Perhaps it's not prestige so much as risk-aversion. Programming is a very cyclical industry (akin to oil or construction), whereas there's always a need for doc

Perhaps it's not prestige so much as risk-aversion. Programming is a very cyclical industry (akin to oil or construction), whereas there's always a need for doctors and to a lesser extent lawyers. Edit: Certainty this isn't the only reason to choose another career besides software, I just thought I'd respond to prestige as a particular reason.