The flight of Spanish healthcare talent to other European countries continues to be encouraged by the Job insecurity and low salaries in public health. While thousands of young doctors look abroad for the professional and economic recognition that they cannot find in Spain, some even opt for jobs in the service sector to be able to save or even pay for their studies.
This is the case of Rafael Zafra, a doctor who, while convalidating his degree in Medicine, worked for a year as waiter in Berlin (Germany) and earned more money than his healthcare colleagues who worked in Spanish hospitals.
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The young man’s testimony, published through a video on his TikTok profile (@sexologiaconrafa), includes the keys to why it is profitable to work in the hospitality sector in Germany. “The first is because the law is complied with,” he points out, pointing out that “here working overtime and not being paid is the exception and not the norm as in Spain.”
How much do you earn as a waiter in Germany?
During his time as a waiter in Germany, the young man earned more money than if he had remained practicing as a doctor in Spain. “The month I earned the most money was 3,200 euros net, that is, after taxes; and the month I earned the least, 2,200,” he reveals. Although the variability depends on the flow of clientele, the figures still exceed the average salary of a resident doctor in Spainwhich is around 1,300 euros net per month.
“That is, between 2,200 and 3,200 clean euros per month. I earn more as a waiter in Germany than as a doctor in Spain,” points out the young man while comparing his experience in hospitality with the harsh working conditions reported by his colleagues in the Spanish health system. “Without having to be 24 hours on call without sleep“, caring for one patient after another, enduring screams in emergencies or threats, working marathon days of up to 80 or 90 hours a week and many of them without paying into Social Security,” he complains.
A contrast that, once again, highlights the precariousness faced by many young doctors in Spain and explains, in part, the growing emigration of health professionals in search of better conditions in other European countries.
The culture of tips: “the normal thing is between 50 and 150 per shift”
Added to this are tips, a culture similar to the American model, where gratification from the client is common and socially internalized. “As there is a tipping culture, in the end you always win a lot,” he points out, emphasizing the need to know the language to maximize tips.
And although the amounts of tips vary depending on the type of restaurant and the influx of customers, in medium-sized establishments, where activity is constant, “tips range between 50 and 150 euros per night shift,” says Rafa, arguing that “if one wants personalized treatment, if one wants excellence, if one wants recommendations… it has a price.”
Thus, the experience has allowed him to be “finally financially independent” and save during his stay in Germany. Now, once this procedure is completed, he claims to be prepared to “continue his professional career as a doctor.”