False equivalence. Software developers "charge" companies (that are very much able to pay) for their services. Doctors charge everyone, from the rich to the poor, for their services. The poor (and even not-so-poor) get screwed by this, more often than not. I haven't heard of a bunch of software developers bankrupting people in exchange for their health...

Why is it always "doctors" and not "administrators" in these threads on HN? They don't set the price of the drug. They don't set the price of an ER visit. If their hourly rate seems high, have you seen the hourly rate of a plumber who absolutely did not go to school for ten years?

Most people in IT related fields aren't at doctor level pay.

I suspect the sentiment is from commonly interacting with absolutely useless doctors. There are a lot of them.

I've seen 200k+ salaries as standard here. Look up salaries of primary care physicians. Then add on the 50k+/year MD debt, and any undergrad debt.

That's not a normal range for most of the country doing SWE. If you know where to get that type of job let me know. I've done blind, sent out tons of applications, whatever. Hurts to know I'm potentially screwing myself out of tens of thousands of dollars, but nobody is contacting me back.

My professional contacts have told me I'm doing senior level work but nobody will respond even for positions below that.

Haha greener grass and all I guess. I've seen those numbers on glassdoor and a couple threads here.

Edit: sorry it was site https://www.levels.fyi/company/Google/salaries/Software-Engi.... No idea how real it is.

Yeah, I've seen it. Not many companies seem to pay well. An issue (on the employer side) is my lack of degree, but as stated I'm doing senior level work and have plenty of experience.