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Comment by atmosx | Hacker News Reader

It’s way worse. Mediterranean countries have free education system that produce engineers, doctors, etc that they can’t keep, because they can go to the Netherlands or the UK for bigger career opportunities and salaries. At a personal level is “an amazing opportunity” at a country level it’s a vicious cycle that increases the gap, a real tragedy.

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Engineers and doctors in the U.K. go to US and Australia instead of staying in the shithole of the U.K.

From UK go to USA, from south EU to UK, from south America to EU, from central America to south America, from Africa to central America. The whole circle.

Theres even a side pipeline out of the US where you don't have the grades or mcat for american medical school and go to an american expat tailored program in the carribean, faring mostly the same as you would have anyway after a period of time.

Then they end up in the hospital systems in the US that the domestic talent passes over, after having to repeat their residency requirements of course trying to keep up with the 80 hour work weeks in residency with fresh out of school mds who might have 10+ years of youth on them. Circle of life I guess.

Wow. So, the system doesn’t work. It’s almost as if education isn’t the “cure” for the “social problems” of 2024 and beyond.

Who knew?

And Eastern European engineers and doctors go to Mediterranean countries for bigger opportunities and salaries. Looks like the biggest culprit is the “free education”, no?

> And Eastern European engineers and doctors go to Mediterranean countries for bigger opportunities and salaries.

No, that doesn't happen.

This is sarcasm, no?

No. There is no one that will come to the Greek public sector simply because they can go to Central Europe. Their passport is just as good. Greek doctors do not leave Greece out of spite, the working conditions are terrible: low pay, very long hours, exhausting conditions.

Every time I took a vacation in Greece (and I took plenty in the last 20 years) and I had to visit the doctor (for the kids mostly) it was either Romanian or Bulgarian. Same in Italy and Spain. Also other people working in the turism industry: cooks, chambermaids, reception and so on and so forth.

Pay is not the only criteria. Some select for the culture, lifestyle, similar language, etc.

All the doctors I know from ex-soviet countries are married or have family established in Greece and they are old. Many are of Greek heritage, but their culture is Russian, Ukranian, Bulgarian because they grew up there. Like, above 45.

However, you're correct that salary might not be the only criteria. That said, the Greek healthcare systems is already too thin, in ten years there will be a huge crisis due to lack of personnel. Most islands go by without doctors. During the summer these islands get flooded with ppl.

I’m not sure that’s true. They are also mainly going to Northern Europe

Well if mediterranean countries were not so business-hostile, and by that I mean, not hate on a daily basis the guy who works the most, that would surely renew the love for the homeland.

It’s ok to blame things on the taxes or free college, one also has to take a mirror and wonder “Can I change something in my attitude?”

Here's to "business hostility": https://greekcitytimes.com/2024/06/20/greece-six-day-work-we...

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