Jury Duty: Does Doing Your Civic Duty entitle you to more pay?

It seems many of us try to avoid jury duty anyway possible. Unfortunately, not voting is a bad way to go, depending upon your state. Many states look at driver's license records to select jurors.

One of the main reason people commonly try to get out of jury duty: the low pay. Some states only pay $15/day, not including your mileage. Also, your place of employment may or may not pay you for the time you're missing from the job. I've been on both sides of that coin personally.

Jurors are definitely underpaid and outside of tax purposes, there really isn't a lot of good reasons for this. Especially when you have judges, baliffs, lawyers, and such making lots of money during a trial. Jurors are important to the judical system, but aren't given the thanks they deserve.

Jurors could have skipped out or make hundreds of excuses. However many of them suck it up and take that low pay to do their civic duty. It makes no sense to pay people as much per day as people make per hour to register voters in an election year.

One solution would be to pay everyone minimum wage, plus a stipend per case you're chosen to be part of. That stipend could vary according to that person. However, I believe many states, even the poorer ones, could afford to place this in their budgets.

I'm not sure if you must have a high school education to be a juror in every state but that should also be a requirement. Also, you must have had gainful, taxable employment for six months. These are some of the things that could warrant paying jurors more. 

Another thing you may have to cut out on is the amount of mileage paid. This would balance the overall scales.

Any other suggestions to pay people more for doing jury duty? This is a problem that needs addressing.

10 Non Obsolete Jobs

Many jobs and lines of work seem to be fading into obscurity. However through research and observation, I have found 10 jobs that should not go obsolete any time soon, or ever.

1. Educator

Whether be a schoolteacher, principal, or even a daycare instructor, being in education is always a good stable field to go into. The pay is not always great, but the other rewards are priceless.

2. Healthcare

People always get sick or hurt. Not only do we need various doctors and nurses, we need healthcare administrators. That is, people who run hospitals, urgent care facilites and such. It is often a lucrative field as well.

3. Construction

Something: houses, restaurants, and other town buildings, not to mention roads, always need to be built and maintained. Being skilled with your hands, powertools, and bulldozers is often a plus.

4. Banking

I live close to one of the banking capitals in the USA: Charlotte, NC. Between Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and various credit unions, keeping and investing and loaning money is always good business. This is even the case in small towns.

5. Computing/IT

I know I'm biased here, being that this is part of my skillset. But technology changes daily, and evolves. The person that is good at upgrading, repairing, maintaining and programming these systems will always be in high demand. Look at Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and the late Steve Jobs for example.

6. Automotive

The automotive industry has rebounded from their financial quaqmire in 2009 and is booming. Car sales are at a premium, mechanics and car maintenance places will always exist. People need to drive in dependable vehicles. Therefore, this industry will always be strong and profitable.

7. Lawyers

We're in a litigious society, plus you have several judge shows and such. This makes knowing the law and better yet being able to practice it a commodity. This can be family issues, real estate, criminal, or even a simple traffic ticket. Knowing the law is always beneficial.

8. Trucker and/or other drivers

Being a driver, especially of a heavy duty vehicle requiring a commericial driver's licence (CDL), is always needed. We need these drivers to transport goods and services, for public transit, and even for regular transportation. This could be in the form of chauffeurs, taxi drivers, or even driving a limo. It really does pay to have a good driving record and the proper credentials to drive certain vehicles.

9. Sports coach

Sports of all types and levels are growing and expanding. They pay really well also, even at the high school level in some cases. We will have more demand for coaches down the line.

10. Photographer

This is actually one of the highest paid professions that doesn't require a degree. Plus we're in such a photographic and visual environment. Even as cell phones continue to be enhanced, there will always be a need for a good photographer. Many want the best photos, putting skilled photographers in high demand.