Expected lifetime earnings for a typical doctor are ~$7M compared to ~$1.4M for the median person. The pay might not be "that great" by your standards but it's

Expected lifetime earnings for a typical doctor are ~$7M compared to ~$1.4M for the median person. The pay might not be "that great" by your standards but it's still 4x more than the typical person earns, even taking into account ~$500k of education costs. A typical lawyer makes only ~$5M and has similarly expensive education and a demanding work schedule. Software engineers only started earning that kind of money in the last decade or so. When today's new doctors were starting off on their education path ten years ago, doctors probably still earned twice as much as even top software engineers. Medicine is also prestigious in a way that few other careers are. People take notice when you say you're a doctor, and a lot of people enjoy that feeling. A huge number of parents pressure their kids into pursuing medicine, having your kid become a doctor is a surefire way to win the status game among your friends. I personally know quite a few doctors. I'd say for most of them that desire to help people and desire for personal status were both motivating factors in their career choice.