Broke Soldiers
I constantly hear people in the Army say they are broke. This leads so many people to believe that the Army doesn ’t pay very well. I am here to tell you, that is simply not true. The Army is one of the best paying jobs without any degree at all. Compared to entry level job that require a degree, the Army pays equivalent if not more than a civilian job. These soldiers are not broke because of what they get paid. They are broke because of how they spend their money. When I was in the Army, I was only an E3 and I felt like I was living large with what I was paid.
Soldier’s Sacrifice
This is by no means an argument of whether soldiers are paid enough based on the risk and sacrifices they make. That is an entirely different debate. This is more of a comparison between civilian pay vs. Army pay for the qualifications one possesses.
Disclaimer
I am going to be basing all of my numbers on 2012 values. Also, any comparison in the housing arena is going to be based off of living in El Paso, Texas and stationed at Fort Bliss. The reason this is important is because the Army pays a different amount for housing based on the zip code you reside in. For example, El Paso is going to be a lot cheaper than San Francisco in terms of housing costs. El Paso is a fairly cheap place to live in terms of housing. But, the Army determines how much your housing allowance is going to be based on where you live.
Better Than McDonalds
Army pay doesn ’t seem like much until you look at all the different avenues of pay. Even the lowest rank in the Army makes good money for someone whose only accomplishment was graduating high school and signing on the dotted line. I will give you a breakdown of pay for a few different groups of people so you can see for yourself.
Single Soldier with No Children
Rank: E1 (Private)
Time in Service: 1 day
Base Pay: $1491
Housing Allowance: $400
*Technically you are not getting paid anything for your housing allowance in terms of cash. You do receive a barracks room that you share a kitchen and bathroom with one other person usually. This is free and so are all the utilities. In El Paso, this kind of housing situation is worth around $400.
Food Allowance: $348
Total Value: $2,239 per month
$26,868 per year
*Using the standard 40 hour work week and 52 weeks per year model, this comes out to $12.92/hr.
Single with Children & Married with or without Children
Rank: E1 (Private)
Time in Service: 1 day
Base Pay: $1491/mo
Housing Allowance: $1038
Food Allowance: $348
Total Value: $2,877 per month
$34,524 per year
*Using the standard 40 hour work week and 52 weeks per year model, this comes out to $16.60/hr.
Comparison
Compare these incomes to some common civilian situations where only a high school diploma is required.
Minimum Wage
$7.25 per hours X 40 hours per week
$1,257 per month
$15,084 per year
Minimum wage is nowhere near what the lowest paid Private gets paid in the Army. To top it off, those jobs almost never have any other benefits included.
But I Went to College
You may be thinking, “OK that ’s great for someone with no college or experience but what if I have a bachelor degree?” Here is a breakdown of your pay if you joined the Army will a 4 year degree. It doesn ’t even matter what your degree is in! Many soldiers like to say you can have a degree in underwater basket weaving, and it ’s true!
Single with Children & Married with or without Children
Rank: O1 (Second Lieutenant)
Time in Service: 1 day
Base Pay: $2828/mo
Housing Allowance: $1119
Food Allowance: $240
Total Value: $4,187 per month
$50,244 per year
*Using the standard 40 hour work week and 52 weeks per year model, this comes out to $24.16/hr.
Vacation Time vs. Overtime
Some may argue that soldiers only make more than civilians because they work plenty more than 40 hours per week. This may be true, but it is not always the case. Some weeks have more off time because there is nothing important to do and you go home early. Also, how many civilian jobs give you 30 days of paid vacation? For a normal 5 day work week, this is 6 weeks of paid vacation. If looked at another way, it is 240 hours of paid vacation. This is based on an 8 hour work day. Also, these leave days (paid vacation) do not count all of the 4 day weekends soldiers are given. There are probably around ten 4 day weekends in the year. These are for holidays like President ’s Day, Memorial Day, Martin Luther King Day, Thanksgiving, etc. Please, let me know if your civilian job pays this.
A typical day for a soldier while not deployed looks like this
0630 – 0730: PT
0730 – 0900: Breakfast/Shower time
0900 – 1130: Work
1130 – 1300: Lunch Break
1300 – 1700: Work
This is truly a typical work schedule most soldiers will experience.
Total daily working hours = 8
Total hours from start to finish = 10.5
If you calculate it all out, including the soldier ’s longer working hours, 24 hour work days every now and then, extra 4 days weekend and prolonged paid vacation; soldiers still work an average 40 hour work week.
Single Soldier With No Children
Rank: O1 (Second Lieutenant)
Time in Service: 1 day
Base Pay: $2828/mo
Housing Allowance: $969
Food Allowance: $240
Total Value: $4,037 per month
$48,444 per year
*Using the standard 40 hour work week and 52 weeks per year model, this comes out to $23.29/hr.
Army Insurance
The Army gives you free health insurance. The Army gives your spouse and kids free health insurance. Insurance is expensive! Having never had to pay for it, I asked a friend what she pays for just her husband and herself and she told me around $300/month! The Army is, in essence, paying you an extra $300/month by giving you this free healthcare.
The Army also gives you life insurance for next to nothing. I believe it costs $17/month for $100,000 of coverage. You can also get around the same coverage for your spouse for about 5 bucks! On top of that, your children are automatically covered for $10,000.
What About Taxes?
Soldiers only pay taxes on their base pay, nothing else! So, the same exact salary in the Army compared to a civilian job, goes a lot further because the government is taking less of it. I will be writing another article on this subject later on, so make sure you check back often.
Sources
www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahcalc.cfm
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/2012MilPay/a/2012BAS.htm
, Is the Army Worth Joining: Military Pay www.ozeldersin.com bitirme tezi,ödev,proje dönem ödevi