Competitive careers

The road, step by step

1. MBChB degree 6 yearsSix years at most universities; UFS teaches it in five.
2. Internship 2 yearsTwo years of supervised rotations in an accredited hospital.
3. Community service 1 yearA compulsory year as a doctor in a public hospital or clinic.

Professional exams

No separate licensing exam for South African graduates: after internship and community service the HPCSA registers you for independent practice.

To specialise, add four to six years as a registrar, earning an MMed master’s degree and passing the fellowship exams of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa.

Getting in: ~85–95% estimate

UCT guarantees a place at 810 of 900 points: your six school marks without Life Orientation (up to 600) plus your three NBT scores (up to 300). That is 90% on both, so with NBT scores nearer 80% you would need about a 95% average. Stellenbosch uses no NBT or interview and makes its first 250 offers on the school average alone, so although its minimum is a 75% average (80% from the 2028 intake), those offers go far higher. UP, Wits, UKZN and UFS also rank applicants on their own scores, far above their published minimums. Take Life Sciences as well as Maths and Physical Sciences: Stellenbosch, UKZN and UFS require it. Some places go to redress or equity groups, where offers can go lower: UCT, for example, considers South African redress applicants from 644 of 900 points, and Stellenbosch makes its next 250 offers on equity ranking.

An estimate, not a guarantee. Cut-offs move every year with the number of applicants.

Pay

To start: R950k–1.0m a year

Medical Officer Grade 1: the lowest to the highest point of the 2026 public-service salary scale for the first grade after registration, as gross pay. Private-sector pay can be higher or lower.

Source: DPSA Circular 15 of 2026 OSD salary scales (1 Apr 2026)

Mid-career, about ten years in: R1.4m a year

Medical Officer Grade 3, which needs at least ten years after registering with the HPCSA for independent practice: the middle of its 2026 scale, R1,250,100 to R1,557,600 a year as gross pay (the package of R1,375,245 to R1,713,534 less the State’s pension contribution).

Source: DPSA vacancy circular 28 of 2026: Mpumalanga Health medical officer posts

The title

Medical practitioner (doctor), registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA).

Medicine guide →Bursaries →

The road, step by step

1. BVSc degree 6 yearsSix years at Onderstepoort (UP), the only vet school in South Africa.
2. Community service 1 yearA compulsory year of veterinary community service.

Professional exams

No licensing exam for Onderstepoort graduates: after the community service year the South African Veterinary Council registers you to practise on your own. (Its registration exam is for vets trained abroad.)

Specialising takes a further master’s degree and residency.

Getting in: ~80–90% estimate

Onderstepoort, at UP, is the only vet school in the country: 149 first-year places in all, of which 100 (50 Open and 50 Designated) are for South African school-leavers. APS 35 and 60% in English, Maths and Physical Sciences only put you on the selection list. UP then ranks applicants on a merit score of Maths (40%), Physical Sciences (40%) and English (20%), using final Grade 11 marks for a conditional place, so those three marks count far more than your overall average. UP publishes no cut-off because it depends on how many apply, so the ~80–90% is our estimate of that merit score. Applications close on 31 May, a month before the rest of UP.

An estimate, not a guarantee. Cut-offs move every year with the number of applicants.

Pay

To start: R850k–1.0m a year

State Veterinarian: the lowest to the highest point of the 2026 public-service salary scale for the first grade after registration, as gross pay. Private-sector pay can be higher or lower. Advertised state posts start at the bottom of the scale, about R847k a year gross (a R932k package). Most vets work in private practice, which this figure does not cover.

Source: DPSA Circular 15 of 2026 Appendix A + DPSA Public Service Vacancy Circular 31 of 2026

Mid-career, about ten years in: up to R998k a year

State vets have no pay scale of their own, so a State Veterinarian stays on salary level 11 unless promoted into a senior post. Ten years in, that pays at most the top of level 11: R998,300 a year gross in 2026 (an all-inclusive package of R1,098,195 less the State’s pension contribution). Private practice, where most vets work, is not covered.

Source: DPSA circular 15 of 2026: public-service salary scales from 1 April 2026

The title

Veterinarian (vet), registered with the South African Veterinary Council (SAVC).

Veterinary Science guide →Bursaries →

The road, step by step

1. BChD or BDS degree 5 yearsFive years.
2. Community service 1 yearA compulsory year as a dentist in the public service.

Professional exams

No separate licensing exam for South African graduates: after community service the HPCSA registers you as a dentist.

Specialists (orthodontists, maxillofacial surgeons and others) train for four or more years after that.

Getting in: ~80–90% estimate

Four universities in South Africa train dentists: UP and Wits, covered here, and UWC and Sefako Makgatho (SMU), which we do not cover yet. UP takes about 70 students a year. It needs at least APS 35, Maths at 70%, and English and Physical Sciences at 60%, selects conditionally on Grade 11 marks and ranks applicants on its merit score. Wits needs English, Maths, Physical Sciences and Life Sciences at 60% or more, the NBT and a 16-hour job-shadowing certificate, and ranks on 60% school marks and 40% NBT results. Neither publishes a cut-off, so this estimate is our judgement: dental selection scores usually sit close to, or a little below, medicine’s at the same university.

An estimate, not a guarantee. Cut-offs move every year with the number of applicants.

Pay

To start: R920k–1.0m a year

Dentist Grade 1: the lowest to the highest point of the 2026 public-service salary scale for the first grade after registration, as gross pay. Private-sector pay can be higher or lower.

Source: DPSA Circular 15 of 2026 OSD salary scales (1 Apr 2026)

Mid-career, about ten years in: no figure

The highest public-service grade for a general dentist, Dentist Grade 3, tops out at R1,557,600 a year gross in 2026 (a R1,713,534 package), the same as a doctor’s Grade 3. We could not confirm where Grade 3 starts or how many years it takes, so we show no mid-career figure rather than guess.

The title

Dentist, registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA).

Dentistry guide →Bursaries →

The road, step by step

1. BSc or BCom in Actuarial Science 3 yearsThree years at most universities (UCT also offers a four-year BBusSc). Good marks earn exemptions from the first professional exams.
2. Honours 1 yearMany students add an Honours year (built into UCT’s BBusSc) for more exam exemptions.
3. Work as a student actuary 3–6 yearsWriting the professional exams while working, usually three to six years; some people take longer.

Professional exams

• A100 and A200 examsThe technical foundations. An accredited degree with good marks usually gives exemptions from many of them.
• A300 examsApplying the techniques; with the A-series and work-based learning you become an Associate (AMASSA).
• F100 and F200 fellowship examsSpecialist principles and advanced practice in one field, such as life insurance, pensions or investment. Passing them, with three years of work-based learning, makes you a Fellow (FASSA).

Most people need three to six more years after the degree to pass the exams and finish the work-based learning, depending on their exemptions.

Getting in: ~80–85% estimate

UCT guarantees a place at 500 of 600 points (about an 83% average) with Maths at 80%, and you also need NBT Academic and Quantitative Literacy results at Upper Intermediate or better. Stellenbosch’s minimum is an 80% average with 80% for Maths, but its 2027 selection mark is 85% for both. Wits asks for APS 44 on its own scale, with 80% or more in English, Maths and Physical Sciences. UP asks for APS 36 and UJ for APS 40 (both out of 42), each with Maths at 80%. The estimate is for these five. NWU (APS 32 out of 48) and UFS (AP 34 out of 49) publish much lower bars, with Maths at 70%, so a lower average can be enough there.

An estimate, not a guarantee. Cut-offs move every year with the number of applicants.

Pay

To start: no published figure

The Actuarial Society does not publish pay, and our pay research found no official survey or recruiter figure for South African actuaries that we could verify, so we show no number. Qualified actuaries are usually among the best-paid professionals.

See: Actuarial Society of South Africa: becoming an actuary

For a rough idea only: PayScale’s crowd-sourced figure, from 90 self-reported salaries (May 2026), averages R606,288 a year, and R478,350 for less than a year’s experience. It mixes trainee actuaries with qualified ones and gives no mid-career figure, so we do not rank actuaries on it. Source: PayScale: actuary salary in South Africa

Mid-career, about ten years in: no figure

For the same reason we show no mid-career figure.

The title

FASSA (actuary), registered with the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA).

Actuarial Science guide →Bursaries →

The road, step by step

1. BEng or BSc(Eng) degree 4 yearsFour years, in an ECSA-accredited programme.
2. Candidate engineer 3–5 yearsAt least three years of supervised work as a registered candidate; many take five.

Professional exams

• ECSA professional reviewA written account of your engineering work and an interview with senior engineers, rather than a sit-down exam.

Getting in: ~75–85% estimate

UCT guarantees a place at 500 of 600 points (about an 83% average) with Maths 80%, and Physical Sciences at 75% for most branches (70% for Civil). Stellenbosch’s minimum is a 70% average; its automatic offers need a selection score (Maths + Physical Sciences + six times your average) of 600 to 660 out of 800, about 75% to 83% if all three are level. Wits asks for APS 42 on its own 56-point scale (about 70% or more in every subject), and UP for APS 35 out of 42 with 70%+ in Maths and Physical Sciences.

An estimate, not a guarantee. Cut-offs move every year with the number of applicants.

Pay

To start: R600–790k a year

Civil Engineer, 2026, from the low to the high estimate (typically R700k). Most engineers work in the private sector, so this is Pnet’s advertised pay for a civil engineer. A public-service engineer on Grade A earns about R859k a year gross.

Source: Pnet 2026 Job Market Trends Report salary guide (advertised CTC/month), as published by IT-Online

Mid-career, about ten years in: up to R887k a year

Public-service engineers stay on Grade A until 14 years after registering as a professional engineer, when Grade B starts at R936,500 a year gross. So ten years in, public-service pay is at most the top of Grade A: R886,800 a year gross in 2026 (a R975,582 package less the State’s pension contribution). Private-sector pay differs.

Source: DPSA vacancy circular 32 of 2026: Engineer Production Grade A to C post · DPSA circular 15 of 2026: public-service salary scales from 1 April 2026

The title

Pr Eng (professional engineer), registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA).

Engineering guide →Bursaries →

The road, step by step

1. BCom Accounting or BAcc 3 yearsThree years, in a SAICA-accredited CA stream.
2. CTA, PGDA or honours 1–2 yearsOne year of SAICA-accredited postgraduate accounting (called a CTA, PGDA, postgraduate diploma or honours, depending on the university), often called the hardest academic year. Many people repeat it or take it part-time, adding a year.
3. SAICA training programme 3 yearsThree years of supervised work at an approved employer, such as an audit firm.

Professional exams

• Initial Assessment of Competence (IAC)SAICA’s first board exam, written after the postgraduate year.
• Assessment of Professional Competence (APC)SAICA’s final board exam, written during the training programme.

Getting in: ~70–80% estimate

UCT guarantees a CA-stream place at 435 of 600 points (about a 73% average, from school marks) with Maths 60%, and every Commerce applicant must write the NBTs. Stellenbosch’s 2027 selection mark for the BAcc is a 73% average with Maths 73% (or Maths 63% with Accounting 70%). Wits asks for APS 44 out of 56 on its own scale (about a 75% average) and UP for APS 34 out of 42, both with Maths 70% or more. UFS (AP 34), UJ (APS 33), NWU and UKZN (APS 32) publish lower minimums with Maths 60%, but places are limited, so meeting a minimum does not guarantee a place.

An estimate, not a guarantee. Cut-offs move every year with the number of applicants.

Pay

To start: ~R579–843k a year

Estimate: Pnet’s 2026 range for a financial manager (R579k to R843k a year), a role many newly qualified CA(SA)s move into. SAICA’s own pay survey is for members only, so the Pay page uses a general accountant’s figure instead.

Source: Pnet 2026 salary guide, as published by BusinessTech

Mid-career, about ten years in: R1.3–1.8m a year

Blue Recruiting’s 2025/26 range for a CA(SA) 7 to 10 years after qualifying: R1.3m to R1.8m a year, cost to company. A recruiter’s benchmark from its own placements, not an official survey. It puts newly qualified CAs at R620k to R720k, close to our starting estimate.

Source: Blue Recruiting: South African finance salary benchmarks 2025/26

The title

CA(SA) (chartered accountant), registered with the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).

Chartered Accountancy guide →Bursaries →