Can A Software Developer Make As Much As A Doctor?

4 min readApr 13, 2021

Growing up I have been consistently reminded by my parents that being a doctor was (and still is) a prestigious profession and a surefire way to be wealthy. It was a virtually uncontested claim that permeates all cultures across the globe.

Recently, I have returned to my hometown in Australia and caught up with a good friend and her new partner, who happened to be a medical resident at a tertiary hospital. The subject of money was brought up and he claimed that medical interns and residents (the first few years of the medical profession) get paid less than any other profession.

This was only half true. The bulk of the earnings kicks in at a later stage in the medical career, whereas other professions (e.g. engineers) starting salaries are higher but tends to stagnate.

This got me thinking: If other professions have a headstart in wealth accumulation, can a software developer make as much as a doctor?

Let’s make a few assumptions:

Starts First Year University at 19 years old
University Fees not factored in (immaterial)
Yearly Salary Increase is 3.00% (for all professions)
Tax Resident in Australia
Average Cost Of Living is AU$34,020 (2021)
Inflation Rate is 1.50%
Retires at 65 years old

Assumptions for Career Pathways

Salary Data Sources: Java Developer, Medical GP

Interactive Chart with Datapane

Interactive Chart with Datapane

From the chart above we can see that Software Developer starts out strong, with Medical GP catching up in annual after-tax salary at age 31 and matched total earnings by age 32.

By the time of retirement, an average Medical GP would make a cool AU$11.75 million, compared to the software developer’s modest AU$6.03 million.

But what if software developers take advantage of their early start and invest wisely. As Albert Einstein eloquently puts it:

Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world.
— Albert Einstein

The most accessible investment vehicle in this current day and age is the sharemarket.

Since 1900, the Australian sharemarket has returned 11.8% per annum including dividends. Source

The below figures show what happens if you reinvest every single dollar after factoring (1) income taxes, and (2) cost of living

Interactive Chart with Datapane

Software Developer lead extended by 3 years to age 35 before Medical GP catches up again.

By the time of retirement, an average software developer and an average medical GP would have accumulated a net worth of AU$96 million and $60 million respectively.

Using other hypotheticals, such as current bank savings rate, 10-year bonds rate, real estate and cryptocurrency (bitcoin).

Interactive Chart with Datapane

We are starting to see Software Developer’s early lead is only maintained if the investment rate of return is over 20% year on year, for over 40 years — ending with both professions making over $500 million.

Sidenote: Hypothetically if Bitcoin continue to rise the same rate, you’re looking at $195 Septillion dollars, which is $195,300,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. As of writing, this is almost 4 trillion times bigger than the entire US sharemarket.

So in conclusion, Betteridge’s law of headlines suggests, a software developer would not make as much as a doctor for the majority of the career — but it doesn’t discount the fact that with proper investment vehicles both professions can enter into the millionaire category.

Just for fun, let’s compare other common professions: