Pros
I don’t know how they did it but they have a great culture. New BAH is definitely different than Old BAH. You have a lot of freedom and work with great people. You have learning opportunities and tuition reimbursement, managers that want to staff you where your passions are, and a culture of stretching your skills. Plus, government contracts will audit hours so you have to stick to what you are allowed. So it’s a 9-5 job, great work life balance as long as you get your work done. Beyond that: Salaries are monitored every year, so unless you’re specifically asking for a performance based raise your salary will keep up with inflation. There’s swag, remote work ability, and multiple leave types aside from PTO should you have something going on and don’t have enough PTO. (I know someone who took a LOA to hike the el Camino) Cool dedicated people for the most part.
Cons
Onboarding a new project in government takes a while and that’s an adjustment from private sector. Your project satisfaction depends on your client, and how hard you network with folks. If you’re remote it can be difficult to know how to make connections. There are amazing project staffers and fun & effective teams, and then there are projects with strict hierarchies where you might not enjoy lots of freedom.