I too worked as a civil servant, for a State agency as a matter of
fact. However, I didn't work as a firefigher or police officer--I
was a highway maintenance worker for my state's Department of
Transportation.

People here have mentioned how dangerous that firefighting and police
work are, and yes, I do agree. But, have you ever thought about how
dangerous highway maintenance work is. Not only is your health
threatened by the "everyday" work of things such as: getting squashed
by heavy equipment (2 years ago, a collegue was squashed to death when
a 20000 pound dump truck accidentally backed over him), injuring
yourself with the physically demanding work, risk of skin cancer, and
the list goes on and on, just like other jobs...

But, how many of you have ever stood in a highway lane while literally
hundreds, if not thousands, of vehicles pass by you at arms-length
distances, traveling at speeds of 65-80+ mile per hour! Traffic is
going by so often and so fast, that you as a person cannot keep track
of it.

And I've heard about job recognition, especially when a worker is
killed in the line of duty. It is a proven fact, in my State at least,
a highway worker has, by far, a more dangerous job--there are far more
highway workers injured and killed on the job than police and fire
personnel combined. Here's a thought: in my State, when a State
police officer is killed in the line of duty, he/she has a HUGE
State-sponsored memorial, and among other things, has an entire
freeway named after him/her. However, what does a highway worker get
when killed in the line of duty? His/her name included to the growing
list of a tiny 2 feet by 2 feet plaque, and that's pretty much it! No
memorial, no mention of his name in the news media...

So, these kinds of civil servants receive very little, if any,
recognition for how they put their life on the line. Not to mention
their tiny salaries, compared to the other "dangerous" civil servant
jobs out there. Public servant salaries are public record. Check
the websites of any public agency--you'll see. And yes, they do save
literally hundreds, if not thousands of lives every day (in a round
about way, of course). Would you survive if your car was swallowed up
by a 8-foot-deep sink hole while going 70 mph down the freeway? Heck,
who do you thing is usually the first on scene of a freeway crash?
Highway maintenance workers. Numerous times, I was the first on scene
to provide life-saving methods to injured persons...

But, the only public recognition we get is that "one-figered
greeting", or the blare of the horn, or even persons stopping to
threaten you. All for making them just a bit late while providing
them with an efficient means to drive their prescious vehicles.

Every job has its perks and negatives...