You're going to have to be a little more specific. Some organizations do give large signing bonuses. What apples are you comparing these oranges to?
i am comparing what high school graduates get in non-military organizations. My friend is wanting to join the military and he was surprised that they were going to give him a sign up bonus right out of high school. He did not tell me how much, but he said it was a lot of money. I asked him why the secret but he just did not want to talk about it