The "deep state" as I understand it, isn't necessarily all of the federal goverent and its various hangers on, but a subset of that group that has become so accustomed to their station in life and entitled in their authority that they have lost even the pretense of accountability to the wider public, to which they supposedly serve.
The "deep state" sees themselves abstractly as the protectors of the function of the government, but in practice, they protect only their own stations in life, using the levers of government as weapons against the public, not tools to empower the public.
I think it's certainly true that if you are in the government for long enough, you can't avoid having a bit of that protectionist sentiment, after all you eventually have your own assets and benefits that you want to protect, but not everyone goes into government service for the same reasons, and some come to see themselves and their public service as their own form of resistance... But against the deep state, not for it.
That’s a good assessment. I’ll add that I know more than a few federal employees, all are Iraq/Afghanistan combat vets.