I would absolutely love to work _for_ my country as it were. And you're right the salary packages aren't great. There are arguments as to this kind of thinking

I would absolutely love to work _for_ my country as it were. And you're right the salary packages aren't great. There are arguments as to this kind of thinking "You should be thankful you are working for your country" etc... And I understand this. Or there might even be greater treasures within that are not counted in a financial sense. I'm sure this might also be true. If a low salary is a way of ensuring that only 'true' patriots will join, then I guess that's just the mechanism. I just don't want to be exploited.