Originally Posted by
TurboDog
I agree that pay can be a motivator, but I don't think it makes a professional. Take our military personnel for instance. Most (not all) are very well trained professionals and they don't get paid near what their civilian counterparts do. However, they still get the job done and they get it done to a level that most civilians wouldn't have the discipline to.
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There are other forms of compensation besides cash...service people usually feel they are part of something larger, and they are generally respected for what they do.
Also even junior enlisted pay is not that bad...when you factor in benefits, tax-free allowances and any specialty pays they progress about the same as an RJ pilot (specialty pay is the key...some skills have recently gotten retention bonuses near $200k).