That Pay Thing Again

Yes, I'm whinging about my pay/salary again.

I've been calculating how much I would need to save over the next 5 years for a 10% deposit on an $800 000 property. The deposit for the loan would be $80 000 but you have to add another 5% for the transaction costs which includes stamp duty, lenders insurance (insurance which protects the banks not the buyer), building inspection fees et cetera. So in total, the funds an $800 000 property needs up front is $ 120 000. That's $24 000 per annum which is approximately $465 per week ($ 930 per fortnight). On my salary, that is not feasible.

I've never been one to shy away from talking about money. I know in some cultures, money is not something you talk about among friends or family. But why? Why would we not discuss such a major part of our daily lives? The reason that we go to work everyday regardless of whether you love it, like it, tolerate it or hate it is to earn a living. Only the very privileged have the luxury of relying on family money. Some people assume that because my sister and I were international students, that we must come from rich families who can afford the astronomical university fees. Not true. My parents saved and worked very hard to ensure we received a better education and therefore a better future. So much so, they have very little now and this worries me also.

That's why I'm bringing up the pay issue again. A publicly available pdf demonstrates the pay rates  for health workers employed by the state government. Scroll down to page 20 which details the salaries of junior medical officers. I am officially employed as a second year registrar. I am currently in my third postgraduate year. All medical graduates must do an intern year in the first postgraduate year. After that intern year, you are known as a resident starting with 1st year resident, 2nd year and so on. At some point, a person goes into a training program or takes an unaccredited position that bears the responsibilities of a registrar. Again, they then start off as a 1st year registrar, 2nd year and on and on. Eventually, the registrar finishes his or her training and qualifies as a specialist and is no longer known as a junior medical officer. Makes sense?

So, based on when I graduated, I would be a 2nd year resident ( 3 years post graduation = 1 year intern + 2 years resident). If only I had not decided to go into specialist training so early. I became a first year registrar in 2010 ie I skipped the resident-level and went straight registrar-level responsibilities. When I first started out, I didn't mind so much the lack of a pay rise. After all, it was my first year and was heavily dependent on the specialists. Then this year, I became a 2nd year registrar in a much larger hospital with all the responsibilities and training costs it brings. What happens next year, when I'm a 3rd year registrar? When I could possibly sign out cases (if I pass my exams, that is) under my own name and take full responsibility for the diagnosis I've made? Shouldn't I be paid accordingly? Compared to someone more junior with less responsibilities, who happened to have been in the hospital system longer than I have yet is paid more than me based on the mere fact that they graduated from uni earlier than I did.

I understand that I should feel lucky for even having a job, I know that. I just want to be paid fairly. If the situation does not change next year, I'd be losing out on $14 032 p.a. A large amount that could be put towards the future. I have no partner to share the costs with, no family money and parents who only recently took out their very own mortgage. Every penny counts. So as whinge-y and complain-y as this may seem, I think only naive individuals do not see the importance of creating a decent future for yourself. And wealth, I'm not talking multimillionaire rich here, has a big part to play.