Change and Me Against the World

Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts. Arnold Bennett


I don’t know who Arnold Bennett was, but the man speaks the truth! When I first changed careers I thought the biggest obstacle to overcome would be my parents. I was dreading telling them I had left my dental practice. I steeled myself in preparation for the concerned outcries I knew would be forthcoming. Little did I suspect they would be the least of my worries.

Mom & Dad handled the news rather well, and with that behind me, I figured it would be smooth sailing. I didn’t count on the fact that the rest of the world would be resistant to my career change. The initial part of 2009 has now schooled me to that fact.

My first lesson came when I decided to refinance my mortgage. A few years ago while I was still in practice, I had financed for 15 years in order to pay off my debt quickly. At the time the payment was not so much of a concern. With my new job and less income—I was ready to finance for 30 years and take advantage of the low interest rates, both of which would enable me to have a lower payment. Unfortunately it was not to be. The mortgage lenders were holding on to their money like Sally Field on a ski trip clinging to her last Boniva.

Apparently there is a steadfast rule that lenders will not loan money to someone who has only been in their career for less than 2 (two) years. I found this to be especially annoying because I had assets to cover the amount of the loan. I just wanted to be able to use the mortgage interest as a tax write-off. Unfortunately nobody would touch me—even with a great credit score and more than a year of income in my new job.

I understand that a complete change of careers is risky and that mortgage companies are trying to be more cautious after a slew of loan defaults. What I don’t get is this—a person is much more likely to default on a loan with a HIGHER payment. It seems like if you have a customer who has been reliable, has a good credit score, and wants to refinance—shouldn’t you work with this person? It feels like the bank wants me to default, and they want me to default ASAP. They can’t think in this depressed real estate market that they will be able to sell my condo once they take possession of it. I just don’t understand their logic.

The other insult came when I turned in my tax information. My accountant called me back and said he wasn’t sure I could use the expenses incurred to maintain my dental license (license fees, continuing education classes) since I hadn’t worked as a dentist in the past year. This was also completely annoying. I busted my butt to get those licenses, and if I am ever to return to dentistry I need to maintain them. Why can’t the government let me keep my safety net as I try something else?

I’m happy to report that we got the tax problems straightened out, but my accountant advised me to at least spend one day earning income related to dentistry every year so that we could justify the license expenditures in the future.

I guess one of my hopes in writing about this is to prevent anyone else from having these same problems. If you foresee a career change—go ahead and refinance your mortgage before you leave your current job. If you don’t, be prepared to wait two years. You may also need to decide if it’s worth it to you to maintain any credentials you have earned. It will be a challenge to justify the maintenance when you file your taxes.

All in all, however, I’m still glad I took myself on this little adventure. It was naïve of me to expect that it would be seamless, but I think if I’d spent too much time dwelling on the challenges I might not have had the courage to do it. Since I started with a quote, I’ll finish with another:

The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress. Charles Kettering

Suck it up, World. I’ve made the change.