What is a better job in the long run - doctor or software/engineer

You've covered most of the pros and cons, but I have a couple of thoughts and questions for you.

1. Med school + residency will take (on average) 8-10 years. So you'd be around 40 when you start earning a salary, but you'd still have a lot of debt to pay off. You'd also have to endure residency's long hours, which are bad enough for a 25 year old, but they'd be even worse for a near 40 year old.

2. Work life benefits from each will be similar. You won't have work to do at home if you're a doctor, but big tech companies are very reasonable with their hours. If you're relatively advanced in your career, there also are people who "rest and vest" who sit around and don't do much, but still get paid.

3. Salary will be similar. You don't know what specialty you'd go into, and there are only a couple of specialties that average >$500k per year. On the other hand, especially if you're at a F(M)AANG or similar company, you'll be paid similarly, and be paid that for 8 years more. Also, you will get stock which will appreciate. While I think the "golden age" of very wealthy ~35 year old tech workers has passed for this cycle due to stock already having appreciated a lot (nearly 10 times in a 10 year period), stock grants consistently seem to increase in value at approximately 20% per year which beats market returns by a lot. You can also help people by donating/volunteering, since you'll be making a very nice salary.

4. Exit opportunities - if you're a doctor, you pretty much have to keep working in the medical field. If you're a SWE, you can work as a SWE, but you also can do tech consulting and similar fields if you're getting close to retirement - so you can keep mentally engaged without the stress of a full time job.

to me the choice is clear, but it's your decision

My primary doctor says his life sucks and he is trapped in misery and has been starting when he spent 11 years in school and his internship. I believe his situation is common. Are as many techies saying that?

Software/Engineering job security is too unpredictable. What will the job market look like 5-20yrs from now? MD will guarantee 200K+ til you no longer want to work, even if you suck at being a Dr. Do you want to constantly compete with 25yr olds for a job in engineering?

Doctors will always have employment. In the US, you have to consider the long time between undergrad and when one's career actually starts. A 22 year old engineer can go straight to work and be making good money at 30 rarely working over 40 hours a week. A doctor has 4 years of med school and 3-7 of residency followed by a fellowship at 80 hours a week (minimum, really more like 100). A couple specialties like family medicine and dermatology allow better work life balance during this period, however the former is seen as mostly for dumb docs, docs raising families already, and the latter is very hard to get into. After this, the doctor may immediately earn more than the engineer and continue earning more over his or her entire lifetime.

The engineer has to drive 15 minutes to the beach, whereas the doctor lives a block away (neither can afford to live on the beach). The doctor vacations in resorts whereas the engineer stays in a normal hotel. The doctor's kids can go to the super expensive private school, the engineer's are just in the ap/dual enrollment program at the public school (albeit one of the best in the city).

But it really comes down to what you want your 20s and early 30s to be like. An engineer could run a marathon pr at 31. The doctor better be satisfied with what he does senior year of college.

Are you an introvert or extrovert? Does working on your own all day or meeting different people all day sound better to you?

Which do you think is better for dating?

There's your answer.

Women don't want to date programmers. Women want to date this guy:

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In general being a doctor is a better job. You have a guaranteed high income job that you can basically never get fired from and can move wherever. There's no downsizing in the MD ranks.

Starting med school in mid 30s seemes tough though. You're 10+ years from "making it" as a doctor. If you want to have a family it's going to be extra challenging. Not impossible, but you better have the right wife.

You have a degree in physics so you're not just going to slide into an engineering position either.

You need to do some real soul searching and decide what's most important to you. It's tough to give you specific advice without knowing more about your situation.

A Canadian postal worker because it helps one develop discipline and courage to get up early to brave the cold and bitter winters.

Doctor is better if you know you want to be a doctor.

Engineer is better if you don’t know what you want to do, but you’re smart enough and you value free time and flexibility.

Like there’s zero shot you are gonna be able to travel more than like 2 weeks as a doctor for years right? And then you’ll have kids and be able to travel at 55 but who cares then. Nowhere near as fun as traveling at age 30 with a solid NW to fund it.

Lol. For as long as I can remember any time software enj/dev jobs come up on this site, people respond as if they are doomed industries. And yet the demand has only ever gone up. Where does this notion even come from? At least the 'it will all be outsourced to India soon' crowd hasn't showed up yet

I'm about to start my second year of med school. I would recommend you go the tech route if you are having doubts. It doesn't really seem like you particularly want to be a doctor from what you wrote, and you can definitely still do good as an engineer (conversely, many docs unfortunately feel they are doing less and less good for their patients and are more just cogs in the bureaucratic machine). The age is a big factor too, as others have mentioned. It is not prohibitive, and we do have a few older students (30+) in our school, but it will be an additional challenge. Being older than the rest of your class may present some challenges on the social side. Residency in your late 30's/40's could be brutal. However, if medicine is truly your passion you will overcome these challenges. If you just want to do medicine mostly because it is a meaningful job with some prestige and financial security, I think you will be unhappy.

All this advice assumes this is a true dilemma, and not just a troll post/hypothetical. I am a little skeptical since studying for the MCAT and the med school admission process is fairly arduous and painful, so most people who go through it have already decided on being a doc.

That said, I acknowledge you may not be providing specifics for anonymity reasons, which would be understandable. However, without more specific info about your background, your current situation, and what you want from life, it will be hard for anyone to give you truly meaningful advice.

The different specialties of medicine vary drastically and will play a significant role in your lifestyle. Stress, hours, job security, pay. My best friend is a Mohs surgeon. He makes about $2M a year and works 9-5 with no evenings or weekends. I have another friend who is a pediatrician and makes about $200k but works his ass off working evenings and weekends.

Both physicians and yet their lifestyles are very different.

If you do well in med school - you have options and some are very comfortable.

The little thing you neglect to mention is that unless you have the mentality of an autistic person, coding is incredibly miserable.

I've never understood the popularity of pursuing a medical degree. Seems like an old-world hangover of the days when doctors had super-high status and prestige.

There are plenty of ways to help people without having to shove your fingers up old man's butts, endure torturous hours, while dealing with mentally and physically sick people. Oh, and did I mention the decades long impoverishment and crippling debt?

I know which option I'd choose.

Try coding at age 55 when you're possible on the decline. Not easy.

Don't be a doctor unless its the only thing that will make you happy, its not worth it otherwise.

My girlfriend is a doctor and she makes $375k, she hates the job but does have decent work life balance. I *was* a developer. Now, I run my own business based on software and our number 1 goal is for her to be able to do something else with her life based on my increasing income. I make slightly more than her now. Once I get to twice her income we can have a real conversation about what she does next, if anything.

Here’s my take:

Being a doctor is a guaranteed check for life. However, if you end up not liking your job, you’re stuck. Even if you like being a doctor but want to switch disciplines you have to go back to school.

With software, any above average brain as a developer can find ways to make cash beyond their salary. Lastly, even if you don’t, you will likely get equity if you choose to work at a growing startup. Your equity can easily trump the doctor’s salary.

I’m not either, but my company employs over 25 developers and most make around $100K. Maybe we get the cheap ones? That said our CEO began as a developer and he is worth nine figures. It all depends on what you do with the skill set.

Same goes for being a doctor. Primary care and ER docs make decent money, but specialists with their own practice can make a killing. One of the richest guys I know owns an eye surgery center, has a $20M house on the beach and travels all the time in his early 50s.