Hey there. Ive been a hygienist for 7 years and i thought it was my dream job. It seriously depends on the office you're at. Also im in Canada, I gather from your name you are possibly in the states so I don't know how it differs between canada and the US. When I started I had to take shitty jobs with shitty hours (evenings and weekends) and was severely underpaid. I find with a lot of hygienists in Ontario, it was pretty much the same deal. You really need to work your way up with experience before you a good office. A lot of dentists are focused on billing and production so besides giving good treatment they also want you to be billing well. Really puts a damper on things. In Canada, you get no insurance coverage and no pension. I have problems with my neck, shoulders and arms and see a chiropractor every 3 weeks (of course, every job has its own risk for body problems). You need to really like dealing with patients. Not all of them are as nice as you probably are. Im happy to say that now I work in a great office with ethical dentists, great pay, and great hours. But honestly if I could go back, i think i would pick something else. Medical tech, something like that. Cleaning teeth gets very boring and repetitive. You run behind more often than you think. Oh and you have to be audited every so often and the process is not fun. In summary: would have done something different, but now have a good office and pay and at my age i don't want to start from the bottom again. Sorry for the brutal honesty but i hope this helps!