In this article, we shall take a look at the salary structure of medical doctors in South Africa. The medical profession is one of the noblest of professions in South Africa.
The dignity of being a medical doctor is perhaps the reason most students do everything to make sure that they get admitted to medical school.
Doctors are one of the highest-paid individuals in the world, and this fact holds true in South Africa as well. With their very crucial jobs of saving lives and healing diseases, doctors are a necessity for every society, and the high demand for their services warrants the high pay they get.
To become a doctor, you will go through a lot of schooling, and you will constantly have to have excellent academic grades to keep progressing and eventually get your license to practice. This is important, as nobody wants to put the lives of others in the hands of a quack, or someone who hasn’t been properly and thoroughly trained.
The good news though is that just as the stress to get there is high, the reward is equally high. So how much exactly do doctors earn in South Africa?
The salary for a doctor in South Africa ranges from 32,800 ZAR to 124,000 ZAR per month, as the average minimum and maximum salaries respectively. Note that this means there might be doctors earning lesser or higher, but this is the average range of pay for doctors and general practitioners.
As a young person venturing into the medical profession though, you don’t just want to know the highest and lowest average salaries, but also your chances at earning a certain amount in the industry.
The interesting news is that 25% of doctors earn 46,200 ZAR or less, 50% of doctors earn 69,900 ZAR or less, and 75% of doctors earn 92,800 ZAR or less. What this shows is that you could be earning close to 100,000 ZAR monthly if you’re one of the top practitioners in the country.
Doctors also enjoy a salary increase of approximately 12% every 17 months, which is 4% more than the average for salary increments across all professions. Being a doctor will also mean a higher chance of being a recipient of many bonuses, as 75% of doctors have bonuses included in their yearly salary package. If you’ve been considering medicine, that’s not a bad future to look forward to.
The next question on your mind will be what exactly you need to get to that high level where the cash flow is good, and life is rosy. To get the obvious out of the way, you’d need to be intelligent and dedicated to the job to get ahead.
However, another very critical factor is the years of experience you have in the field. Statistics show that employees who have experience ranging from two to five years earn 32% more than freshers and juniors, and professionals with more than 5 years of experience earn on average, 36% more than those with five years or less of work experience.
Your salary will also increase by 21% once you cross the 10-year mark, and an additional 14% once you cross the 15-year mark. If you’re a woman in the field, you may want to buckle your belt or change your approach, because the research shows that men earn 10% more than their female colleagues in the medical field,
So there you have it, even more reasons to be a doctor. Though career choices should be about more than just money, on the money end, being a doctor will leave you just fine.
