Ask HN: Do you regret not being a Dr, lawyer, or something with advanced degree?
2 AbstractH24 2 7/5/2025, 10:00:56 PM
For years tech has been the shortcut to a good salary without an advanced degree and the years of post-undergrad training they required before entering the field.
On the one hand, tech is increasingly becoming hard to find a job in or feel certain about long-term ability to do so. On the other, the older I get the less envious I become of specialist doctors and their astronomical salaries, after factoring in the amount of debt, years spent not earning anything, and workloads I see them try to balance. And lawyers, dentist, pharmacists, etc. they no longer seem worth it at all.
Curious how others feel.
Comments (2)
gibbitz · 45m ago
I'm not a doctor or lawyer, but I have a terminal degree in my field of study. Sadly my career in my field of study (Visual Art) failed to take off due to financial pressures in the field and in academia during the first term of the second Bush administration. Tech was my fall back career. I was burdened with over 100k of student debt and ended up teaching myself web development over a period of 20+ years, often as on-the-job training. I wish I didn't have the advanced degree. Many doctors wash out as internists or residents and not all lawyers are well compensated and the legal fields that pay well aren't for everyone. As the valley between the haves and have-less grows there are fewer lead bullet paths to success in America. As competition shrinks due to unregulated monopolistic practices in industry the motivation to pay well for traditional jobs is also diminishing. If I regret anything, it's not moving to Scandinavia before college.
leakycap · 40m ago
No, the only upside I see is that I've met people with PhD/JDs who could barely function yet still get weird levels of respect. Even though they're a mess in every obvious way, they're the leader in a given situation. If that appeals to you, the letters can make a big difference.