Usually government contractors can do well since they don't fall in the government pay grades. I interviewed at one paying something like $110-150k, which would be a substantial increase for me.

Most government jobs aren't attractive anymore. I think the COLA was like net -2% last year. Pensions are mostly gone. Politics are raging lately.

I sometimes regret not pursuing the FBI out of graduate school - it was a strong offer. Would have been a very different career path with its own rewards. Now even if I wanted to go that direction I've aged out of joining that agency and State-level agencies would be a crazy substantial pay cut. Though nationwide LEOSA priv is worth something.

Depends on how much you travel. Depending on your state, you might be able to be a deputy constable in addition to your primary job.

The FBI postings I saw were way low. I'm already paid pretty lowly, so they are definitely not competitive ($75k was what I was seeing).

No this was a federal FTE job with the civilian DOD pay scales and pension.