If doctors were really interviewed like programmers, it would be possible to get into top medical position without a major degree. I only have a BS in computer engineering from a mid-tier college, but I was able to get into two FAANGs based on passing the interviews and using skills I learned outside of college. And I know people in similar positions who have a worse formal education but were also able to get into positions that pay better than most doctors in the US because they were able to teach themselves the required skills and learn the rest on the job.
This doctor vs programmer comparison would also be more useful if there was an order of magnitude difference in effectiveness of doctors. Compare that with the order of magnitude difference in the utility of the systems that programmers can build. There are no real "10x" doctors except for those with medical + management training that can do things like set up a new hospital in an impoverished country and revamp their medical system. But it's much more likely to have programmers that can build systems with many orders of magnitude difference in terms of QPS or a similar utility metric. That is, there is no version of Big-O notation for doctors that matters as much as the big O notation for programmers.
What is your salary? What is the salary of a doctor?
You're probably aware of the first but not the second. Just so you know, doctors are not paid little and developers are really not paid that much in comparison.
You should also consider that FANG are 4 extremely selective companies only existing in the valley (the cream of the crop) while doctors can work pretty much anywhere in a country and do very well.
For the hours they have to work and the conditions they have to work in... doctors are paid ok.
You'd have to pay me a hell of a lot to have to drive to a hospital each morning and stand around on my feet for a 48-hour shift dealing with high-risk problems and real people all day. No thanks.
I think they do it for pretty reasonable compensation considering.
This doctor vs programmer comparison would also be more useful if there was an order of magnitude difference in effectiveness of doctors. Compare that with the order of magnitude difference in the utility of the systems that programmers can build. There are no real "10x" doctors except for those with medical + management training that can do things like set up a new hospital in an impoverished country and revamp their medical system. But it's much more likely to have programmers that can build systems with many orders of magnitude difference in terms of QPS or a similar utility metric. That is, there is no version of Big-O notation for doctors that matters as much as the big O notation for programmers.