The RCGP's workforce data tells a clear story: more GPs are leaving the profession than entering it. The reasons are well-documented — workload, liability, systemic underinvestment, the annual allowance, the daily grind of infinite demand on finite time. What's less discussed is where they go.
This isn't a piece about why GPs leave. It's about what the options actually look like on the other side — the money, the lifestyle, the trade-offs, and whether people come back.
The common exits
Pharmaceutical and life sciences industry
What it looks like: Medical adviser, medical science liaison (MSL), medical director, pharmacovigilance, health economics, market access. Pharma values clinical credibility and the ability to translate between science and business.
The money: Entry-level medical adviser roles: £70,000–£90,000 + bonus + benefits (car, private health, pension contribution). Senior medical director: £120,000–£180,000+. The total package typically exceeds GP income within 2–3 years.
The trade-off: You stop seeing patients. For some GPs this is liberation; for others it's an identity crisis that hits harder than expected. The corporate culture — matrix management, consensus-driven decision-making, glacial timelines — is profoundly different from the autonomy of general practice. Many GP-to-pharma transitions describe the first year as intellectually underwhelming and politically exhausting.
Do they come back? Some do, usually to portfolio roles combining part-time clinical work with industry consultancy. Most don't — the salary differential makes returning to NHS pay difficult to justify.
Health technology and medtech
What it looks like: Clinical lead, product manager, chief medical officer, clinical advisory boards. Startups and scale-ups need clinicians who can validate products, guide development, and provide clinical governance.
The money: Highly variable. Startup CMO: £80,000–£150,000 + equity (which may or may not be worth anything). Advisory board member: £500–£2,000/day, ad hoc. Established medtech companies: similar to pharma.
The trade-off: Startups are exciting but unstable. You may be the only clinician in a room full of engineers and you'll need to learn product thinking, user research, and business development. The learning curve is steep but the intellectual stimulation is high.
Do they come back? Frequently, because many medtech roles are compatible with part-time clinical practice and the medtech world actively values "practising clinician" credentials.
Medical education
What it looks like: Medical school lecturer, clinical skills tutor, postgraduate education lead, examiner, simulation centre director. Teaching roles at universities and training organisations.
The money: Clinical academic roles: £60,000–£100,000 depending on seniority and institution. Part-time teaching alongside clinical practice is common and can add £15,000–£40,000/year.
The trade-off: Academic medicine pays less than clinical practice and significantly less than industry. Career progression in academia requires publications and teaching qualifications (PGCert HE, FHEA). But the work-life balance is typically better, the intellectual environment is stimulating, and the long holidays are real.
Do they come back? Most GP educators maintain some clinical practice, so they never fully leave. It's one of the gentlest transitions.
Consultancy and management
What it looks like: NHS management (ICB roles, NHSE policy), management consultancy (McKinsey, Deloitte, PwC health practices), independent consultancy to health systems and organisations.
The money: NHS management: £70,000–£130,000 depending on band and role. Management consultancy: £80,000–£150,000+ for experienced hires. Independent consultancy: £800–£2,000/day.
The trade-off: You become "part of the system" rather than a practitioner railing against it. Some GPs find this empowering; others find it soul-destroying. The pace and culture of consultancy is very different from clinical medicine — more PowerPoint, more stakeholder management, less direct impact on individual patients.
Medical writing and content
What it looks like: Freelance medical writing (CME content, patient information, pharmaceutical manuscripts), health journalism, content creation for health companies.
The money: Freelance medical writing: £200–£800/piece for articles, £2,000–£10,000 for longer projects. Full-time content roles in health companies: £50,000–£80,000. It's rarely enough on its own but combines well with part-time clinical work.
Expert witness and medicolegal
What it looks like: Providing expert opinions for clinical negligence cases, personal injury cases, GMC fitness-to-practise hearings, employment tribunals with medical aspects.
The money: £150–£350/hour. A well-established GP expert witness doing 2–3 reports per month can earn £30,000–£80,000/year on top of clinical income.
The trade-off: The work is intellectually demanding, sometimes emotionally difficult (reviewing cases where things went badly wrong), and administratively heavy. Building a reputation takes years. But it's one of the highest-paying portfolio additions for GPs.
Occupational health
What it looks like: OH physician for companies, government departments, or independent OH providers. Assessing fitness for work, managing sickness absence, workplace health surveillance.
The money: £80,000–£120,000 for full-time OH physician roles. Sessional OH work: £500–£800/session.
The trade-off: Predictable hours, no on-call, no emergencies. But the clinical variety is limited and some GPs find the work repetitive after the initial learning phase. The Diploma in Occupational Medicine (DOccMed) is the standard qualification.
The uncomfortable truth about leaving
Most GPs who leave fully don't miss the medicine as much as they expected. What they miss is the therapeutic relationship, the clinical autonomy, and the identity. "I'm a doctor" is a powerful self-concept, and losing it — even voluntarily — requires adjustment.
The financial transition is usually upward (industry, consultancy, medtech all pay more), but the satisfaction curve is unpredictable. Some GPs thrive outside clinical practice and wonder why they stayed so long. Others return within 2–3 years, having realised that the frustrations of general practice were less unbearable than the frustrations of corporate life.
The safest approach, if you're considering leaving, is to build the exit gradually: start with portfolio work alongside clinical sessions, test different options, and don't burn bridges. The GPs who have the most regret-free transitions are those who added options before subtracting clinical work.
iatroX is built by a GP who chose the medtech path without leaving clinical practice. AI-powered clinical search and qbanks for practising clinicians and trainees.