Are you a wind-up merchant, Barney? How about defining what you mean by a "decent wage" (and don't forget security of employment, only 37 hours a week, flexible working practices and - oh yes - a pension at the end of it)!
Biomed (in the UK, at least) is not really about making money, is it? OK, I know a few blokes who have struggled on for many years carrying their own biomed business in the much-beloved Private Sector. But it's not easy (ask Jandre), and in monetary terms at least, probably not worth the
craic. You often get let down by your blokes (the techs), you know.
I also know blokes who have lost everything (their money, their house, their marriage ... their health even). Are you (or many others) "up" for that sort of risk?
But I suspect that most biomeds don't want all that hard work, hassle, worry and grief. Most are happy enough doing the sort of work they enjoy, within a comfortable framework (the NHS, for example). There's nothing wrong with that. But you have to compare like for like. Rushing around the country as a "service engineer" is not what NHS biomeds do, is it?
Also, looking at matters objectively, why should an older guy expect more? I don't know about you, but personally speaking I was undoubtedly better (read, more employable) in most measurable ways in my late twenties than I am now ... er, many years later!
