprofessional, so I eventually left. Since then, I’ve continued investing in my education and obtained my CDT exams, but I honestly find myself questioning the value of all these certifications when it feels like they don’t really translate into job opportunities. What really pushed me to write this was a recent JDT publication I read. It mentioned a shortage of professionals in the field, and I honestly couldn’t understand that statement. In many states, you don’t need formal education or certification to work in or even open a lab, and basic knowledge of anatomy or occlusion isn’t always required. So I struggle to understand how we can talk about a “lack of professionals” under those conditions. The same article also discussed pricing and outsourcing, which made me think about how many labs and clinics now send cases overseas, often without clear transparency on where work is actually being produced. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I feel confused and frustrated. Despite qualifications and experience, I’m still struggling to find stable work, and I’m wondering what the actual value of formal education is in this field today. I’d really appreciate hearing different perspectives from people working in the industry.