First off, I wanted to give a big thumbs up to a really cool magazine called Serviam. I highly suggest getting a subscription, or just reading through the website every once in awhile. The articles are great stuff to chew on, for the industry.
As far as this discussion goes, I think it is important to talk about our value as a whole, and what we are really worth out there. And because this industry has evolved so quickly, your ammunition for evaluating contracts and future employment, starts with a basic knowledge of what you are worth. Cheers and happy job hunting out there. -Head Jundi
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Just How Overpaid are Private Security Contractors?
By Ann Jocelyn
A base pay of $165,000 per year is a lot of money for most people, especially to a soldier. It’s no wonder that some military professionals aspire to become highly paid private security contractors (PSCs), and that others will simply resent them for earning these high wages.
Compared with the basic pay of an active duty E-6 staff sergeant with 10 years of service, the cash compensation of a top-end PSC is a small fortune. Some critics are outraged that a high-end contractor is paid nearly five times as much as that of an E-6. The contracting system, they say, is unfair to the troops and is a rip-off of the taxpayer. For every one contractor, the reasoning goes, the U.S. could pay for five staff sergeants.
That might make sense if the compensation systems were similar. But they aren’t. Serviam spoke with some of the highest-paid PSCs in Iraq to learn exactly what they earn in salary and benefits, and what they return to the government in taxes. We then looked at official U.S. military compensation charts. When comparing net cash and noncash compensation, we found that the E-6 sergeant can take home more pay and benefits than the security contractor. (more…)