Wrt to the often drawn comparison to nurses pay - I mentioned before that my mother and sister are both nurses and I'd like to expand on this. I asked them both last night why they didn't choose more lucrative careers, particularly my sister who is very academically bright and could have done anything she wanted in my opinion. My sister said she see it as her duty to help sick children (she is a neonatal nurse) and also that she felt a strong moral duty to. My mother said there weren't many careers available to her back in her day, she [mostly] enjoyed the work and also felt she thought it was expected of her to enter a caring profession.
It's well known that nurses are paid terribly for the job they do but they know this before they go in. I remember as a child my mother working extra night shifts as bank nurse in addition to her normal shifts to make ends meet whilst dad was completing his postgrad. My sister has worked that last three Xmas days in row, I think as we see her on Boxing Day. Many of my sister's friends who graduated with her have left the NHS and gone into private practice or left for the States, she says she stays because she believes it's where she is needed. Yes more money would be nice but it's not the primary motivator for her, she also gets to work the hours that mostly suits her family set up.
The point I am making is that we all make choices, for some money is a key motivator for choosing a career path, for others it's something different. i freely admit I and my husband chose our careers for money, call us shallow if you like! I don't think anyone should have to justify what they do or what they earn or be judged or vilified for it.
Flashbang - I'm glad I've been able to help you challenge your misconceptions and to have provided you with a bit more insight, I hope I have been able to do the same for others.
Themole, Daisy03 and Veda - thank you for providing a clearly articulated and robust defence for your profession although you really shouldn't have had to. The rhetoric each time there is strike is always the same, the drivers are always the target, with most people not even bothering to check their facts. Frankly it's becoming boring and predictable!