Doctor here. Reading these posts I felt that I had to comment.
Firstly I would like to thank all of you that are part of project wingman. I work on a COVID-19 ward and it is extremely heartening to have a cup of coffee and de-stress. Quite a number of my colleagues have been off sick and it plays upon one's mind as to when one will catch it and what affect it will have, so a cup of tea and a welcome smile is most appreciated. I feel great empathy for all of you at an uncertain time.
For me it was a decision between Medical School and Flying in 2012. For a variety of reasons I chose medicine.
Reading these posts, I thought it a good idea to share some of my experiences.
Between applying to medical school and starting the course takes a year if you are successful at first application.
Medical school is competitive, but as mature students and professionals you will be looked on favourably.
In the interim you could do a Masters degree, volunteering or similar.
It is a minimum of 4 years of medical school. You can only apply for 4 medical schools per year. The five year courses are less competitive than the 4 years courses.
If you are sufficiency well heeled there is a private medical school based in the UK which will allow you to short-circuit the admissions cycle. Be warned it expensive. You could consider an Eastern European course but there are questions around medical degree reciprocity after Brexit - so be warned that if you study there your degree MAY not be recognised by the GMC after we leave Europe.
Medical school is hard but enjoyable. On completing your medical studies you then apply for your 'foundation training' which is a 2 year course. You gain your licence to practice after the first year.
Your pay is as follows:
England - starting £28k
Scotland - £24k plus an intensity supplement (banding), of between 0 - 100%.
BMA has the pay scales - I can't post links.
This is for 48 hours on average per week, averaged out over 6 months.
FY1 and 2 are the hardest. In FY1 regularly pulled 100 hour weeks because the ward was understaffed and I felt that I had to stay. In retrospect I was perhaps slow and inefficient. In my first 4 month rotation of FY1 I drank a bottle of wine a night to cope with the stress. Often during the day I went without breaks.
There are lots of night shifts (12 hours typically 20.00 - 08.00). You do not sleep during your shift.
You can be based at any hospital for your FY1+2 and you are often moved between them, without much control. It is not unusual to have a 1 hour commute each way plus a 12 hour night shift. I have been woken up by the rumble strips driving home on more than one occasion. Now we are limited to 4 night shifts which is more reasonable.
Mid-way thought FY2 you apply to your speciality, ranking training programmes across the county. If you are lucky and do well at selection you will have a programme close to you but again you will be required to commute to different hospitals for training.
During your speciality training your salary increases to £33k in Scotland, £38k in England. There are uplifts for nights etc, depending on which country you work in.
The minimum time for speciality training is 3 years for GP. For any other specialty it is between 5-8+ years plus sub-specialty training.
GPs are independent contractors and can expect to earn £450-550 per day locum (zero hours) rates, or £80k+ as a salaried GP. Partners own their own practices and earn about £100k - you can increase this, sometime significantly, if you are prepared to travel and undertake night or out of hours extra work.
Consultants start on £80k and through a system of incremental annual rises progress to about £120k over the course of their careers. There is limited scope for private work outside of london and procedural specialties such as orthopaedic surgery for example. Consultants can locum over and above their annual contract.
On balance, it will take you a minimum of 11 years from today to become a GP, and a minimum of 13 years to be a consultant.
Being a doctor is a unique privilege, however from a purely financial perspective I cannot say that it is a good move and indeed I regretted my choice on a number of occasions. Mainly after a string of night shifts or on occasions where I have had to miss family events due to poor rota management.
Hope this is informative.