Soldier vs mercenary

The differences between soldiers and mercenaries can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a mercenary has an average salary of $51,594, which is higher than the $36,491 average annual salary of a soldier.

Soldier vs mercenary overview

	Soldier	Mercenary
Yearly salary	$36,491	$51,594
Hourly rate	$17.54	$24.80
Growth rate	3%	-
Number of jobs	108	10
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age	24	24
Years of experience	-	-

Soldier vs mercenary salary

Soldiers and mercenaries have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Soldier	Mercenary
Average salary	$36,491	$51,594
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $58,000	Between $24,000 And $108,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between soldier and mercenary education

There are a few differences between a soldier and a mercenary in terms of educational background:

	Soldier	Mercenary
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common major	Business	Computer Applications
Most common college	-	-

Soldier vs mercenary demographics

Here are the differences between soldiers' and mercenaries' demographics:

	Soldier	Mercenary
Average age	24	24
Gender ratio	Male, 77.5% Female, 22.5%	Male, 81.8% Female, 18.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 14.8% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 6.9% White, 54.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 5.4% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between soldier and mercenary duties and responsibilities

Soldier example responsibilities.

Achieve NREMT and CPR certificates.
Lead a platoon of communication specialists within a combat engineering company.
Demonstrate leadership, logistics expertise, communication abilities, computer competencies, teamwork, and multitasking.
Organize platoon physical training daily routine.
Complete military basic training, leadership training and teamwork skills
Train and remain proficient in use of the M4, M249, M240 rifles.

Mercenary example responsibilities.

Lead and train scout vehicle crews, and supervise request, receipt, storage and issue of ammunition.
Assist in training platoon and section outside of occupational specialty to become task organizational ready for mission success.
Evaluate and intercept radar emissions while using computer databases to determine where emissions originate from.

Soldier vs mercenary skills

Common soldier skills

US Army, 28%
Weapons Training, 7%
Teamwork, 6%
Logistics, 6%
Vehicle Maintenance, 5%
Security Clearance, 4%

Common mercenary skills

Soldier vs. similar jobs

Soldier related careers

Soldier related jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

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