New analysis suggests there are clear gender differences in the amount of cash required for doctors to pay off student debts.
For student debts below £50,000, women repay more, despite earning less, because their debt lasts longer and accrues more interest. But for initial debts above £50,000, men repay more because their average yearly salaries are higher.
The survey responses showed that average full-time salaries rose with age, but with a wide gap in earnings starting to emerge between men and women from the age of 30 onwards.
By the age of 55, male doctors earned 35% more than their female colleagues, which was mainly attributable to hourly wage rates rather than the number of hours worked.
However, this research suggests that both genders are unlikely to be able to repay their student loans over the course of their working lives.
The researchers findings are based on national Labour Force surveys from 1997 to 2014 of 4,286 doctors working more than 30 hours a week.
