Jumpin Jesus do Marines really make this little?

[StageLeft]

I hear of a guy now who is finishing up his 5th year in the marines. He is getting married this weekend and leaving the marines in 60 days - he makes less than $20k/year! 5 years service and combat environments as well. If this is even close to what a marine really makes I'm very surprised that the marines can even keep anyone. There is service to your country but on this salary all he can do is pay for car and insurance and...well that's it. Maybe bar hopping as well.

 

[Instagib]

Its not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country. hehehe.

 

[Amused]

<< I hear of a guy now who is finishing up his 5th year in the marines. He is getting married this weekend and leaving the marines in 60 days - he makes less than $20k/year! 5 years service and combat environments as well. If this is even close to what a marine really makes I'm very surprised that the marines can even keep anyone. There is service to your country but on this salary all he can do is pay for car and insurance and...well that's it. Maybe bar hopping as well. >>



They have cost of living and housing allowances as well, but yes, our armed forces are SEVERELY underpaid.

Find out their pay rates here

 

[Texmaster]

<< I hear of a guy now who is finishing up his 5th year in the marines. He is getting married this weekend and leaving the marines in 60 days - he makes less than $20k/year! 5 years service and combat environments as well. If this is even close to what a marine really makes I'm very surprised that the marines can even keep anyone. There is service to your country but on this salary all he can do is pay for car and insurance and...well that's it. Maybe bar hopping as well. >>



WHAT? I dont care if they do get room and board. Thats NOT enough :|

 

[StageLeft]

Well this is what is fiance said he makes anyway... yes room and board is covered but if you're getting married that doesn't help much does it!

 

[Linflas]

All depends on what his paygrade is. Here is a link to current US Military pay as of January 2002.

Payscale

 

[Amused]

Military pay rates

 

[308nato]

The government has never offered a high salary for learning the art of "snoopin and poopin". I guess they figure being able to blow sh!t up and such is pay enough. However, this a problem for the married ranks when trying to live off base or buy groceries.

 

[Amused]

You do know that many military families collect food stamps, right?

And have you ever seen on base family housing? Most of it looks worse than the nastiest inner city ghettos.

 

[Jzero]

<< Well this is what is fiance said he makes anyway... yes room and board is covered but if you're getting married that doesn't help much does it! >>


You get the housing credit whether you live on the base or not.
There's a lot of benefits to be considered in addition to their cash stipend. This is kind of like teachers who bitch that $40k is too low. Never mind they work 10 months out of the year.

I agree that even with the benefits, they're underpaid considering the risk they take on, though.

Is he an enlistee? It was my impression that officers get a little better.

 

[Texmaster]

<< You do know that many military families collect food stamps, right?

And have you ever seen on base family housing? Most of it looks worse than the nastiest inner city ghettos. >>






Our Military deserves 3 times the amount they get.

 

[StageLeft]

I think he was probably an enlistee. Thing is he can now take the skills he has (I think maybe mechanical or electrical or something) and make more as a civilian. Now that's a choice a lot of military people have to make but it's really not much of a choice if you're making that little and trying to have a marriage and house and kids.

 

[Linflas]

<< You get the housing credit whether you live on the base or not. >>


Unless they have changed things since I was in this is incorrect. If you live on base you get nothing other than your base pay. If you live off base and are authorized to do so then you collect BAQ (Basic Allowance for Quarters). It generally comes no where close to what it actually costs to rent/pay a mortgage let alone buying your food. This is all for enlisted, officers are on a totally different system.

 

[Amused]

<<

<< Well this is what is fiance said he makes anyway... yes room and board is covered but if you're getting married that doesn't help much does it! >>


You get the housing credit whether you live on the base or not.
There's a lot of benefits to be considered in addition to their cash stipend. This is kind of like teachers who bitch that $40k is too low. Never mind they work 10 months out of the year.

I agree that even with the benefits, they're underpaid considering the risk they take on, though.

Is he an enlistee? It was my impression that officers get a little better. >>



Um, no. The Basic Housing Allowances and cost of living allowances are NOT signifigant, and do not cover rent or food in any area of the country.

This is nothing like teachers. Soldiers work all year round, and are many times in the field for weeks at a time. Yes, officers get better, but so do any college educated workers in any field. That's not the point.

 

[thebestMAX]

Military pay has always been poor.

When I got out in 1967 as a Sargeant, I was getting $284 a month with separate rations and quarters. (no food or housing on base). $3408 a year with no overime and we worked a lot of hours

First job I got paid me over $7800 a year + OT (not sure of the final amount but I MAXED the SS payment and then some that year) for comparison purposes and that was good money then! Once a major Department store refused to cash my paycheck because it was "too high".

 

[Texmaster]

<< Military pay has always been poor.

When I got out in 1967 as a Sargeant, I was getting $284 a month with separate rations and quarters. (no food or housing on base). $3408 a year with no overime and we worked a lot of hours

First job I got paid me $7200 a year + OT for comparison purposes and that was good money then! Once a major Department store refused to cash my paycheck because it was "too high". >>



Thank you for your service.

 

[Hossenfeffer]

$20k a year?! WooHoo! Screw being an actor.

 

[shiner]

My cousin in the USMC makes damn good money. Of course he is an officer and was a tank platoon commander until recently when he was reassigned to the USMC War Lab in Quantico. Enlisted personel do make squat though, time to up the salary ad give those people what they deserve.

 

[Amused]

BAH (Basic Housing Allowance) for an E-4 (what the average no-college soldier will be after 4 years of service) is 338.40 without a dependant, and 484.20 with dependants (it doesn't matter how many).

Basic Allowance for Substinence is 241.60 for enlisted.

This is if you live and eat off base. You get none of this if you live on base.

An E-4's base salary is 1600 a month BEFORE taxes (with three years in).

How many places in the country can you live on this?

 

[Jzero]

<< This is nothing like teachers. Soldiers work all year round, and are many times in the field for weeks at a time. Yes, officers get better, but so do any college educated workers in any field. That's not the point. >>


No, it is exactly like teachers--quote the cash salary you get, claim it as low and then duly ignore all the other benefits that make up "value."
The bottom line is that there's more to your "pay" than the cash you get at the end of the day. I choose teachers simply because they are notorious for doing this.

As for the housing credit I meant to mean that if you live on the base, you don't have to pay, and if you don't live on the base you get a stipend.

As I said, it's still horrendously low pay for putting your life on the line.

 

[911paramedic]

I was making $805/mo as an E-4 in 85.

 

[Amused]

<<

<< This is nothing like teachers. Soldiers work all year round, and are many times in the field for weeks at a time. Yes, officers get better, but so do any college educated workers in any field. That's not the point. >>


No, it is exactly like teachers--quote the cash salary you get, claim it as low and then duly ignore all the other benefits that make up "value."
The bottom line is that there's more to your "pay" than the cash you get at the end of the day. I choose teachers simply because they are notorious for doing this.

As for the housing credit I meant to mean that if you live on the base, you don't have to pay, and if you don't live on the base you get a stipend.

As I said, it's still horrendously low pay for putting your life on the line. >>



It's horribly underpaid for any carreer. As as I pointed out in my previous post detailing what the laughable "stipends" are, it is NOTHING like teachers. Their "benefits" do not even come close to making up for their ridiculously low pay.

 

[Aceman]

Military pay is honestly not all that bad for some. I remember, though, being and E4-E5 and really struggling. I still struggle today from time to time. But, if you can deal with some long hours at times, doing stupid work at times, and family separations, it is not all that bad of a job and pay. Do I wish for better pay? OF COURSE! Do I bitch about the pay I currently make? No.

Alot of people come in and look at the great benefit of a military retirement. There is where the problem is. Currently, in Minneapolis, I make about $52,000 with food and housing allowances. Everyone is told you get a 50% retirement after 20 years. There's the catch. I get 50% retirement of my BASE PAY (That would be about 50% of $3000 if I retired today.) Sure I draw it immediately instead of at 62-65 years old, but I've been in a completely different society and way of life for 20 years. For many we have to completely retrain into a new career. And, we come into the civilian job market at 40 years old and starting out at the bottom rung of the ladder for pay. It's a huge culture shock to go from a $50,000/year job with tremendous tax benefits to a $25-$30,000/year job. The other thing too is that if I get out of the military before that 20 years, I have ZERO built up to cash in or reinvest in a retirement plan. It's all or nothing.

 

[thebestMAX]

Thanks, Texmaster

Dont remember the payscale then but when I first went in as an E-1, I got $14 bi-monthly if I needed it or not.

Also had to pay for uniforms, cleaning, haircuts, shoe polish, starch and so on. If you were IN, you know what I mean. Oh, yeah. We paid income tax also.

Here is what I made according to my SS statement

1st full year - $1077
2nd- 1266
3rd - 2077
4th- $2040 (not full year, got out in Nov. and only got sep rats and quarters from june on.

Notice the "big" jump in the 3rd year when I went "over 2"

 

[Jzero]

<< It's horribly underpaid for any carreer. As as I pointed out in my previous post detailing what the laughable "stipends" are, it is NOTHING like teachers. Their "benefits" do not even come close to making up for their ridiculously low pay. >>


You seem to be unable to grasp the analogy. I'll leave out the word "teachers."
People like to quote their "salary" and then ignore everything else they get in addition--pension/retirement, medical, dental, vision, access to facilities, etc.

Anyway, we still agree on the fact that they're underpaid, stipends or not, so there's no point in arguing any further.