‘For real?’: Brisbane doctor’s wage baffles Australians
Aussies have been left gobsmacked and asking is “this real?” after a young doctor revealed her surprising salary.
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A young doctor shocked Australians by revealing that her average salary was “just enough to support” herself.
Getahead is an app that matches potential employees with workplaces, like Tinder but for careers.
Part of the brand’s shtick has become stopping Australians on the street and asking them about their jobs and salaries.
The doctor was wandering through Brisbane when she stopped and asked about her salary; her response was not what people would have expected.
The doctor, who was still in her scrubs, explained that she makes around $40 an hour. “It goes up as you get more experience,” she said.
She then explained that she’d been studying for seven years before landing her first working role, including her three-year undergraduate and four-year postgraduate degrees.
She said that getting a job after graduating was pretty much “guaranteed” and that landing her current job was “easier than she thought”.
The doctor said that you should only pursue a career in medicine if you “really like it” because it isn’t as lucrative as people might think and takes years to earn the big bucks.
“Don’t start medicine just because you want to chase money,” she warned.
At the moment, she’s working in the emergency room at a hospital, which means working odd hours and being very flexible.
“Usually I work about 40 hours a week. It could be morning shift, afternoon shift and overnight shift,” she said.
The doctor was honest when asked how she finds shift work and admitted it isn’t ideal. Who wants to be on a different timetable from all their friends and family?
“It is taking a toll on my social life, because you don’t really get the weekend off. You just go through the day and hope for the best,” she said
Despite her hard work, the doctor makes less than $80,000 a year. According to Alecto Australia, junior and in-training doctors earn between $65,000 and $95,000 annually, while top-level and experienced doctors earn an average of $310,000.
The clip has now amassed 700,000 views on TikTok, and people are gobsmacked to learn that she was only earning $40 an hour despite studying for seven years.
“I thought they made way more?” one wrote.
“I’m sorry $40 an hour for a doctor?” another fumed.
“System is messed. Pay our medical professionals more,” someone else declared.
“Is this for real?” someone asked.
“This is so underpaid,” someone else wrote.
The thread quickly descended into people sharing the jobs they did, or the jobs they knew that people did, that earned more than the doctor.
“$40?! My mum removes graffiti for the metro, and she gets $43 an hour,” one person shared.
“Damn that’s underpaid. I make $47 an hour in an office, and my qualifications are two diplomas, which took me 18 months total,” another wrote.
“$40 and hour for a doctor? And I’m over here making $50 an hour for doing youth work,” one admitted.
“The cleaner at my work makes $44 per hour, and most of the time, she sits in the lunch room on her phone,” someone confessed.
“My brother graduated from engineering and made $60 an hour within two years,” another shared.
The doctor’s wage shock comes after a young Brisbane nurse revealed her hourly salary to Getahead, and Australians couldn’t believe how little she and her fellow nurses get paid.
“We are both pediatric nurses, and it is end-of-life care for children. We make anywhere between $34 to $75 an hour but that is on Sunday nights,” she said.
To put that sum in perspective, if a nurse earned a base rate of $34 an hour, didn’t pick up any weekend or overtime shifts, and worked 38 hours a week for a whole year, they’d earn less than $65,000.
People online had a similar reaction.
“Not paid enough,” another said.
“$34 an hour! You deserve way more,” someone else wrote.
“$34 an hour for this is insane. I get the same as a dental receptionist. Thank you for all that you do, beautiful nurses are held in these families’ hearts,” one commented.
“They deserve so much more,” another argued.
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Originally published as ‘For real?’: Brisbane doctor’s wage baffles Australians
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