NHS doctor says he’d ditch his job to be YouTuber as ‘medicine pays so badly’
An NHS doctor said he would trade his job to be a YouTuber if he could turn back the clock as he'd rake in a lot more cash.
Michael Akadiri (@michaelakadiri) spent six years working as a junior doctor at hospitals across London and the south east after graduating from the University of Nottingham in 2016. The 31-year-old admits that while medicine has given him a stable career for life, the rewards reaped by successful social media stars far outweigh anything he could earn.
Despite what people think, he said doctors still face financial struggles.
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He said: "If I was 12 now and I was thinking what I want to do with my life I would see all these YouTubers making six figures from home. So I’d think ‘do you want to be a doctor? On strike and unhappy. So if I was a 12-year-old I wouldn’t look at medicine the same.
"I would look at YouTubers like KSI and Logan Paul – getting paid to have fun. Being a rapper or a boxer and everyone laps it up. If you ask them what the rate of inflation is – they probably don’t know – they don’t need to know.
"Whereas most of us do a job that society values – we are out here striking."
Michael is currently taking a sabbatical from medicine to pursue a career as a stand-up comedian and recently performed at Stand Up for Mums – a comedy afternoon organised by mother and baby product brand Momcozy.
Speaking as he prepares for his 2024 tour, he didn’t want to downplay the rewarding nature of medicine. He admitted "at the end of the day that doesn’t pay the bills", and many junior doctors would struggle to buy a house, especially in the south east.
"It’s nice to help people and when you help a patient it’s great – it feels good," he added. "Especially when you’re part of a surgical team who fixes someone’s hip and they can walk again.
"But, at the end of the day, that goodwill doesn’t pay the bills. If you’ve got the gas company knocking on your door asking for your bills – that goodwill doesn’t mean anything to them.
"The game is skewed and we are rewarding jobs that are less valuable to society more. That is a scary thing to do.
"Nurses, doctors, teachers, post office workers are going on strike as they’re not feeling valued. Because if you value someone’s work you pay them more. That’s what capitalism is."
Michael – who grew up in London – was encouraged to pursue a career in medicine because he thought it would be a rewarding career which would give him a stable living. But, contrary to popular belief, he revealed that even doctors are being caught in the housing crisis.
He said: "Take a doctor’s salary and try to get a mortgage – it is going to be difficult. That sounds wild. You get told to go to school, work hard, study, come out the other end and you’re a doctor.
"It’s a great job and you’re doing well but try and get a house – well unfortunately you’re quite a few thousand off. If we are in a society where doctors are struggling to get a house, then what about people who don’t have such a strong qualification?
"We get annoyed with reality TV stars but can you blame them? Go and make a nuisance of yourself on TV and get six or seven figures. Why not?"
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