This year, they’ve calculated a stay-at-home mom’s “worth” to be nearly $117,000 a year (if we could get paid). Working mothers would get an additional $68k for their “part-time” duties. They didn’t calculate a homeschool mother’s worth. Nor did they mention that dads do a fair amount of taxiing kids, sports team coaching, and middle-of-the-night vomit cleaning. Equal invisible pay for equal work? Bill thinks working dads should get more than $68k, because men always get paid more than women.

Of course, it really doesn’t matter. This is not real money we’re talking about. It won’t pay the mortgage or buy the groceries, no matter how many duties or job titles we add to our resumés.

There are few employers who really “own” you quite like a family. A parent is on call 24/7/365. What person in their right mind would work long for a company that required you to respond at a moment’s notice and gear your entire life (even your social and religious activities) around its needs? Many jobs (firemen, doctors, police) require on call status, even round the clock, but at some point you are on your own. You can go where you want when you want and without accounting for your activities.

But I can think of one other employer where you are on duty all the time. An employer who can call you in the middle of the night and expect you to do something. An employer who requires knowledge of your whereabouts at all times and demands being able to reach you even if you are on vacation. An employer who is fickle and erratic and doesn’t necessarily care if there is time in the schedule for you to attend Sunday Mass. And that would be the US military.

Arguably, one of the hardest jobs in the military is that of First Sergeant. Here’s a day in the life of. High in responsibility, high in work load. I often view myself as the 1SG of our home: Bill issues the orders, I execute them (the orders, not the children!). Base pay for a First Sergeant with 16 years in is a mere $47,640.

The bottom line is that our true worth is seldom related to our paycheck. Most salaries are determined by market forces (the notable exception being government jobs, and, while I’m not saying an E8 should make more, I am saying that US Senators should make much less). While a six-figure income may impress the neighbors, if you need it to impress yourself, the stay-at-home career might not be for you.