I was wondering the same thing about what makes someone honorable. I tried to write a response that didn't require me to define "honorable". I did that by relying on comparison of two things, such that it was applicable to any definition because, like many such concepts, I agree that the definition in the eye of the beholder. And there's a lot of grey area. I don't even know how I define it!
On the teaching for peanuts note, I spoke to someone in my choir the other day who teaches little kids and was offered a nanny job by a hand surgeon. Me and another lady were talking to her about negotiating a salary and she's looking for a total salary equal to the raise I would be looking for when I switch jobs. Her dad pays her car insurance, her mom pays her utilities, and she has a salary below the poverty line. Her current boss counseled her that "one has to sacrifice" to do good work. It's crazy. If you have to sacrifice so much you qualify for food stamps, you're not necessarily benefitting society at large with your sacrifice. We should be paying people with masters degrees something well above the going poverty line, but maybe that's just me being crazy.