I have shared in the past the Joy of Temping. But while I was in a dental hygienist Facebook group recently I saw someone ask:
“For the hygienists that just temp, why do you like it over having a set place or set hours every week?”
And I felt the responses were absolutely worth sharing. I copied and pasted these word for word, so don’t come at me grammar police.
Hillary said – “I feel more respected. I have a more flexible schedule. I don’t get sucked into office drama or politics. I get paid more. It isn’t the same old stagnant environment. I get to meet new people. If I don’t like a specific patient I don’t ever have to deal with them again. And there aren’t many cons for me.”
To which many people voiced that they agree wholeheartedly with her reasons.
Lynnette replied – “I like going in doing my job and getting paid. I don’t have to deal with office politics. I choose what days I work. I work 3 days a week mon-thurs. Preferably 3 in a row so I have a 4 day weekend. The apps I work for back me up and work for me. Protect me from getting scamming or not paid for a job I was contracted for. I’ve had 2 instances where I arrived at the job in the office accidentally double booked hygienists. I still got paid for that day.”
Marianne – “I had left a job of 18 years. I wasn’t looking to get tied down to a schedule, just wanted to work when and where I wanted. The rare bad day just makes me glad I wasn’t stuck there longer than a day. Saturday rates are $20 an hour more than my regular job.”
Kara added – “I only do max 5 hours a day and max 3 days a week.
I worked my last 25 years until we all retired (31 years for me in hygiene) I work marketing online but want to be out of the house too.
I don’t need patient relationships but I love being in offices I like, making relationships* not being in the office drama.
They all say they love when I am there so I love being a light!”
Ashley had this to say – “I don’t temp full time – I work at the office mon-wednesday and temp Thursdays and Fridays.
That being said I’ve overall enjoyed temping! Like Hilary mentioned, I get to meet new people in my workforce, see how other offices do things – sometimes new or different equipment that I am familiar with, if I have crazy patients I’ll never see them again so it’s fine. The staff is usually super appreciative and helpful and just glad you’re there to take care of their patients – which helps you feel less pressure I guess. I have used a lot of different softwares and on top of that I do get paid more.”
Brittnee got right to the point – “The pay is more, flexible schedule, no drama, I can take vacation whenever I want and nobody gets mad, don’t have to deal with crazy dentists, more appreciated. No cons.”
Stacia – “I temp full time. I work 5 days a week and I’m booked at least a month out. I love the constant change. It’s a Monday everyday for me.”
Lezlie added – “I don’t currently temp, but I did for a few years. What I liked about it was being able to decide each day whether to work or not. If I had something I needed to do with my kids, I could decline. Now that my kids are adults, I prefer a stable job.”
And Jennifer wrapped things up with – “I temp full-time so that I can plan my work around my 1 & 5 yo schedule and my husband’s military schedule. Plus I really like not having to ask for time off and taking as much time off as I want.”
If you are ready to change up your career for better pay with more flexibility and appreciation, read this article to learn everything you need to know about temping.
This led me to ask “what are the benefits of having a permanent job over temping?”
Marianne replied – “Usually set days and hours. Might have benefits. Stability. Know coworkers. Relationship building with patients. Less stress imo”
To which Annette replied to her saying – “100 % agree on all you mentioned
The only benefit to temping (IMO) would be flexibility, higher pay and, not being a part of office “drama”. (
)
But the relationship building with patients at a permanent location, knowing what your doc wants/expects from you, stability, etc (possibly benefits) is preferred for myself and (probably ?) most RDHs.
Robin said – Part of loving my job is a lot of getting to know my patients. I so enjoy going to work in an office that allows me to adjust my time needed for each individual. My four doctors are part of a team. We all work together in any way we can and there is such awesome attitudes. The care for our patients is striving for the most care. So even though you may make more money and give that kind of work family up. This is why I chose this career is to make a patient feel safe and cared for.”
Dawn responded to Robin, to let her know her situation was a lucky one that not everyone has – “Not everyone gets the opportunity to adjust their time needed for each individual patient, and not everyone works in an office with four dentists. Most hygienists work in offices with only one dentist and other staff members. Now the OM may be related to the dentist and looking at the books and the money coming into the office you may find yourself getting more changes in the schedule during the year. You may start out good but then you find that more patients are added from time to time without the realization that time changes according to when was the last time certain patients have been to the dentist, putting you in a situation of running late on your schedule. This at the beginning would not be a problem but when it is done constantly you get aggravated, then you also have a dentist who would not take the time to fix the problem so you end up quitting the job. Several things would make one think it would be better to do a temporary job rather than have to put up with the day-to-day problems when working a full-time job, which also may not have any benefits.”
Michelle loves her team – “Benefit of getting paid time off 401k set schedule no cancellations! But for me I would say the bond with my team I love seeing my team everyday!”
Bella and Brittany however, weren’t very positive.
Bella said – “No benefit being permanent! Honestly I temp-ed full-time for 2 years and I was mentally the happiest doing my job!”
Brittany simply said – “None hahah”
Whether you want better pay with more flexibility and appreciation through temping or you want to build solid relationships with a great team and amazing patients with a permanent position, DirectDental has a job for you!
Smiles,
Holli Perez
DirectDental
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