Doctor vs lawyer salary in Nigeria – who earns more?
There is this never ending arguments in Nigeria about who earns more money and better paybor salary between a Nigerian doctor and a Nigerian lawyer or barrister.
What do you think…. Are Nigerian doctors paid higher than Nigerian lawayers?
Before I answer this question, let me quickly brief you on the duties of a lawyer and a doctor in a society.
who is a doctor?
According to study.com, medical doctors (MDs) are physicians who work in hospitals, clinics, medical centers, or private practices. doctors treat people for illnesses and injuries. They also prescribe medications, order diagnostic tests, diagnose ailments, and record patient information. Doctors of medicine often have a specialization such as general practice, gynecology, dermatology, pediatric medicine, orthopedics, or many others. All surgeons are medical doctors.
Who is a lawyer?
According to vocabulary.com, a lawyer is a professional who is qualified to offer advice about the law or represent someone in legal matters. A lawyer can also be called an attorney, a solicitor, a counselor, a barrister, or — pejoratively — an ambulance chaser.
A lawyer can handle all sorts of legal matters from drafting wills to patent claims to defending people against criminal charges. Qualified lawyers have to attend law school and pass a bar exam in order to practice law. Lawyer, of course, means one who practices the law.
Now to the main topic of discussion…. Who earns more between a lawyer and a doctor in Nigeria?
To me and from statistics available, a doctor earns far more than a lawyer in Nigeria and even other professions. Doctors in Nigeria are actually not well paid but they still earn better than lawyers. For example, a young medical doctor during internship earns about #170,000 Naira as salary monthly which may increase to #200,000 or more later. A lawyer working in most Nigerian law chambers earns peanuts or nothing… Their salary is too meagre to mention. A young lawyer working in a law firm earns about #50,000 Naira. There have been true and confirmed stories on social media where lawyers are confirmed to either work for free or are paid #10,000 Naira monthly.
A consultant medical doctor in Nigeria also earns more than a lawyer of high cadre. A senior consultant doctor earns close to #1.5 million Naira monthly …except the lawyer hit a big case especially election matters or corruption case, she or he is a senior advocate of Nigeria, she or he doesn’t earn up to #1,000,000 Naira monthly. Even in the UK, a doctor’s salary is higher than that of a lawyer.
This article does not in anyway rule out the fact that some lawyers are fat salary earners and spend big in town. We are only comparing and contrasting a lawyer and a doctor’s salary scale so as to put things in proper perspectives …
Don’t get it twisted… No. ill feelings. Just TRUTH.
This article is the intellectual property of www.nimedhealth.com.ng
