The UK trained thousands of doctors, then told them: sorry, no jobs

[bakasabo]

I think we should not blame only UK government for such situation to be. Those who were studying for years, why didnt they make a little research while studying, where they are going to work later? During years of studying, students must have had practice. They should have noticed that something is wrong, not as they were promised with job sector. They could have taken a hard decision to drop studying and choose other profession. Instead they blindly continued and now demand jobs. Those doctors can always go abroad. I am sure they will be welcomed and there are many countries that need professional doctors.

Maybe I have been attending medical school for course for four years. Then I discovered that there are no jobs for me after graduation. It will not be easy to drop out of medical school to pursue another field. Do you know that some of these students took loans to finance their education? Many of these doctors would simply move out of the country to where they are needed after graduation.

The UK don't lack jobs for doctors. The problem is that the pay is poor compared to other countries. This is why the government prefer to hire foreign workers who are always willing to accept low salaries under poor working conditions. While UK-trained doctors prefer to move to other countries that offer better packages.

I think its person duty to monitor job and salary market while he study. I think only a fool person will study till the end, if during studies he finds out that it is hard to find job or it pays less than other jobs.

Not every job in medicine is paid poor. But if you know that you will earn little, then what is the reason to continue study till the end or start to study at all? A person must think about his future. When I applied for university, I have made a little research, asked people how much they earn, checked applications of some companies that I planned to apply. Find out my possible duties, salary and etc. I think that is right thing to do, then choose university to study, then complain that there are not job or they are badly paid.

[DrBeer]

A controversial idea. Let me explain:
- Immigrants from the Middle East with low-level medical education do not solve the problems of medicine in Britain. Low income requirements do not solve the problem of medicine in the country. Especially with a low level of medical education.
- The Islamization of Britain clearly does not lead to an improvement in the situation in the country. And this is probably the key point. More precisely, the incomprehensible promotion of that very Islamization.  I visited Britain from the beginning of 2000 to 2014. I saw both the “provinces” and London. So, as someone who does not live in Britain, but observes the dynamics of change from the outside and at long intervals, I can say that the Islamization of London is very active. At the same time, communicating with the indigenous population, I can conclude that these are not positive changes...

I'll be frank, all the religion fanatics are the same. It doesn't really matter which one it is. Judaism, Islamism, Christianity... They are all same to me. When I see people gathering to protest the other religion to protect theirs, it doesn't make any sense to me. I don't see myself ever protesting another religion.

Take a look at this recent live stream from Nick Shirley:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF5X6s09Tbs

You'll immediately see how crazy both sides are. If you have Christian parents you'll probably not see any wrongdoings in the Christian protesters because they want to protect their way of living (somehow I agree with them btw) but then the people who have Muslim parents think the same for the Muslim protesters.

To an outsider, a non-religious person, both sides seem to inhabit craziness.

The westerners opened their doors and welcomed these people, now they are not happy about it. Just like how they outsourced their production to... CHINA, and now trying to fight them. Sounds stupid.

I completely agree with you—religious fanaticism makes no difference! Whatever religion is used as a basis for manipulation by fanatics (let's not confuse religion and FAITH, these are completely different concepts), it is always used to control and manipulate the masses.
But I am talking about something else—the rather harsh and purposeful expansion of Arab countries' populations into Europe. Unfortunately, they do not present themselves as high-quality “new faces”; they do not integrate into the culture and economy of their new country, but try to impose their habits and worldview, forcing others to respect and accept their demands. We have already seen the results, for example, very clearly in France, which hospitably opened its doors to migrants.
  I am talking about the fact that Britain may face the same problems today. If Britain lacked workers and specialists, then the choice they made was not the right one. Instead of solving local problems, they ended up with a lot of risks, a burden on the social budget, and growing discontent among the indigenous population.

[STT]

I dont think the lack of work is the problem more the money issue and I'm wondering if qualified in UK how hard is it to work elsewhere in other countries.
   I heard someone recently say they are trained and qualified in europe but want to go back home to USA to be a doctor however they cannot as they would require alot of expensive documents to be allowed to be a doctor.    I know there are alot of people without healthcare in USA who need a doctor and could even pay towards it but not the higher rates that are regulated by the top tier system use with insurance.  The whole not dying thing seems to be very political and the system a bar to actual help in some cases, is it ironic or on purpose for profits.

There are people who leave the UK to receive healthcare as far as India.  I presume its price difference but also some goto USA and treatments only exist there for some conditions and it must cost alot to do so after being already sick.
  
 I also know of someone who received healthcare privately via insurance coverage after injury in europe but they were only patched up, hobbled not fully well for years.  They saw a doctor in UK (government not private) and received proper treatment allowing them to walk normally, the private care was purely done by legal contract fulfilment to avoid being sued and was poor.

[Localhostspeed]

I think we should not blame only UK government for such situation to be. Those who were studying for years, why didnt they make a little research while studying, where they are going to work later? During years of studying, students must have had practice. They should have noticed that something is wrong, not as they were promised with job sector. They could have taken a hard decision to drop studying and choose other profession. Instead they blindly continued and now demand jobs. Those doctors can always go abroad. I am sure they will be welcomed and there are many countries that need professional doctors.

It's much easy to say when you are not in their position. Imagine that you left home and promised your parents that you are going to UK to study medicine and your family as done everything to provide everything but after sometime the government made a change of decision after the promises and you want to change course, it's not going to be easy to do. Remember that some people can't make decisions on their own until their parents makes for them.

The solution is they should look elsewhere, medical doctor is a very hot jobs that is demanded not only in UK but in other part of the world. I remember seeing Canada was in need of doctors that time but I don't know how true it's. Been a graduate from UK will open plenty of doors for you when apply for jobs. Some people should also consider going back home, they are going to prioritize for jobs before their own people due to experience and other things.

[imthegreat]

If these young doctors can't find work in their own country, they could look for opportunities elsewhere. If I lived in England, I wouldn't mind moving to Spain or the US. I've heard that a medical license in the US is expensive, but you'll agree that a British medical education sounds impressive, and I think more countries should recognize this diploma. After all, it's not like engineering, where standards and metrics are equal. Essentially, medical practices are the same everywhere; a doctor is a doctor. Their knowledge is very similar, except for the medical equipment that's used.

[bakasabo]

I think we should not blame only UK government for such situation to be. Those who were studying for years, why didnt they make a little research while studying, where they are going to work later? During years of studying, students must have had practice. They should have noticed that something is wrong, not as they were promised with job sector. They could have taken a hard decision to drop studying and choose other profession. Instead they blindly continued and now demand jobs. Those doctors can always go abroad. I am sure they will be welcomed and there are many countries that need professional doctors.

It's much easy to say when you are not in their position. Imagine that you left home and promised your parents that you are going to UK to study medicine and your family as done everything to provide everything but after sometime the government made a change of decision after the promises and you want to change course, it's not going to be easy to do. Remember that some people can't make decisions on their own until their parents makes for them.

The solution is they should look elsewhere, medical doctor is a very hot jobs that is demanded not only in UK but in other part of the world. I remember seeing Canada was in need of doctors that time but I don't know how true it's. Been a graduate from UK will open plenty of doors for you when apply for jobs. Some people should also consider going back home, they are going to prioritize for jobs before their own people due to experience and other things.

I understand that it is easier to say when I am not in their position. But if I was in their position, I would think about future possibilities if someone tells me "you know, we need doctors, would be nice if someone study to become a doctor". I would find out how much doctors earn, how easy it is to get a job, instead of spending years studying, and only then doing all that.

As we are on crypto forum, here is an example. If someone tells you that in few years his altcoin will cost a lot. Will you first do research, or will you first buy it and then think about the future?

Those who fail to find doctor job in UK have huge advantage over others who search same job. They have studied on English language. As a most spoken language in the world, they can apply for that job in most countries.

[goro_chief]

https://www.talkimg.com/images/2025/12/02/UR7ppw.png
Article from ft.com: ‘The system does not want me’: why some doctors struggle to land jobs
Archive.ph link to avoid paywall: https://archive.ph/z48b9

I keep thinking after reading this article from the UK and I cannot get it out of my head. For the past years, the government told young people, become a doctor, we need you, the health system is dying. So thousands of kids were listening. They studied for 6, 7, 8 years. They gave up their 20s. They took debt. They passed every exam. They did everything right.

And now? More than half of them are unemployed. Not a bad job. No job. And at the same time, the same government says "we have a doctor shortage." So which one is true? How could there be too many doctors, and not enough doctors, at the same time? The answer is simple and it angered me when I got to understand the answer. They opened more medical schools but they did not create more jobs for the doctors to actually work and training after graduation. Imagine a car making factory with no roads. That is what happened. They made the doctors, and forgot to make the jobs.

When you have thousands of desperate qualified people fighting for a few places, you can pay them almost nothing. And that is what exactly happened. Temporary work pay fell by 50% or more. Hospitals know that if you said no, someone else will say yes. So doctors who have spent the best part of a decade training are now earning less than before and have no prospect in the future, while their friends pack bags and move to Australia where they are actually wanted. The UK spent a lot of money training these people and now Australia gets them for free.

I am not a doctor. But I know this feeling. I think many of us do. You follow the rules. You do what they told you. And then someone changes the game and say sorry no room for you. This is not just a UK problem and isn't just a doctor problem. This is a pattern. And I wonder, how much of us are in the same situation, different industry, same broken promise? What did you do when you realized the path you used to trust was a dead end?

This isn’t just about doctors, you’re right. It’s happening in tech, academia, finance — everywhere. The lesson I took is: never assume the path stays open just because it was open before. Skills, mobility, and optionality matter more than titles now. Trust the process, but always have an exit plan.