Feeling Like a Sell-Out

I moved to DC three weeks ago to work at a higher education consulting firm. Since then, my conversations with friends have gone like this:
Friend: Welcome to DC! How's work?
Me: Good, thanks.
Friend (half-kidding): Can't believe you're the one selling out!

There's a slight variation with strangers:
Stranger: So, what do you do?
Me: I work at a higher ed consulting firm down by Georgetown. What about you?
Stranger: The Hill/liberal non-profit/liberal news organization/grad school/public school teacher.
Me: (Thinks maybe next time I should change my answer to "I work in higher ed"). Oh, well, my work's a consulting firm for non-profits, and I tried for a long time to find a job in journalism first, but you know with the economy...here I am.

Yes; that is a touch of defensiveness in my tone.

Indeed, I looked for a job in DC after finishing my undergrad thesis in April precisely to put both my public policy degree and my bleeding heart to work. I had my eyes set on some federal internships and left-wing think tanks. But as it turned out, none of them responded as quickly as the corporation where I now work.

Though the work I do as a researcher is essentially the same one that I'd do at a think tank or in the government, it feels odd to be in DC for a job that can be done elsewhere. There's nothing uniquely DC about higher education--and my firm doesn't lobby either.

At the same time, it's still great to be here amongst tons of recent college grads with intellectual interests. We'll see if my defensiveness wears off after awhile.