Public prosecutors who become District / State Attorneys and acquire a high-profile can also go on to become Governor of the state [0]. Governors then get a chance to run for President. After retirement as President, you can pretty much write your own paycheck.
The man to keep an eye on at the moment is Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York [1], who has taken on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in a dogfight just 3 months before Cuomo seeks re-election [2]. Cuomo himself was a assistant district attorney in New York City before running for Governor [4].
My point is that for an ambitious and talented person, public prosecution can become the first step on a long ladder to success in public service, which compensates for the lack of an immediate big paycheck at a private law firm. You could stop banging your head, look around you and count how many Presidents were Governors earlier and public prosecutors even earlier than that.
The man to keep an eye on at the moment is Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York [1], who has taken on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in a dogfight just 3 months before Cuomo seeks re-election [2]. Cuomo himself was a assistant district attorney in New York City before running for Governor [4].
[0] http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/ljs201...
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preet_Bharara
[2] http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/01/nyregion/cuomo-responding-...
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Cuomo