The doctors I know, despite the toil and suffering, really, really like being doctors. They like what they do for other people. To a one, they are more than capable enough to jump into any other career, likely more profitable (when seen as a ratio of time/money or pain/money at least).

This isn't true of all doctors, but you'll probably find that ones that suffer through like what the author (Dr. Levi) discusses find that their practice is a calling, not an occupation or job. As a calling, it's part of their identity, giving up on it just doesn't make sense to them.

For me:

* Golden handcuffs

* Sunk cost

* Rewarding mastery

* Deep specialized knowledge with no other remuneration prospects for that knowledge.

I'd imagine it's highly rewarding delivering results for patients. I have heard from doctors in my family that the administrative overhead that's been put in place has made it way less appealing than it used to be.

As a first guess, the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loan debt that were incurred becoming educated and licensed as a surgeon in the first place.

Why continue going to bed too late every night? Why continue to eat unhealthy food? Why continue to work out too little? Why continue taking drugs? Why doesn't everyone just live a perfect life? It's not easy to give up things and change, even if it's ultimately for the better. Let's face it: Workaholism and burnout are addiction problems.

It's hard to change jobs. A lot of developers don't like their job but what's the alternative?