[quote=jimmyle]I don’t know about military members but my friend who is a civilian employee for the Navy makes $100K+ a year with his Mechanical Engineer degree and about 10 years of experience.[/quote]
There is a big difference between being a civilian employee for the Navy and being in the Navy. My daughter made 30k a year in the Army, as a civilian she would have made twice that. Her ex is working in Kuwait and makes over twice what he did in the Air Force. Don’t think this is a complaint because she felt she was fairly compensated.
BearishGirl is absolutely right if it wasn’t for the benefits and retirement no one would stay beyond their initial enlistment. It is part of the price of a voluntary military.
The military is not like any other job because when you join the military, they OWN you. 24/7, 365 days a year for 8 years. I think they deserve every penny they get.
