No shit the average doctor makes more than the average programmer (though a Silicon Valley programmer is going to have a higher compensation than average - whic

No shit the average doctor makes more than the average programmer (though a Silicon Valley programmer is going to have a higher compensation than average - which makes this article even more stupid, because it uses national numbers on salary to make a generalization about Silicon Valley salary). But becoming a doctor is a lot more difficult, expensive, and takes much, much longer. Its much riskier. Getting into med school after the sunk cost of an undergrad is far from guaranteed. Passing your boards and getting into residency is not guaranteed and you may have to go into a different specialty than you were planning on. By this time you've already given up 8 years of earnings and have probably taken out loans in the six figures. And if you graduate med school and don't like the work? Too bad! Seeing a few friends go through the stress of the process, I wouldn't want to do it myself. None of my friends got a residency right out of med school. The other one of my friend decided to not go into med school at all after getting a pre-med degree and instead go to nursing school.