And sure, comparing it to Silicon Valley looks bad, but so does every other job. “Amazing how bad other jobs look when you compare them to the top 1%”
It's much higher than other countries. There's also a 7 to 10 year period of medical school and residency where you're making no wage or a poor wage. People tend to get fixated on the attending-level annual salary while ignoring that piece. That's 7 to 10 years where you're not really building any savings, retirement, or wealth.
My wife (a doctor) and I (a non-SV software engineering who's career has taken a backseat to hers) ran the math. On an hourly basis, she will likely never come out ahead of me. She just has too many unpaid and low-paid hours in med school and residency to overcome. In aggregate, she will likely out-earn me - but that break-even point will be in our 50's with her having worked many more hours than me. That's 30 years into our careers.
Is there a particular reason for this?
In a world where people are making billions for photo-sharing apps and financial rent seeking, is it really that egregious for people that treat disease to do well financially?
Many people that browse this forum will likely have lifetime income similar to that of a physician.