What do you think of the pay inequality between senior enlisted and junior/mid level officers?

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 18:56:29 -0500

So this may be a little racy and controversial, but its something thats been bothering me tremendously since joining the service.

Now, I understand why Officers get what they get. I understand they are educated, that they deal with a lot of crap, and that with that pay comes a lot of responsibility. Completely get it, don't need it explained to me.

But what I don't get is the mid to high end of the payscale. Bare with me. So heres a few examples:

At 10 years, a Major earns $6,593.00 a month. Yet an E-7 only earns $3,709.80.

Lets go a bit higher, most officers whom retire are Majors or LtCol's. So lets take a 20 year LtCol whom makes around $8,200. Yet an E-9 only makes around $5,400, which is LESS than a major at 10 years.

What I don't get is these E-7 through E-9's have equal, if not more, responsibility than most lower and mid ranking officers. Many of them have achieved a Bachelors or Masters degree, which is what sets officers apart, right? I just don't understand the MASSIVE pay disparity between high ranking enlisted and officers. I understand theres more enlisted, but shouldn't you get paid equal to what your responsibility is? I'm in no way advocating lower enlisted get more, I live a decent life on my wage, but I see what a lot of my superiors deal with and makes me wonder.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 10 at 2015 11:36 PM

CW5 Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 23:36:40 -0500

You make a very good point, SSgt Private RallyPoint Member. The DoD could save some money by moving some of the pay around to balance things out a bit. You can say that a commander has responsibility, maybe even a platoon leader, but a staff officer? Nope, no more than a staff NCO. And an assistant S-3 at brigade still makes a LOT more money than the Brigade S-3 SGM. Something's not quite right with that picture, and you found it!

Response by SSgt Dale W. made Jun 23 at 2015 12:07 AM

SSgt Dale W. — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 00:07:41 -0400

I realize I'm way late to this conversation, however, it appears that the scale of difference between the two grades, E-7 vs O-4 has dropped a few percentage points over the years.
When I enlisted in 1979, during Basic I received $311.00 monthly. Upon graduation from Basic I was promoted to E-3 and base pay was $519.60 per month.

1979 E-7 over 10 yrs $ 945.60 base pay just about 52.35% of O-4
1979 O-4 over 10 yrs $1805.70 base pay

2014 E-7 over 10 yrs $3709.80 just about 56.25% of O-4
2015 O-4 over 10 yrs $6593.00

My last civilian job before I started working for my self, my total pay was $3700 month after 10 years with the company. Sillyvillians generally aren't receiving anything comparable to BAH & BAS. So looked at in that light, today's pay is not so bad.

I think that the pay scale for all ranks is equitable as it stands and those currently serving are worth every single Lincoln.