Why wouldn't that also apply to doctors? Maybe a surgeon enjoys the surgery, doesn't want to manage a surgery department of a hospital. I think the relative comparison is still relevant.
Most doctors build/join a practice, take on partners and hire PAs and Nurse Practitioners. They build a book of business and referral network and when it's time to retire have a bag of money and business equity.
That's changing now, and my guess would be that twenty years from now, we'll hear the laments of employee doctors in a similar situation.
Because in both the doctor and professor cases, the knowledge base is curated, history and experience (at least - I was tempted to add "and judgement learned therefrom") count for something. Alan Kay is right when he says software is "pop culture," and its "disdain for history is what makes computing not-quite-a-field."
That's changing now, and my guess would be that twenty years from now, we'll hear the laments of employee doctors in a similar situation.