My only point is, if you can afford to do anything else, you do. Save for a percentage for whom it's a family tradition, or have a calling to serve and maybe couldn't get into the military, it comes down to typically two types of persons. Ones seeking honor, which I would argue is attention seeking, and those who want power.
However, they can't fill the job openings, so they lower the requirements to get more recruits, but the ones who are applying are then worse options. It's just a bad situation.
I completely agree, when I got out of undergrad, the starting salary for teachers here was $26k a year. Plus, the kids are idiots, there is too much administration, and today, hell, you have the same risk as police officers.