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These comparisons are too coarse. I make more money as a line level eng in big tech than my wife who is a surgeon at a well respected hospital with a hoity toit

These comparisons are too coarse. I make more money as a line level eng in big tech than my wife who is a surgeon at a well respected hospital with a hoity toity pedigree. I have always made more than her, my path has caused me to incur much less debt, and I work about 60% of the hours that she does. In 10 or 15 years, she might make more than me or we might make about the same depending on the career track I decide to take. She is in the top 2% of her field pedigree/track wise and the real benefits accrue after 10 years or so of being an attending. At that point, you can consult, be an expert witness in court cases, direct a medical program etc. If you aren’t in the top echelons then you’re ceiling is going to be 300-400k unless you get a deal at a rural hospital desperate for your services.

strikelaserclaw 7y ago
working at FAANG and making 300k tc is like 5-10% of engineers even in America, your experience certainly isn't true for the run of the mill engineers. Top 5-10% doctors probably pull in close to a million.
- C1sc0cat 7y ago
  I seem to recall reading a comment on hn a few months ago about over hearing (at the gym) a transplant surgeon trying to recruit his friend saying that he could get several mill per year.
  - mountainofdeath 7y ago
    Yes, but there are probably only a thousand or so transplant surgeons in the US. You are looking at a fraction of a fraction of all doctors.
  - Ididntdothis 7y ago
    That sounds about right. I sometimes deal with surgeons through work and also through someone close to me and these surgeons seem quite wealthy considering the types of cars and houses they are talking about. Must be way into the millions. there is also no ageism so they have a secure career for almost as long as they want.
  - refurb 7y ago
    I chatted with a friend of a friend who had just completed his oral surgery residency. Once you've established your own practice and got a solid number of clientele (no easy feed), it's not unusual to net >$100K per month.
- thedufer 7y ago
  Getting into medicine is heavily gated (getting into med school, graduating, getting into residency, etc), ensuring that only the top N% of people who would like to do so actually can, while the only gate for devs is getting a job, and it seems that nearly everyone who wants to does so. So the top 5-10% of devs is not really comparably to the top 5-10% doctors, because the latter have effectively been allowed to drop the lowest-performing (100-N)% of their peers. I would ballpark that N is well under 50 for doctors, and well over 90 for devs.
- 0xB31B1B 7y ago
  I work at a FAANG company and median TC for senior engineers (5+ years exp) is around 350k. If you can make staff (prob 1 in 4 L5 eng make it to staff) then you’re at 400 - 600k TC. The weird issue with medicine is that the top doctors usually work at university hospitals that get all the difficult cases, but due to the nature of medical billing, the complicated cases pay less and take longer, this these “top docs” usually make the same or less than their counterparts at a private hospital working on more mundane procedures. At that point, the money comes in from the side gigs I listed above (expert witness, consulting, books, speaking, patents on devices/drugs etc). Some university docs also pull in money through small private practices where they do cosmetic procedures etc.
jseliger 7y ago
It's striking to me how many of the doctors I know envy tech people; maybe it's just a case of "the grass is greener." There are also many downsides to medicine not being considered by the authors: https://jakeseliger.com/2012/10/20/why-you-should-become-a-nurse-or-physicians-assistant-instead-of-a-doctor-the-underrated-perils-of-medical-school https://jakeseliger.com/2012/10/20/why-you-should-become-a-n....
rmah 7y ago
Total compensation for medical doctors can vary hugely. I suspect that the article was done using physician salaries -- that is, those employed by hospitals, clinics and private practices (i.e. the non-partners). The way physicians make top dollar is private practice. While not as lucrative on average as it used to be, it can still generate outsized incomes. Many medical doctors make well over $500k as a partner in a private practice. Of course, the hours can be insane and the risks are higher as you're running a business and corporate hospital squeeze associated practices. Finally, as odd as it may seem, smaller hospitals in second tier areas can sometimes pay more than top hospitals in tier one cities. Why? Simple, because few doctors want to go there.

strikelaserclaw 7y ago

working at FAANG and making 300k tc is like 5-10% of engineers even in America, your experience certainly isn't true for the run of the mill engineers. Top 5-10% doctors probably pull in close to a million.

C1sc0cat 7y ago
I seem to recall reading a comment on hn a few months ago about over hearing (at the gym) a transplant surgeon trying to recruit his friend saying that he could get several mill per year.
- mountainofdeath 7y ago
  Yes, but there are probably only a thousand or so transplant surgeons in the US. You are looking at a fraction of a fraction of all doctors.
- Ididntdothis 7y ago
  That sounds about right. I sometimes deal with surgeons through work and also through someone close to me and these surgeons seem quite wealthy considering the types of cars and houses they are talking about. Must be way into the millions. there is also no ageism so they have a secure career for almost as long as they want.
- refurb 7y ago
  I chatted with a friend of a friend who had just completed his oral surgery residency. Once you've established your own practice and got a solid number of clientele (no easy feed), it's not unusual to net >$100K per month.
thedufer 7y ago
Getting into medicine is heavily gated (getting into med school, graduating, getting into residency, etc), ensuring that only the top N% of people who would like to do so actually can, while the only gate for devs is getting a job, and it seems that nearly everyone who wants to does so. So the top 5-10% of devs is not really comparably to the top 5-10% doctors, because the latter have effectively been allowed to drop the lowest-performing (100-N)% of their peers. I would ballpark that N is well under 50 for doctors, and well over 90 for devs.
0xB31B1B 7y ago
I work at a FAANG company and median TC for senior engineers (5+ years exp) is around 350k. If you can make staff (prob 1 in 4 L5 eng make it to staff) then you’re at 400 - 600k TC. The weird issue with medicine is that the top doctors usually work at university hospitals that get all the difficult cases, but due to the nature of medical billing, the complicated cases pay less and take longer, this these “top docs” usually make the same or less than their counterparts at a private hospital working on more mundane procedures. At that point, the money comes in from the side gigs I listed above (expert witness, consulting, books, speaking, patents on devices/drugs etc). Some university docs also pull in money through small private practices where they do cosmetic procedures etc.

jseliger 7y ago

It's striking to me how many of the doctors I know envy tech people; maybe it's just a case of "the grass is greener." There are also many downsides to medicine not being considered by the authors: https://jakeseliger.com/2012/10/20/why-you-should-become-a-nurse-or-physicians-assistant-instead-of-a-doctor-the-underrated-perils-of-medical-school https://jakeseliger.com/2012/10/20/why-you-should-become-a-n....

rmah 7y ago

Total compensation for medical doctors can vary hugely. I suspect that the article was done using physician salaries -- that is, those employed by hospitals, clinics and private practices (i.e. the non-partners). The way physicians make top dollar is private practice. While not as lucrative on average as it used to be, it can still generate outsized incomes. Many medical doctors make well over $500k as a partner in a private practice. Of course, the hours can be insane and the risks are higher as you're running a business and corporate hospital squeeze associated practices. Finally, as odd as it may seem, smaller hospitals in second tier areas can sometimes pay more than top hospitals in tier one cities. Why? Simple, because few doctors want to go there.