People in the military and pay?

Question

Honestly, how much do people think these guys get paid? my husband is an E3, eh and I and our baby are living below the poverty line. Through very careful budgeting we're able to make ends meet.

I've had people telling me that we've got it lucky, that we're in the military to get rich, etc. My husband could make more than double what he currently does if he was in the civilian world

KC V, I didn't mean that my husband wanted to leave the military. I just wanted some idea as to why some civilians think that people in the military are getting rich. Yes, there is base housing, but the base housing here is substandard, contain lead paint, faulty pipe, and many other issues. The BAH(Basic allowance for housing) does NOT meet the "average" for the area. And yes, we have Tricare. It can be months to get an appointment, and they are so over worked that it's the bare minimum of care. It took 3 months to diagnose a sinus infection!

It isn't completely apples to oranges, maybe more like grapefruit to oranges. Same type of fruit, but not exactly the same

mustanger, I'm sorry, I guess I'm really just not typeing things right.. we love it. We knew what we where getting into, and planned for it. I get comments from people back home who ask why we didn't come back fro Christmas, and when I explain that we couldn't afford it this year, they turn around and say that they thought that the military pays well. And yes, higher up pays better, as it should. My husband is a "lifer" this is his dream. We are very happy, I just get baffled when there are people who think that we're making a mint here

Answer 1

Well, people think "we" get paid well because we do. I have lived on the outside while husband was national guard and our standard of living is better than when he was guard and I was working, and I am a stay at home mom now! My entire check went to cover rent, power bill, phone bill, cable, gas bill, water bill. My employer didnt give a rip that my bills might be late, and he certainly didnt give me a food voucher should I need it, or a no interest loan spread out over the course of a year to cover emergency expenses. Nobody cares out there. Every man for himself. Here, on post, we live in a bubble. Like the rest of the world cant affect us. Kids are in a great school, my housing is decent (4 bedroom duplex for family of 4), and everyone takes care of each other. We dont have copays, we have no problem getting appointments, we buy cheap food at the commissary, and if we have problems with ANYTHING, there are MANY people who just wait around for my phone call so they can fix it. Try that on the outside. THAT, my friend, you cant put a price tag on. There were times before active duty that I have not been able to feed my kids good meal, and I couldnt take my kids to the doctor because I couldnt afford the copay. I know what it is like out there and I wouldnt trade what we have now for any amount of money. It isnt wealth, it is security. I would rather live amongst 20,000 soldiers sworn to protect their country and their brave families than OUT THERE where NOBODY cares OR understands.

So dont complain. Just encourage your husband to get some schools in, get some awards, get his points up, get promoted so he can make more money.

Answer 2

I spent 27 years in the military and yes the lower ranks don't get paid a great deal. It's like the civilian equivalent of a burger flipper. Why do you think the services try to discourage young enlisted and officers from marrying? There use to be a saying in the Marines for young guys that went, "If the Corps wanted you to have a wife they'd have issued you one". For young officers it was, "A lieutenant should not marry, a Captain may marry and a Major should marry". From about E5 on up for the enlisted and O4 up for the officers it isn't so bad. However if a person wants a military career then they must be able to learn frugal living. The retirement pay is not enough to live on but it's better than a lot of civilians wind up with and when supplemented with civilian retirement plans and social security it becomes a quite comfortable retirement. There are drawbacks to any career. And there are advantages to most any career a person chooses. My family and I traveled extensively and enjoyed it. We learned to live within our means and save for a rainy day, which at times came a bit more frequently than we liked. If you and your husband are totally disgruntled with military life perhaps you should look elsewhere. Just don't expect the grass to be a beautiful green outside. Life, to be happy, takes the proper attitude and a hell of a lot of hard work no matter where you are or what you do.

Answer 3

What you neglect to realize is what you WOULD pay for in health and life insurance, housing, electricity, food, dental, and a miriad of OTHER services that the civilian "counterparts" pay out of pocket!

I was in your shoes for over 20 years and know that my actual cash pay wasn't much. What I recieved in other compensation made up for alot of what I now pay for in the civilian world!

There used to be an email floating around the internet for years by a sergeant working security police duties. He commented that he didn't make the same pay as civilian officers in a very high cost of living state. His comparison was that of a police sergeant with MANY more years on the job than the AF sergeant. He claimed his duties included the same as those of the civilian officer.

Living in a military environment is NORMALLY much safer for a police officer in the military. Yes you have similar offenses such as burglaries, thefts, minor assaults, and such....but out here...you don't have the confines of a controlled environment with a higher caliber of people as compared to the other side of the fence.

So it's not fair to compare apples to oranges! If your husband can make more money on the outside.....go for it...what's holding him back? You don't start at the TOP of the "food chain"...you start at the bottom!

Hang in there kitten....life will get better!

Answer 4

Thanks for sharing with us. I spent 20 years in the AF, and still have sticker shock when I remember my first paycheck during basic training ($8.32). It does get better after your husband makes NCO status. There are alot of "perks" that you do not see in a paycheck. One of the things I miss is the feeling of one family. After awhile, you go pcs to another base, and you always know someone there. Everyone looks out after everyone else, unlike in civilian life where it truly is dog eat dog.
Hang in there, times do get better. The educational benefits are fantastic. In a short time, you both will wake up and ask where the last 4 years went, then, where did the last 10 years go, and finally, on retirement, how short my career seemed. Enjoy.

Answer 5

I'll tell you a secret. The military was never meant for married E-3's...Not today, not 30 years ago. It's good that you are making it work. But you are the exception, not the rule. As a senior NCO, before I retired, I was spending 20% of my time dealing with the problems of married junior enlisted personnel and just about none of my time dealing with the single guys and gals.

Answer 6

What base are you stationed at? Tricare is not the same all over. Many TMC spend time trying to figure out how to see as many patients as possible to the point of giving up family time and training holidays. And alot of the housing I have seen has been more than adequate and even spacious.

Answer 7

I spent my first 3 years or so completely broke; I remember saving up to buy ANYTHING that wasn't absolutely essential, but it gets a lot better after you hit E4... Living overseas helps too, and make sure you research any benefits he might be eligible to receive. Knowing a foreign language can potentially pay up to $400 extra a month, for example- quite a lot! Good luck, and I promise, the time is flying by for me!

Answer 8

I spent 20 years in the Navy and I knew before I went in that you can't get rich in the military. I have known rich guy's in the Navy but they were rich before they went in. I even knew a sailor who won 32 million in the California Lottery. However, if he stays in long enough to retire he could get a job with a civilan pay and still draw his pension. I live in Kentucky and Kentucky dosen't tax military retirement pay. It's almost like free money.

Answer 9

that ought to volume to idiocy and an utter loss of information of how company works. definite, I endure in innovations having this argument with Untamed an year in the past while she referred to as me a loser for asserting it is going to no longer be like the militia. out of your reaction in the different question : "each and every rank gets a similar volume of money no be counted how lots or little you artwork. You get a similar volume each and each month and year in case you worked a 40 hour week or a ninety hour week. You upward thrust in rank via time and intensely infrequently via skill. clothing, foodstuff, housing, electrical energy, etc is all presented and paid for." it works for the militia and all of us be attentive to it does. yet company does not artwork that way. company is a business enterprise with ROI aims and which skill firms additionally negotiate the pay that they are going to dole out to their workers. enhance and pay hikes in company are in accordance with overall performance. It does not bode nicely for the companies to stick their workers pay statements in the cafeteria wall. that ought to fail. Edit : I do understand the great distinction you communicate approximately, yet sounds such as you probably did no longer examine my answer for the reason which you're probable disappointed with my honesty. Civilian pay is trouble-free information. provide me a profile, and we can tell what their industry cost is, frequently, whether this isn't any longer precise. on condition that the pay in a company relies upon on many components and that it could additionally mirror an workers overall performance between different issues, i do no longer see the logic in the back of your asserting 'civilian pay being greater open and obtainable to the popular public'. upload that on your fact "the militia is extremely open approximately how lots persons are turning out to be paid and who's getting what pay." yet of direction, you and your militia employed Feminist comrades does no longer agree, whether you already realize it. Edit : and of direction, you're saying 'civilian pay being greater open and obtainable to the popular public' and you later exchange it to 'only the pay volume being obtainable to workers'. great distinction there besides.

Answer 10

i know. my boyfriend is going into the army and he is saying that they get alot but that is just what they tell you to get you to join.