To think I am a bloody doctor, I shouldn't be working for a pittance after childcare?

[knackeredmother]

I am having a pissed off day so am probably BU.
I work 24 hours (plus much more unpaid overtime) a week as a GP registrar, this includes nights, weekends and long days until 10pm.
My take home pay is £1200 (after 5 years qualification).
I have 2 dc under 5 and employ a nanny as my son has lots of hospital admissions with an ongoing chest problem and my shifts mean nursery/childminder would be impossible. I also have no family to help out before I get flamed for having a nanny. There really is no other option for us that I can work out and nursery for 2 would not be much less money.
I pay our nanny about £800 a month gross for 17 hours per week (£10 p.h going rate). That leaves me £400 income to pay all of my outgoings.
My nanny has no childcare to pay for as she uses the 15 hours free government funding and has family help. Its not her fault but she has almost double the disposable income I have for working less and more sociable hours.
I'm using up annual leave today as poor ds is too sick to leave even with our nanny.
It's just made me think what is the point of going to work? I could stay at home, have no sick child stress and although I would be £400 a month down I wouldn't need to run a car, fork out bloody thousands pounds for professional exams and membership fees
I'm being unreasonable aren't I - somebody tell me it will all be worth it in the end!

I would agree with the posters who say stick with it. When your DS is at school, you won't need the nanny, you will have more control over working hours and a better position when you're qualified. You might even be the envy of the school gate with your well paid part time professional job. You are investing in the rest of your life.

Excuse my ignorance but I am a just about full time nanny, and I take home more than you do.. how is this possible? Are you being ripped off by the NHS/whoever you're employed by or is this something all Drs go through?
YADNBU...

i don't know if its because of the area you live in but nannies are not paid that kind of wage here. i have the qualification, most nursery/nanny work is not much more than minimum wage round here... could you possibly look at a cheaper nanny?

Haven't read whole thread but I'm not quite understanding how you're paid £12K for 24 hours work - unless you are still in training.

Sorry if you've said this before - but is that the case - are you still in training?

I'm with everyone who says keep at it, it gets better when dc are at school.

I'm really really glad I did especially looking at friends who are now unable to get the jobs they wanted after taking a few years out. Of course it's wonderful to take a few years out but you have to think of the future if you want to pick up or maintain/retain a career.

Wibbly, I am most definately not lying. If you look at that scale (and I am on the bottom of the scale btw) the net take home pay is £2,612. That is for a full time week in GP practice.
I am currently in a hospital rotation and therefore do not get the 45% supplement but receive 40%. I also work 24 hours (50%) therefore I receive HALF this amount - hence £1200 take home pay.
No lying anywhere just the reality of junior doctor pay.
Thankyou for all the other lovey supportive replies.

Would it be an option for you to work full time, get rid of the nanny, and your DH take care of your children and working around you as he is self employed? I'm guessing if you were full time that would mean 5 days per week, so he could book in his jobs for the days you are rostered off?

lesley - I thought she was talking about a month's pay - not a week's. durggh!

plenty of graduates in the same boat I think.

If you are earning 1200 pounds a week, how exactly does that leave you with only 400 pounds for outgoings after paying the nanny 800 pounds a month?

YANBU - you have every right to feel pissed off. I'm sure all your hard work will pay off eventually like other posters have said but that doesn't help you today does it? This world is one crazy place.

Of course I'm talking about a months pay!
I was referring to the pay scale being based on a full time 48 hour working week. If I earnt £1200 a week I certaintly wouldn't be moaning.

YABU for talking as if paying for childcare has to come from your wages - a great way of marginalising female employment.
YANBU for being pissed off at current situation, but need to take heart from how much more you will earn in years to come (unlike the people on the thread - including me - who may earn more than you now but will not be getting any higher!)

I am professionally qualified (if thats what people call it) for what I do and take home around what you do per month for 22 hours a week. I have 2 DC under 3 and all my wages go on childcare so after have paid my 70 mile day commuting cost I am out of pocket. I look on it as temporary and once they are older/in school I can resume my career in the same job etc and start making some money again. Agree though it sucks!

Op YANBU. Alongside those who have read your posts properly (!) I'd say stick with it and it will pay off in the end . I chickened out and now find myself almost unemployable. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I wish I'd worked for next to nothing for a while to now have a career... Good luck, and yes you are entitled to have a moan, too

Mimishimi I think op means that £2600 is monthly pay for a Dr in her role doing a full time working week.

Knackeredmother - I always used to feel my worst after i'd been to a baby music class in a posh village where almost everyone else was a sahm and used to look that I worked. If you are going to baby groups like that it is easy to think why am I bothering. Especially as they seem alot less stressed.

I vividly remember bumping into one of them the week our children started school and she looked awful as though it had suddenly hit her - what they heck am I going to do now.

There was a long thread on here a month or two ago - hope someone can link it - basically about how hard it is for women to get back on the career ladder if they have a break - made sobering reading.

Sorry to be thick OP, but do you earn £4800 a month or £1200?

I'm confused.

Wow your pay is really low I am a doctor also & my wage is much more than that.

Try to ride it out. I am similar in that the lion's share of my part time salary is eaten by childcare. I know everyone says to consider the childcare split etc, but that isn't the equation when you are working out how to get maximum money for minimum effort, which is how I operate.

However, you have to play the long game with these things. The kids won't always be little and you have a career to build on.

Your DS is a very lucky little boy he has two parents who are doing their best.

Doesnt your DH share the childcare bill?

Short-term pain, long-term gain. Household income now and in the future is the key consideration, not just your personal, current earnings. Even when exhausted you have a great brain and great prospects, and once more senior can earn more to work less. Just keep going.

Am firmly in the "don't give up a good job with prospects" camp and am in a similar boat, though with an easier job, know it's a hard slog, but it's not forever . If you can, cut back on the unpaid overtime - DH and I both have a "sailing close to the wind" strategy at work in terms of leaving on time etc.

Thinking that way on the nanny thing is an unhelpful distraction. Different markets. If, having done our research, you've found that other types of childcare won't work for you and DH, and can't find a cheaper - and good - nanny, then you have to pay what you do to keep her. £10ph isn't that much and she will get £8ph. she is an important part of helping you work towards your wealthier future. It's a kind of investment.

Ok, I take home £1200 PER MONTH for a 24 hour week.
I pay the childcare and other bills simply because I have a fixed guarenteed income. My husband is self employed, has a variable wage. My son is often in hospital and therefore my husband does not get paid anything during these times.
Given my son has averaged one admission every 4-6 weeks for the last 2 years you can imagine the state of my husbands business- his income is neither good or reliable.
To those who suggested I work FT and DH stays at home, yes this would be ideal. I used to be full time but dropped my hours as I was missing too much time from work with my sick ds. I know my dh could stay with him when he is in hospital while I work but I WANT to be with my poorly child. What mother wouldn't?

Working in health I'm confused how you get paid £11 per hour after tax. Who do you work for? We recruit GPs where I work for sessional work. They usually get paid £400 per morning.

OFGS The OP has already explained she is a registrar

GP locums will get paid more. The OP's wage has been verified several times by ther GP's and links.

Knackered you have my sympathy. I perservered with building a career whilst bringing up small children. It nearly killed me but I'm reaping the rewards now (well I would be if exH hadn't run off with the 50% of the house ..and paid some maintenance)

It will be worth it

Hi OP I saw you on another thread and I'm sorry how awful things have been for you. Hope your son is ok.

YA obviously NBU to have a rant about it and I totally agree. My salary is exactly the same as yours (slightly different as I'm on an unbanded Spr pay scale but it works out the same money for the same hours) except my hospital nursery fees for 2 under 3 are £1234 a month. I'm secretly a bit of your childcare costs. I have been known to stand outside the nursery gate with other glum HCPs and chant "it's all about the long term gain". I guess it's not for long. I just couldn't throw away a training number in job I love (let alone the 15 years of training and as you reminded me, the thousands of pounds spent on exams). Thank god DH doesn't mind and by some miracle is still employed. Your situation sounds exceptionally stressful, not even factoring money in and it sounds like you are all doing a great job of keeping it together and it will pay off (eventually!)

I am a bit similar in that I have a professional part time job and DH is self employed. It takes the burden of breadwinning off one partner and we both get some time with the kids. It's still a busy lifestyle but at least we are in it together and also spreads the risk a bit in case of redundancy/business problems etc. DH's flexibility in when he starts work etc is actually a godsend when it comes to school runs.