[sesteel]

There is probably truth on both sides. Intelligence work is well funded by the government. Most government contracting companies hire at salary, but pay by the hour. So, if he was working a lot of overtime, he could have expected to bring in 200K for the coming year.

[hga]

In my experience they really hate to pay overtime, instead, you must put down exactly 40 hours per week. Any less and they can't bill the government the full normal maximum, any more and they have to pay time and a half or more, which the government generally doesn't go for.

[sesteel]

Actually, they love to pay overtime and the government doesn't care as long as they have money to spend. Their budgets are mandated by law. A government contractor can cost upwards of $200 an hour for a senior level engineer. Typically $140 an hour for level 2 and 3 engineers. Anyway, the company takes a huge cut off the top and leaves $50 to $70 an hour for the employee, their benefits, and payroll taxes. So, the more overtime they work, the more money the company gets to pocket.