What is the average salary for medical interns?

Though it's common for doctors, dentists, physicians, surgeons and pharmacists to earn extraordinary six-figure salaries, during their internships they typically earn lower everyday wages that are comparable to many non-medical occupational earnings.

Interns -- also known as residents -- are entry-level doctors who are finishing up medical school and preparing to start their careers. The average salary for medical interns might vary depending on your type of practice field of concentration.

Several job and salary tracking services report salaries for medical residents as a general category, without regard to specialisation. As of July 2010, Simply Hired reported an average of £27,950 annually for a medical intern. The websites Jobnob and Salary Quest list jobs for medical residents around the nation, and showed somewhat higher averages, at £29,727 and £31,005, respectively.

If you're studying to become a pharmacist, you will need to complete a pharmacy residency or internship.

According to John Hopkins University, pharmacy interns accepted to programs at their Department of Pharmacy were offered salaries ranging from £29,510 to £30,810 per year, as of 2011.

The University of Iowa PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency program provided interns with an annual stipend of £28,275. Both positions included a generous benefits package.

Medical interns practicing dentistry also earn salaries comparable to general national averages. The Brody School of Medicine Department of Family Medicine at East Carolina University operates a dental general practice residency program. According to their website, as of 2011 the annual wage for dental interns was £28,856 and included paid vacations, holidays and sick leave, as well as an insurance benefits package. The Washington DC VA Medical Center's general dentistry residency program provided interns with insurance benefits and slightly higher wages of £29,575 per year, but offered no sick leave, vacation or holiday pay.

Some of the higher-earning medical interns are those with a concentration in health care for children. As of 2011, the Marshfield Clinic's Division of Education in Wisconsin offered several paediatric residency programs that paid between £30,550 and £46,800, and included full benefits packages. Five of the programs paid between £32,696.5 and £37,000.2 annually, and could include relocation assistance and a £1,137 travel and education grant.

The Langone Medical Center at NYU included eight paediatric residency programs that could be completed at one of two NY hospitals. As of 2009, each internship paid between £35,338 and £46,161 annually.

Medical students practicing to become surgeons can expect fairly generous salaries as of 2011 -- though programs vary considerably. The Washington University School of Medicine listed five general surgery residency programs on its website, and the correspondent salaries ranged between £30,583 and £36,470 per year at the time of publication. Urology students at the Oregon Health and Science University Department of Surgery could take advantage of six surgical residency programs that paid between £31,401 and £39,585 a year, with insurance benefits, and pay for sick days, holidays and vacations.