Doctors are paid a lot more than schoolteachers in the UK and in my experience are respected because of their profession. I think you're totally incorrect.
Seconded. My perception is that here in Britain, medical doctors are highly respected, and pretty well paid. This is different from the US, where medical doctors are highly respected and extremely well paid.
Prestige is, of course, not a function of income alone. Plenty of software developers get paid at least as much as respected professors or top military brass. That doesn't mean they have equivalent prestige.
