If money is what you're after, you're clearly in the wrong sector. Even if you don't make it to DD, collecting $11k as an AD (mx10) by retirement isn't too bad if you're investment savvy.

Sometimes I thankful that I'm in a stat board/ministry where promotions to AD level are pretty standard. A teacher who've slogged away for years and decades will always be stuck at 7+k simply because he/she wasn't promoted to SH or HOD.