Home financing ever possible? Probably not!

Otherwise, what you say about the higher civil service and the "equivalent" positions in the private sector is correct. I always smile when people write here that you don't earn much there... true! It is often significantly more.

However, I also know many people in the private sector who earn less than they deserve. Unfortunately, there are a lot of positions in smaller companies that go far beyond their description and are not bound by collective agreements. But people do it there to then get corresponding advancement opportunities.

And I traded salary for meaning.

Yes, I also find it more socially meaningful, and when I was single I probably would have done it at some point. But now with a family, I actually can't afford it (sole earner). And my job isn't bad either. I feel comfortable there (team, product). It's just always the bitter aftertaste that in the end, you're working for some anonymous investors...

But if we stick with the police officer with A9 salary grade (entry-level position), that is too little in all federal states (including Bavaria) if you do not live in the countryside but in the city (preferably Munich).

The "normal" police officer on the street is A7 or A8, maybe just 1/4-1/3 are A9. The entry-level position is Polizeimeister with A7 (except for the states where there is no longer an m.D.).

I’m with you on that, although they do get even more allowances. Interesting is the comparison with city dwellers in the USA. Just google the salaries of NYPD officers. You’ll be amazed. However, compared to the cost of living in NYC, Munich is like the Eiffel.

I agree with you, although they do get even more allowances.
An interesting comparison is with big city dwellers in the USA. Just google the salaries of NYPD officers. You'll be astonished. However, compared to the cost of living in NYC, Munich is like the Eiffel Tower.

And one should not omit that their work is significantly more dangerous. In Chicago alone, three times as many people are murdered every year as in all of Germany.

In Germany, on the other hand, it is relatively normal for a police officer to end their career after 45 years without ever having fired their weapon in action.

What is an equivalent job?

50+ hour workweek with team leadership responsibility and frequent weekend work. (...)

Oh please. Teachers have this workload in the first few years. Once they have their standard teaching materials together, teaching is the only working time and during the holidays they relax in the hammock.
You don't really believe a teacher in their early 40s is still preparing lessons?

One of the biggest mistakes, by the way made with teachers, is relating the weekly working hours to the teaching weeks. But there are "only" 38 weeks of teaching per year, while employees go to work 46 weeks.
That means if I convert 50 hours/week in 38 weeks to 46 weeks, I'm still at 41.3 hours. Hardly more than the collective working hours in the public sector.

And team leadership... for a teacher? Which team are they leading?