I've observed that many of the people who are quickest do denigrate non-military government service employees generally define self-worth in terms of money/standard of living. On the other hand, those whose self-worth largely derives from access to power/influence are often equally quick to put down the profit oriented. The two are not completely mutually exclusive, but nonetheless, you need to be pretty amazingly motivated to play in the big leagues of policy, and to put up with the associated long hours and stress, for such a paltry paycheck.
Since nobody is wholly one or the other, I can't help but think that much of the quick unthinking criticism of both sides derives from good, old fashioned, sour-grapes.
Neither group of the policy making population are huge fans of military service either, at least for themselves. It’s too constricting to the influence crowd and, for all the benefits, it’s too cheap for the paycheckers.

while discussing non-military government service that is pretty thankless, take a moment to think about the thousands of NASA related workers that will soon find themselves without a job due to the shutting down of the manned space program.

Astronauts get a lot of credit, but there is a huge system of very talented people behind them that get them up and down.

I read a letter to the regional paper over the weekend, some citizen was advocating cutting the pay of the White House Staff. I thought, there is NO WAY they pay those poor unfortunates enough. Washington Post had art once about taking a Govt Job in DC, first question is "Does the job include parking?"

Living in DC just adds to the pain. There is no reason to keep so many Govt Jobs in DC. About 2/3 of total GS-14s in Govt are in DC, 3/4s of all the 15s, just about all the SES/SIS.

Govt needs to take advantage of connectivity and move big chunks out of DC. Navy was smart moving Bureaus out of DC. Not many at BUPERS actually moved to Memphis but it will lower the cost to Navy, FOREVER.

I've never heard anyone offer "to get rich" as a reason to take a federal job. And that's not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion. That's the underlying point of Killebrew's comments.

Last week, the GA Republican Party had a FB thread, which now appears to have been removed unfortunately, criticizing the salaries of folks working in the White House.

Their comparison was to median US income, which made it so easy to poke holes from simple stuff like cost of living in DC to fact average govt salary is less than similar jobs in private sector to basic Republican principles of economic reward for work.

There’s an underlying question of should one be penalized -- how much? -- for working in the public sector rather than the private sector? At what point do the incentives of much higher compensation in the private sector drive the public sector pool of employees to point at which the only folks remaining are the ones who can't get a job elsewhere? Is that a situation that benefits anyone?

There are a wide variety of reasons that folks chose to work for the federal government -- for some it's service, for some it's job security, for some it's a perception that they can make a difference, for some it's a way to get experience or to get the USG to pay for a security clearance that is worth a lot in the private sector ... lots of reasons.

It's a balance and recognized need for some monetary compensation particularly if one values having good, competent people in positions of value to US national strategic interests.

"I believe in the patient gallantry of nurses, in the tedious sacrifices of teachers. I believe in the unseen and unending fight against desperate odds that goes on quietly in almost every home in the land. I believe in the honest craft of workmen. Take a look around you. There never were enough bosses to check up on all that work. From Independence Hall to the Grand Coulee Dam, these things were built level and square by craftsmen who were honest in their bones.

I believe that almost all politicians are honest. For every bribed alderman, there are hundreds of politicians—low paid or not paid at all—doing their level best without thanks or glory to make our system work. If this were not true, we would never have gotten past the Thirteen Colonies."

http://thisibelieve.org/essay/16630/

- Robert Heinlein

....that provides very secure incomes while tormenting the recipients into fearful insecurity. It is a caste system with levels tiered and controlled by costume, title, family and political association - each part seeking an advantage passively awaiting the mistaken action of a competitor, each part seeking a patronage franchise for or from friend or family. It is the ultimate war profiteer which receives blood's upside while avoiding its risks in action. In DC it is the whirlwind of cells that forms the queen bee of society. In the out-land of states, forts and bases, it is the Sicilian family of controlled access, family networks, bloodless feuds and inherited franchises.

All else that may exist in dedicated heroes, rules, directives, awards, ceremonies and laws are but sideshow events (or herrings) for the entertainment of the tax indentured.