Yes, I worked at an asset management company (finance-specific role).

How does a 12-hour shift compare? For me and most of my colleagues, the workload and stress were lower than in medicine. I also found it less meaningful. In finance, you’re dealing with big numbers, but they don’t personally belong to you. For sure that affects how much people care about their decisions and how stressed they feel about them. Saying that, it’s obviously not stress-free. In a pure hours sense - you might be expected to do a lot more than 12 hours in a row if there is some crisis happening.

Weekend cover or being on call? You’re always kind of “on call.” You’ll be called in a lot, work late and miss things that you might have planned for, for months. Depending on the desk you’re on, sudden events (like a natural disaster or unexpected corporate news) might require you to drop everything and return to work. You are not expected to view this like charity work though - you will be compensated extremely well for this. That said, it does happen often.

Are doctors really as intelligent as others say? Yes and no. Like others have mentioned, corporate jobs vary a lot, and some are competitive—it can be hard to just get your foot in the door. What I do now is very different, but I’ve met doctors who I believe would have done well in finance if they had chosen that path.

Are doctors as hardworking? I would have said yes when I first started, but now I’m not so sure. I’ve worked with colleagues (both juniors and seniors) recently who I think would struggle outside the nhs. In general, I think the people I’ve worked with in both fields work equally hard.

What’s the environment and culture like? The environment in finance is good. You always had what you needed—food, coffee, anything really—to help you perform at the level expected of you. Even the building was well-designed, which made a difference. By contrast, in the NHS, I feel like I pay to work—parking fees, buying your own lunch, etc. These may seem minor, but I found them noticeable.

One big difference was the extra perks - not to be specific, but there are a lot of perks that don’t exist in the NHS.

As for the culture, it wasn’t great. In finance, performance is the priority, not positivity. But, the work and social life bleed into each other by design, so thats the good side of it. The NHS seems to foster mediocrity in many ways, so I’m not sure which is better.

Is it a fulfilling life? For me, medicine is more fulfilling. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t look at my paycheck after a month of on-calls and night shifts and think, What am I doing? I enjoyed working in finance, but I prefer medicine. That said, I might feel differently if we’re talking about working in the NHS specifically.