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It was a lot easier to get a job back in the day
(thelemmy.club)
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this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2026
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to be fair you can still go work in the army
I've been told the food sucks now, though ๐
And they tell you you'll never get rich! ๐ญ
Never get rich? Have they abandoned pillaging? Like, without that, what's the point?
"Souvenirs" only, and that only if you can sneak them past your officers ๐
I guess it was easier for both back in the day when you got paid in salt
Mandatory fun-killing note: the evidence suggests that Roman soldiers were never actually paid in salt. ๐
You could get rich as a literate legionary, though. A legionary's standard pay was about as much as a common worker. But the enlisted-to-NCO pipeline was very real, and NCOs got 1.5x pay, 2x pay, and then, at the rank of centurion, 16x pay! That pay scale also applies to the share of loot you receive after a battle, and, in the Imperial period, also to your retirement bonus!
Of course, centurions were expected to lead from the front, and had high casualty rates. In the Battle of Gergovia, centurions died at four times the rate of enlisted men.
... what's your tolerance for danger...?
Is the job as emperor still available?