You also receive the resources of the United States intelligence community (and probably DoD) to design, experiment, and operationalize your ideas, which ain’t

You also receive the resources of the United States intelligence community (and probably DoD) to design, experiment, and operationalize your ideas, which ain’t nothin’. And, in general, no one sticks it out in the IC to get rich — these are folks who really are dedicated to mission over money (they could make a hell of a lot more decamping for the private sector, or even doing the contractor two-step with their existing jobs).