What do junior doctors earn (and comparison to teachers)
They earn a more than reasonable salary.
We will expand. The average salary is about £50,000 per year. But the range is £29,384 to £58,398, depending on experience. However these figures do not incorporate bonus pay for out-of-hours working, and for oncall commitments.
What is a junior doctor?
All ‘junior doctors’ are qualified doctors that may treat you in hospital or at your GP surgery, and may save your life.
A junior doctor is a doctor undergoing an average of 10 years (range 8-12) further training, after 5 (range 4-6) years at medical school (university), to be a consultant – making a total of about 15 (range 12-18) years training.
They work under the supervision of a consultant. When a consultant, they are qualified to practice independently without supervision.
Ok. So, how much do junior doctors earn?
- Year 1 (‘FY1’) – £29,384 per year
- Year 2 (‘FY2’) – £34,012
- Year 3 and 4 (‘CT1-2 / ST1-2’) – £40,257
- Years 5 to 7 (‘ST3-5’) – £51,017
- Years 8-10 (‘ST6-8’) – £58,398
Note. GP training is different and pay scales in the three nations are different.
Senior salaries
After about 10 years as a junior doctor, many will become a hospital consultant or GP partner with a salary in the range £90,000-£120,000 per year. They can be a senior doctor for 30-35 years. Also as seniors, they can supplement their NHS salaries considerably – two to four-fold – with private practice. They will also have platinum standard pensions.
Comparison to teachers
The average starting salary for a classroom teacher is at least £28,000 per year, i.e. about the same as a junior doctor. Overall the average salary is about £39,000, compared to £57,000 for a leadership teacher (excluding headteachers), and £74,000 for a headteacher. So senior teacher salaries are far less than senior doctors.
Summary
We have explained what do junior doctors earn (and compared it to teachers). An average salary is about £50,000 per year. And later on, they can earn much higher salaries for 30+ years and retire with a very good pension.
Last Reviewed on 14 March 2024