Prós
- Job Security - Great Benefits - (contributed to 2 master's degrees, many employee discounts, healthcare, savings plans, etc) - Opportunity to gain experience across multiple domains due to large number of programs to work on in DC area - Great ethics program - Hard work is typically rewarded - Work is not monotonous, always something different - Great mentoring program - I've had some great bosses - Intense programs available for people with large amounts of energy - Great work/home balance (flex time, work from home, etc) - If you communicate with your boss what you're looking for many will help you find a path to get there - Great training programs to take advantage of
Contras
- Younger employees will not see as steep an escalation in pay/responsibility as they would see at a smaller company, however, if you move between different programs and work proposals and gain a great deal of experience you will be rewarded. - You have to move between programs, job titles, etc in order to gain a significant pay increase - if you start low and stay on the same program it will take longer to get to where your pay rate should be than if you move between programs and volunteer for highly visible assignments. - Don't fall for the security clearance upgrade push! You could lose all of your clearances if the upgrade does not occur. I've seen this happen to others and it is devastating for a career in government. To add insult to injury, the pay isn't always better with a high clearance.