💡 Why it matters: Many places do not have as many doctors as they need, so trained doctors are always in demand.
🌍 Around the world
- Nigeria: Nigeria has far fewer doctors than it needs for its population, so trained doctors are in demand at home and abroad.
- United States: Jobs for physicians and surgeons are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, about as fast as average (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).
💰 What it can pay
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Starting out
- ₦3M – ₦7M
- Mid-career
- ₦8M – ₦18M
- Senior
- ₦18M – ₦40M
≈ ₦667k – ₦1.5M a month mid-career. Indicative estimate by Incusim.
🇺🇸 United States
Median pay for physicians and surgeons; low and high are the 10th and 90th percentiles. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
🇨🇦 Canada
Closest Canadian category: Family physician. Annual wages as published by Job Bank, low/median/high. Job Bank (Government of Canada), 2023-2024
Yearly pay before tax. UK, US and Canada figures come from the official sources named on each card. Nigeria has no official salary survey, so those are our indicative estimates. Real pay depends on the employer, the place, your skills and experience.
🛠️ What you actually do
- Talk to patients and find out what is wrong
- Order tests and read the results
- Prescribe medicines and treatments
- Work with nurses, pharmacists and other specialists
- Explain health advice to patients and families
⚡ Skills you'll need
- Empathy
- Problem solving
- Memory
- Communication
- Staying calm
Get ready at school
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Postgraduate residency training to become a specialist
- Start with another health degree, then apply to medicine
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Graduate-entry medicine for people who already have a degree
- Medical schools run widening access and foundation-year courses for some applicants
🇺🇸 United States
- Residency training of about 3 to 7 years after medical school
- Some medical schools offer combined bachelor's and MD programs
🇨🇦 Canada
- Residency training through the national matching service (CaRMS), 2 to 5 years or more
- Grade 12 science course requirements vary by province
🗺️ Your path to this career
- 1Study Biology, Chemistry and Physics well at school and meet university entry requirements
- 2Study medicine at university for about 5 to 6 years
- 3Do supervised hospital training as a junior doctor
- 4Register or get licensed to practise in your country
- 5Train as a specialist through residency
⏰ A day in the life
You join the ward round with your team and check on each patient. In clinic you listen to a worried mum, examine her child and explain the treatment in simple words. Later you read lab results and update patient files.