Pros
Access to world-class technology. A lot of bright people (in the science and technology areas). Interesting problems. Reasonable IT support and very good work life balance.
Cons
Very low quality workforce overall. At times NSA employment feels like welfare for ex-military who couldn't get better jobs. Moreover, because there are too many employees, we cannot reward the highest performers with a reasonable salary. Additionally, there is a serious lack of quality leadership at the moment--problems tend to fester for months and years without resolution because people are afraid to make hard decisions. As a result, the workforce is very process driven, not goal driven. People just don't set goals; instead, they tend to want to do the same things day in and day out. Getting stuck in a career rut is desirable for a lot of employees. Definitely not the place a motivated, ambitious young person wants to find themselves.