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Cardiologists are in the upper salary echelons of physicians. If you're a family physician or a pediatrician you probably won't make more than $200,000 per year

Cardiologists are in the upper salary echelons of physicians. If you're a family physician or a pediatrician you probably won't make more than $200,000 per year, which isn't too far out of line with what some programmers make.

rdouble 15y ago
Right, but to make $200K a year as a programmer you have to work at Goldman Sachs or have spent the last 8 years moving up the ranks at VM Ware or be Mark Zuckerburg's college friend. To make $200K a year as a GP you can live anywhere in the USA you want and work part time (which is what my father does).
- psykotic 15y ago
  To make that $200,000 you also have to pour an ungodly amount of time, effort and money into the education system, etc. Once you factor in all the relevant differences the gap is a lot smaller than it appears at first. There are many programmers who earn that kind of salary and don't fit your description of being in finance or climbing the managerial ladder for years on end.
  - rdouble 15y ago
    There are many programmers who earn that kind of salary and don't fit your description of being in finance or climbing the managerial ladder for years on end. Who are they and where do they work? I am looking for a job.
    - psykotic 15y ago
      Find product companies where top-percentile individual contributors can make a huge difference to the company's bottom line and are renumerated accordingly.
      - rdouble 15y ago
        Was hoping for specific examples, but thanks anyway.
        psykotic 15y ago
        Sorry to be unhelpful. The specific examples I could have given you wouldn't have been useful in your personal job search and giving them would have meant betraying the confidence of close friends and acquaintances. My post's somewhat abstract answer was a common denominator.
        lurker19 15y ago
        How many of these can there be if giving any hint to the observable characteristics of any of them will compromise an individual's privacy?
        saturn 15y ago
        You were hoping for a list of companies where psykotic has friends who have shared their confidential salaries with him/her, usually small web businesses with a max of 5 or so programmers, so you can ring up and demand your $200k job? That's not how the real world works.
tsotha 15y ago
Not only that, but you're gonna be crushed by debt and won't be starting making money until you're in your mid 30s. Programmers come out way, way ahead once you consider the lost opportunity and cost of all those extra years doctors spend in school.
- rdouble 15y ago
  People who say this haven't done the math or looked at real salary numbers. The average salary for a cardiologist is $308,000/yr. The average salary for a software engineer is $58,000/yr. The cardiologist makes six times as much money. Even with a 12 year head start the programmer comes out behind. Medical school debt can be paid off in 2-5 years. In addition, the cardiologist can keep practicing into her 60s whereas a programmer should plan on changing careers in his 40s.
  - imajes 15y ago
    "In addition, the cardiologist can keep practicing into her 60s whereas a programmer should plan to retire or change careers in his 40s." And from where do you find this Bullshit?
    - rdouble 15y ago
      From news articles and personal experience. There have been dozens, if not hundreds of articles about age discrimination in high tech. The people in my extended family who are doctors are all still practicing in their 60s, whereas the two who were programmers were laid off at age 48 and 52, never to work as programmers again. I worked in Silicon Valley, Boston and NYC for 12 years and I can count the number of programmers I worked with over the age of 45 on one hand! (Maybe even on 1 finger, technically the other guy was no longer working as a programmer...)
  - tsotha 15y ago
    >The average salary for a software engineer is $58,000/yr. That seems awfully low. I would never have stayed in this business if I was making anything close to that.

rdouble 15y ago

Right, but to make $200K a year as a programmer you have to work at Goldman Sachs or have spent the last 8 years moving up the ranks at VM Ware or be Mark Zuckerburg's college friend. To make $200K a year as a GP you can live anywhere in the USA you want and work part time (which is what my father does).

psykotic 15y ago
To make that $200,000 you also have to pour an ungodly amount of time, effort and money into the education system, etc. Once you factor in all the relevant differences the gap is a lot smaller than it appears at first. There are many programmers who earn that kind of salary and don't fit your description of being in finance or climbing the managerial ladder for years on end.
- rdouble 15y ago
  There are many programmers who earn that kind of salary and don't fit your description of being in finance or climbing the managerial ladder for years on end. Who are they and where do they work? I am looking for a job.
  - psykotic 15y ago
    Find product companies where top-percentile individual contributors can make a huge difference to the company's bottom line and are renumerated accordingly.
    - rdouble 15y ago
      Was hoping for specific examples, but thanks anyway.
      - psykotic 15y ago
        Sorry to be unhelpful. The specific examples I could have given you wouldn't have been useful in your personal job search and giving them would have meant betraying the confidence of close friends and acquaintances. My post's somewhat abstract answer was a common denominator.
        lurker19 15y ago
        How many of these can there be if giving any hint to the observable characteristics of any of them will compromise an individual's privacy?
      - saturn 15y ago
        You were hoping for a list of companies where psykotic has friends who have shared their confidential salaries with him/her, usually small web businesses with a max of 5 or so programmers, so you can ring up and demand your $200k job? That's not how the real world works.

tsotha 15y ago

Not only that, but you're gonna be crushed by debt and won't be starting making money until you're in your mid 30s. Programmers come out way, way ahead once you consider the lost opportunity and cost of all those extra years doctors spend in school.

rdouble 15y ago
People who say this haven't done the math or looked at real salary numbers. The average salary for a cardiologist is $308,000/yr. The average salary for a software engineer is $58,000/yr. The cardiologist makes six times as much money. Even with a 12 year head start the programmer comes out behind. Medical school debt can be paid off in 2-5 years. In addition, the cardiologist can keep practicing into her 60s whereas a programmer should plan on changing careers in his 40s.
- imajes 15y ago
  "In addition, the cardiologist can keep practicing into her 60s whereas a programmer should plan to retire or change careers in his 40s." And from where do you find this Bullshit?
  - rdouble 15y ago
    From news articles and personal experience. There have been dozens, if not hundreds of articles about age discrimination in high tech. The people in my extended family who are doctors are all still practicing in their 60s, whereas the two who were programmers were laid off at age 48 and 52, never to work as programmers again. I worked in Silicon Valley, Boston and NYC for 12 years and I can count the number of programmers I worked with over the age of 45 on one hand! (Maybe even on 1 finger, technically the other guy was no longer working as a programmer...)
- tsotha 15y ago
  >The average salary for a software engineer is $58,000/yr. That seems awfully low. I would never have stayed in this business if I was making anything close to that.