You have only exchanged one government job for another. I can assure you that the private sector is not nearly as financially rewarding or secure however I bet you already know that since you did not pursue an airline career.
Skyhigh,
I've just got one question for you. In the mid 90's the military was aggressively hiring pilots. What stopped you?
I am also kind of shocked to hear the government sector is now paying better than the private sector for pilots. Wow what a paradigm shift I think that once again I will need to see some actual numbers.