Tech Salaries vs Professions

tech workers are not highly compensated on average, lawyers, doctors etc are.

...not everyone gets to be a high paid programmer, dude.

Did you ever take the time to stop and have a chat with these "poor, dirty men"?Unless you happen to be a doctor, lawyer or Silicon Valley software dev, they're probably taking home a bigger paycheck than you!

This is a fantastic post. It is well written, and I agree with many of the authors points. Far from being angry, I think that the majority of people reading here on HN actually appreciate this type of critical analysis, and I think that it is a shame that it had to be posted on a throwaway account. However, I would like to present some alternative viewpoints for a few of the issues brought up in this post."As a doctor, however, someone like this - a top professional at the peak of t

But technically doctors and lawyers are interchangeable as well. Barring specialization, they all have similar educational background and they differ more by reputation rather than basic skills.Of course, there's the union/doctor's association thing that keeps the supply short whereas programmers and "programmers" turn up almost everywhere.Similarly programming skills vary a lot. Doctors and lawyers execute more and innovate less and they all have a basic level of knowledge that people are

Same here. I'm from Poland, I've 6 YOE, no degree, and also top 5% of earners. No other job will let me achieve this in such short time. You can earn similar money as a doctor, lawyer or let's say plumber BUT ypu have to do at least one of: a) work 80 a week instead of 40 (and let's be honest, none of us work 8h a day). b) do hard physical work instead of sitting in a chair c) be responsible for people lifes (and face jail in case of failure) etcIn short: I'm privileg

this is another classic example of the HN echo chamber - "wait there are non white collar professions outside of programming - where people can make a lot of money too?!? :O".. there are "n" ways to make more money than a programmer in most parts of the world outside the valley (heck even in the valley) - and not just as a banker / consultant etc..

Hooray to good current days!I wouldn't call that luxurious job though. It's just that good programmers are hard to find, thus salaries go up. It's the same in all jobs that require specific skills that are relatively hard to learn. Doctors, lawyers, even skilled construction workers make a ton if they're good at their craft.And programming is not that easy when you think about it. I keep learning new stuff every day in addition to paid hours. When I get stuck at smth, I

They never said programmers SHOULD make as much as doctors (or lawyers or finance).

Outside the SV bubble law, accounting, banking, medicine, general management etc all pay higher than programming, with less stress, more job security and higher prestige (if that matters to you).