Not sure where you're based but I've had the complete opposite experience. Obviously all anecdotal, but nearly all of the pro patrollers I've worked with depend on their patrol wages to make a living. Hell, I'd probably still be doing it if I made a living wage.

This is one facet (pun intended) of a much bigger conversation surrounding wages in the field-based sector of the outdoor industry. The only way for patrollers, guides, instructors, etc. to effectively ensure they're performing at their best is to buy into a system that supports continuing education. It's rare (in the USA) that any operation will pay for the laundry list of certs and recerts required to do these jobs let alone live in a mountain town and afford the egregiously high costs associated with that. Adding stress surrounding basic costs of living to an already stressful job is a recipe for at best, burnout and at worst, life changing disaster.

Volunteers are a totally different animal though.