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Long ago I learned that anesthesiologists make more money than devs when starting out. Not a lot more, but most medical professionals do not. When I asked why

Long ago I learned that anesthesiologists make more money than devs when starting out. Not a lot more, but most medical professionals do not. When I asked why the answer was because it's the most dangerous job there. There's more opportunity to kill a patient with the anesthesia than any other means. The main reason they don't want you to eat before surgery is that you can regurgitate and damage your lungs. But even if they solved that, the anesthesiologist's job is easier if you're in a fasting state both before and at the end of a surgery. A quadruple bypass is not dangerous because you're stitching 4 new arteries onto a heart. It's dangerous because it takes so long to stitch 4 new arteries onto the heart that you're running up against the limits of how long you can safely keep someone sedated without causing life threatening complications. I'm having trouble finding current statistics but at the time I was learning this, a double bypass was many times safer than a quadruple. Articles on bypass surgery understandably focus on the aspects that are within the patient's control.

johncolanduoni 1y ago
I thought the duration-related risk for that kind of surgery was based on how long the patient is put on a heart and lung machine? Naively I'd expect that to be riskier than the anesthesia.
- usrusr 1y ago
  How is "the patient is put on a heart and lung machine" not the field of anaesthesia? That's exactly what it is.
  - johncolanduoni 1y ago
    That's a different specialty - perfusionist. Most surgeries with general anesthesia don't require a heart and lung machine and anesthesiologists aren't trained to operate one.
bonsai_spool 1y ago
I’m not sure where you’re getting your salary data, but doctors routinely earn more than developers
- hinkley 1y ago
  Experienced doctors, yes. Though I’m hearing some ridiculous salaries in SF. > Long ago
  - bonsai_spool 1y ago
    > Experienced doctors, yes. Though I’m hearing some ridiculous salaries in SF. There is no medical specialty except perhaps pediatrics/geriatrics where the pay will start below $200,000. There is a relatively modest effect of seniority on physician salaries (there is a huge amount of quality control/gatekeeping before one becomes an attending). This is nationwide, not in SF. Here are data in SF: https://www.doximity.com/reports/physician-compensation-report/2025 https://www.doximity.com/reports/physician-compensation-repo... And another source that reflects, purportedly, the data used in the above: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DL6MT-ZMJ7K/ https://www.instagram.com/reel/DL6MT-ZMJ7K/ I'm not a developer but I don't think $300-400,000, normal salaries for fields like inpatient psychiatry or subspecialty medicine, are common for new developers, or even for any developer (vs a manager).

johncolanduoni 1y ago

I thought the duration-related risk for that kind of surgery was based on how long the patient is put on a heart and lung machine? Naively I'd expect that to be riskier than the anesthesia.

usrusr 1y ago
How is "the patient is put on a heart and lung machine" not the field of anaesthesia? That's exactly what it is.
- johncolanduoni 1y ago
  That's a different specialty - perfusionist. Most surgeries with general anesthesia don't require a heart and lung machine and anesthesiologists aren't trained to operate one.

bonsai_spool 1y ago

I’m not sure where you’re getting your salary data, but doctors routinely earn more than developers

hinkley 1y ago
Experienced doctors, yes. Though I’m hearing some ridiculous salaries in SF. > Long ago
- bonsai_spool 1y ago
  > Experienced doctors, yes. Though I’m hearing some ridiculous salaries in SF. There is no medical specialty except perhaps pediatrics/geriatrics where the pay will start below $200,000. There is a relatively modest effect of seniority on physician salaries (there is a huge amount of quality control/gatekeeping before one becomes an attending). This is nationwide, not in SF. Here are data in SF: https://www.doximity.com/reports/physician-compensation-report/2025 https://www.doximity.com/reports/physician-compensation-repo... And another source that reflects, purportedly, the data used in the above: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DL6MT-ZMJ7K/ https://www.instagram.com/reel/DL6MT-ZMJ7K/ I'm not a developer but I don't think $300-400,000, normal salaries for fields like inpatient psychiatry or subspecialty medicine, are common for new developers, or even for any developer (vs a manager).