Doctors’ salary in Poland: how much foreign specialists earn

Medical specialists from Ukraine, Belarus, and other post-Soviet countries who are considering relocation to another country are understandably interested in information about doctors’ salaries in Poland. It should be noted right away that this issue is quite multifaceted — depending on various factors and conditions, the difference in doctors’ salaries in Poland can amount to tens of thousands of zlotys. However, we will try to familiarize all interested readers with some general trends.

Factors influencing the salary level of a doctor in Poland

First of all, the salary depends on the doctor’s specialty. Today, the highest-paid fields are considered to be aesthetic surgery, ophthalmology, orthopedics, and anesthesiology.

The difficulty is that foreigners employed under the simplified procedure are initially equated with doctors without a specialization. Such employees can expect the minimum doctor’s salary in Poland. As of today, it amounts to about 7,500 PLN per month before taxes.

In addition, earnings are influenced by:

• the region where the medical facility is located. For example, in the Masovian, Silesian, Lesser Poland, and Lublin voivodeships, as well as in Warsaw, salaries of senior medical staff exceed the average doctors’ salaries in Poland. A doctor who agrees to work in the Greater Poland or Lower Silesian voivodeship will most likely earn less than the national median;

• work experience. Even if the starting salary does not seem very attractive, it should be remembered that it increases as experience grows. As a rule, salary increases begin as early as the second year of work;

• bonuses and allowances, which can range from 5% to 20% of the base salary.

Bonuses and allowances that form the final salary of doctors in Poland are paid in the following cases:

• for work at night (up to 65% of the hourly rate multiplied by the actual number of hours worked);

• for work on weekends and public holidays (up to 45% of the rate calculated per hours worked);

• for on-call duties — they are paid as overtime work.

In addition, in Poland a doctor’s salary is supplemented with remuneration for training interns, providing unscheduled consultations to doctors of other specialties, and other work beyond standard duties. As a result, even after all taxes and deductions are withheld, such a specialist receives a quite decent net income.

Some concrete figures

As already mentioned earlier, the range of salaries for Polish medical professionals is quite large. Nevertheless, we will try to familiarize you with the current figures (all amounts are given as gross, i.e., before taxes):

• during the internship period, a doctor earns 7,772.63 PLN per month;

• a doctor without a specialization earns 9,736.25 PLN per month;

• the minimum monthly salary of specialist doctors is 11,863.49 PLN.

The upper salary limit for a doctor in Poland in 2023 can reach 40,000 or even 50,000 PLN, depending on the factors listed above, as well as the financial capacity of a particular medical facility.

It can be difficult for people living in other countries to understand the real value of an unfamiliar currency and assess how profitable and promising employment in a Polish medical institution is in terms of salary. To make this clearer, it is reasonable to convert the figures into international currency units.

The current exchange rate of the Polish zloty is 1:0.27 to the US dollar and 1:0.23 to the euro. Thus, the starting salary of a doctor in Poland in dollars will be approximately $2,500 or €2,130.

According to statistics, as of 2023 these figures even slightly exceed the national average salary. This means that a foreign doctor will be able to earn enough for basic needs, including housing rent, immediately after employment. And this is an excellent starting point for successful integration into the European community, including the medical one.

Our company has been engaged for a long time in recruiting vacancies for medical professionals from the former Soviet republics and has an extensive database of offers from employers in various medical institutions across all regions of the country.

In addition, we help you quickly and sufficiently master the Polish language, collect and prepare all the required documents, and, if necessary, obtain a residence permit within a short timeframe, organize relocation, and go through the adaptation period in a new country with minimal discomfort.