If you were to restart, would you be a SWE or Doctor?

Google
Fаilure

Go to company page Google

Fаilure
Nov 22, 2021 83 Comments

Doctor pros:
Much higher TC
Respect from peers
More impact
Better WLB (After residency)
No ageism (Older ppl are actually respected)
Job Security

Doctor cons:
Start earning TC later
High Barrier entry

SWE pros:
Low Barrier entry
Start earning TC early

SWE cons:
Closer to average population TC
Get looked down by peers
We don't know if we still have jobs after few years
High Stress

I should have went to med school

YOE: 2
TC: 223k

#swe #doctor

555 PARTICIPANTS SELECT ONLY ONE ANSWER
VOTE VIEW RESULT

comments

Want to comment? LOG IN or SIGN UP
TOP 83 Comments
  • Uber / Eng
    😴restnvest

    Go to company page Uber Eng

    😴restnvest
    Doctors have higher TC? You should read Blind…
    Nov 22, 2021 7
  • Better.com / Eng
    Stanford🌲

    Go to company page Better.com Eng

    Stanford🌲
    Doctors work 10X harder for at best 1.5X the pay
    Nov 22, 2021 11
    • eBay
      shlinplin

      Go to company page eBay

      shlinplin
      @zack66 They have to study way harder and work way harder to get to the same net worth. Not that money isn't unimportant but there are easier ways to make money. Also, most of your bills are due to big pharma industries and hospital management. That's where most of the money gets spent, that's where capitalism lies within the medical community. The doctors themselves aren't over paid.
      Nov 23, 2021
    • Google
      ADFQ

      Go to company page Google

      ADFQ
      I would challenge the notion that there's a lot of easier ways to make the amount of money that doctors make. There's only a few professions that pay the rank and file as much as doctors. There's tech and Wall Street, but most of the high TC positions are still fairly geographically bound to a few really expensive places like the Bay Area or NYC, whereas a doctor could be working in Arkansas or Oklahoma and still make more than most FAANG employees. Also the super high TC/offers for tech workers only became really prevalent in the last 5-10 years. There's also law, but law school and passing the bar is also no cake walk and the profession is quite saturated so a lot of lawyers don't make that much.

      At the end of the day, I think medicine/being a doctor may be the only profession in America where high TC is for everyone and not just for people living in a few expensive cities or are the top performers.
      Nov 23, 2021
  • PayPal / Eng
    Well'sFrog

    Go to company page PayPal Eng

    Well'sFrog
    >> Closer to average population TC

    Dude- do you have any idea about the average salary of a US household?

    Grass is always greener on the other side
    Nov 22, 2021 3
    • PayPal / Eng
      Well'sFrog

      Go to company page PayPal Eng

      Well'sFrog
      Even in HCOL like NY/SF how much do you think teachers, delivery drivers, gardeners, grocers, linemen etc make? Don't just look at ppl making more than you there are far more people who make 1/3rd of what you make and work harder.
      Nov 22, 2021
    • Ciena
      dNJz50

      Go to company page Ciena

      dNJz50
      Median incomes in even the wealthiest zip codes of NYC and SF are still in the low 1xxk. For the metros as a whole they are well under 70k.
      Nov 23, 2021
  • Easily SWE. You can retire by 35 as a SWE assuming you’ve worked for 12 years at a FAANG. A doctor by that time would just be finishing their student loan.
    Nov 22, 2021 3
    • Google
      dheju24

      Go to company page Google

      dheju24
      Some people like yours truly get the wrong doctorate degree and start their job after 30 and are not MDs.
      Nov 22, 2021
    • @amazon Power of compound interest and investing for the long term. A FAANG engineer would have a net worth of 3 million by 35 and 6 million by 40, assuming a conservative 8% market return.
      Nov 23, 2021
  • Google
    craziegirl

    Go to company page Google

    craziegirl
    I was going dr route but knew it wasn’t for me. I’m actually saving more lives this way. 🤣🤣
    Nov 22, 2021 1