Working a medical job in Sweden seems to be a dream come true for many doctors all over Europe. This should come as a no surprise since Sweden and all the other Scandinavian countries are said to be the standard for high quality medical care.
However, high standards are not the only reason many interns, doctors and nurses decide to choose Sweden as their destination. Money is. How much can you earn with medical degree while in Sweden?
Medical earnings
Experienced resident doctors are said to earn 35 000 to 40 000 SEK monthly. That may seem like a lot to some people, but once the amount of money is converted to Euro, it’s 3500 to 4 000 euro per month. That is, of course, before taxation. The Swedish taxation system is a complicated one, so predicting the exact net salary is difficult. Still, those sums of money seem to be quite a good salary, especially since it’s for the required hours only. All the extra hours spent in a hospital are paid extra and frequently turn the salary up by another 1000 Euros.
Specialists earn even more, starting from 55 000 SEK and earning up to 70 000 SEK per month. This, of course, comes with a lot more responsibility, knowledge and expertise, so it’s no surprise that the Swedish health care system agrees to pay their doctors well.
Living in Sweden can get expensive
Although doctors and nurses do get paid a lot of money, they do not live as glamorous a life as one would think. It all comes down to the costs that come with living in Sweden. Stockholm is obviously more expensive than other, much smaller towns, but looking for a cheap place to live can be quite hard. That is one of the reasons why medical professionals are always needed in Sweden. People come and go once they saved money, so that they don’t need to deal with expensive living conditions.
It is worth mentioning that with an average medical salary, doctors and nurses in Sweden are usually able to take care of their small families. It is not true, though there are many misconceptions, that doctors in Sweden lead a luxurious lifestyle. They are treated well, they are respected and they are not overworked, but they are definitely not millionaires. It would be logical to work in Sweden and save money to go back to a home country, but actually making a better lifestyle in Sweden can disappoint many.