I looked at NSA/CIA when I was graduating college and the compensation was notably below market and with very rigid structures. I was given to understand a common path was to put in some time at the actual agencies and then go over to a contractor where you could make good money.
That was 30 years ago, though. Could be completely different now.
Wouldn't surprise me if he was right, but MuskTwitter doesn't have time to waste on refactoring.