I don't want to rehash the many long debates about whether it's better to be a SWE in Europe or America. There are arguments both ways, and it's been pretty well discussed.

My interest is largely orthogonal to that discussion. Assuming you're not leaving the continent, why would anyone (besides those who are very passionate about software) choose to be a European SWE instead of a European actuary?

Because I'm extremely unpassionate about being an actuary.

Because money wasn't the deciding factor? When I became a programmer we didn't have the term software engineer, and we were reviled for our lack of social skills and poorly paid. I miss those days. All my coworkers were motivated by love of the job. If you wanted to make money you went into banking or finance or law.

This argument goes for a lot of jobs btw, not just SWE.

Healthcare is a major example. Most people in the netherlands i know who work in healthcare do so because they want to help people, not to get rich.

Do you only decide on your job for the expected salary?