Special Agent GS-10. Salary: $50,000 

You made it through the application process, the background check, and the Academy, and now you're off to your first assignment: the field office in Anchorage, Alaska. It may seem like a nowhere post, but you never know when you'll find a polar bear who's been running an international drug smuggling ring. Or Santa Claus, for that matter.

Super Special Agent GS-11. Salary: $75,000 

You go on your first overseas assignment to Europe. You board the plane imagining the beautiful lights of Paris and the bustling streets of London, and dream about the various sausages of Germany. Upon landing, you disembark only to realize that Slovakia wasn't the layover, it was the assignment. Oh well, teší ma.

Extremely Special Agent GS-12. Salary: $90,000 

You've worked hard and sent dozens of serious criminals to jail. You spend a few too many hours in the office each week, but the amount of paperwork you fill out could never overpower the sense of purpose and rightness you feel when you wake up in the morning. That, and you really enjoy using the ballpoint pen the Bureau gave you.

FBI Program Director GS-14. Salary: $120,000 

The Bureau has put you in charge of the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch. The Special Agents you're in charge of catch criminals and prevent federal crimes on a daily basis. You don't get to see your family very much, but they understand that you're saving the world every day. At least, you hope they understand.

FBI Assistant Director GS-15. Salary: $150,000 

Early in your career you were responsible for catching a deadly serial killer and preventing a major terrorist attack, but you never once asked for special recognition. Now that you're Assistant Director of the FBI, you make sure that your agents and fellow federal employees are as loyal and steadfast as you—and you also make sure you've got secret files on all of them. Hey, you didn't get here by being careless.