Without hijacking the subject / topic, this is one of my pet peeves... many EMTs and paramedics, even unionized, are absolutely responsible for lives, directly, as a job description. Yet you will find that the national average salary for an EMT is $19,000. That's $3,000 less than the person that makes your coffee at Starbucks...
Paramedics, who do even more, including being entrusted with cardiac drugs, narcotics, and skills up to and including cricothyrotomy, often fare barely better than said barista.
This reminds me of the 'Bullshit Jobs' article by David Graeber. While I don't know how much I agree with the article, it does touch on your pet peeve:
> Yet it is the peculiar genius of our society that its rulers have figured out a way, as in the case of the fish-fryers, to ensure that rage is directed precisely against those who actually do get to do meaningful work. For instance: in our society, there seems a general rule that, the more obviously one’s work benefits other people, the less one is likely to be paid for it.
Paramedics, who do even more, including being entrusted with cardiac drugs, narcotics, and skills up to and including cricothyrotomy, often fare barely better than said barista.