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>Doctors and pilots get paid reasonably well by the military. Doctors are officers. This means that they get paid much more than Soldiers, but its still a laug

by phaus 12y ago

>Doctors and pilots get paid reasonably well by the military. Doctors are officers. This means that they get paid much more than Soldiers, but its still a laughably low amount when you compare it to a civilian doctor's salary. Pilots are also officers. Their salaries are closer to the civilian world, but they are still probably a little low. I don't think the Army is about to convert tens of thousands of IT specialists and Intel analysts from enlisted Soldiers to commissioned officers. Even if they did, the majority of them would still be making well below market rate. Even the officer ranks that pay competitively require 10-20 years of service. At that point you are going to have a salary that's comparable to a civilian security analyst with a couple years' experience.

rdl 12y ago
The people I interacted with most were Healthcare Information Systems Officers (70D), who were generally O-2 to O-4. Given that they tended to be fairly early career and living in low cost areas of the country, with college paid, it was a pretty good deal for them. I think flexibility is the real problem with military hiring, not absolute pay levels.
- phaus 12y ago
  After allowances, they are making about 52-70k depending on which rank they hold. That's not bad for what they do, but if they were actual doctors it would be terrible. Its also not a technical job in the traditional sense, 70Ds typically spend 8 years as a 70B (Even though a lot of them will be slotted as 70Ds much earlier than this) which is essentially a management position at a medical facility. From the description of 70D, it could end up being a technical job depending on the particular assignment, but its more oriented towards healthcare management types. Its not a bad deal at all if you are looking for a way to pay off your student loans.
  - querulous 12y ago
    if you're a military doctor not only do you save approximately $200k on the cost of your schooling you also far outearn civilian doctors over med school and residency. even top residency programs pay very little. until you make attending (or possibly fellow) you are probably making half of what your peers in the military are making. military doctors earn less for the last 4-6 years of their service but they more than makeup for it over the first 8-10
    - phaus 12y ago
      Good point. I had forgotten about the massive amount of debt most doctors find themselves in.

by phaus 12y ago

rdl 12y ago

The people I interacted with most were Healthcare Information Systems Officers (70D), who were generally O-2 to O-4. Given that they tended to be fairly early career and living in low cost areas of the country, with college paid, it was a pretty good deal for them. I think flexibility is the real problem with military hiring, not absolute pay levels.

phaus 12y ago
After allowances, they are making about 52-70k depending on which rank they hold. That's not bad for what they do, but if they were actual doctors it would be terrible. Its also not a technical job in the traditional sense, 70Ds typically spend 8 years as a 70B (Even though a lot of them will be slotted as 70Ds much earlier than this) which is essentially a management position at a medical facility. From the description of 70D, it could end up being a technical job depending on the particular assignment, but its more oriented towards healthcare management types. Its not a bad deal at all if you are looking for a way to pay off your student loans.
- querulous 12y ago
  if you're a military doctor not only do you save approximately $200k on the cost of your schooling you also far outearn civilian doctors over med school and residency. even top residency programs pay very little. until you make attending (or possibly fellow) you are probably making half of what your peers in the military are making. military doctors earn less for the last 4-6 years of their service but they more than makeup for it over the first 8-10
  - phaus 12y ago
    Good point. I had forgotten about the massive amount of debt most doctors find themselves in.