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Dentist
Dentist profiles score highest on Safety-Seeking and Analyzing. This page covers what the work involves, what the trait profile looks like, what it pays, and where the fit tends to break.
- Median pay
- $170,950per year, U.S. BLS 2025
- Entry education
- Graduate or professional degreetypical for the occupation
SOURCE · O*NET 29-1021.00 and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures are national and vary widely by state and setting.
What the work involves
Examine, diagnose, and treat diseases, injuries, and malformations of teeth and gums. May treat diseases of nerve, pulp, and other dental tissues affecting oral hygiene and retention of teeth. May fit dental appliances or provide preventive care.
Skills rated most important
Work context
O*NET importance and frequency ratings, 0–100.
The trait profile
Where Dentist profiles sit on the eleven Haliscope traits, derived from O*NET’s published interest and work-style data.
Who it fits, and who it doesn’t
Strong signals
- High Operating. Measures your preference for hands-on, practical work. High scorers thrive in action-oriented roles with tangible outputs and prefer doing over theorizing.
- High Analyzing. Measures your drive to understand systems and solve problems. High scorers are knowledge-seeking, strategic thinkers who enjoy investigating and finding solutions.
- High Helping. Measures your orientation toward supporting and serving others. High scorers find fulfillment in teaching, counseling, and contributing to others' success.
- High Organizing. Measures your preference for structure, detail, and systematic processes. High scorers excel at creating order, optimizing workflows, and maintaining precision.
- High Persevering. Measures your persistence and resilience in the face of challenges. High scorers push through obstacles, maintain long-term focus, and value grit as both means and end.
Friction points
- Low Operating. Measures your preference for hands-on, practical work. High scorers thrive in action-oriented roles with tangible outputs and prefer doing over theorizing.
- Low Analyzing. Measures your drive to understand systems and solve problems. High scorers are knowledge-seeking, strategic thinkers who enjoy investigating and finding solutions.
- Low Helping. Measures your orientation toward supporting and serving others. High scorers find fulfillment in teaching, counseling, and contributing to others' success.
These are what the occupation’s profile says, not a hiring criterion. Haliscope is not validated for hiring or screening, and none of these is disqualifying — they are where a fit most often breaks.
Getting in
Entry education: Graduate or professional degree.
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
O*NET Job Zone descriptions, U.S. Department of Labor.
Exposure to AI
How much of this work AI can already do, and how much AI tools help the people doing it, is scored task by task in the AI Risk Index.
Related occupations
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