Pros
The benefits are good. Employees get free health insurance, there is a pension which is rare these days. The leave policy is fairly generous. The majority of work is Monday through Friday 8 to 5 with no evenings and weekends. There are not layoffs so there is job stability.
Cons
If you live outside of Austin career advancement is limited. Additionally there are few raises. To get a raise in pay there has to be a promotional opportunity as there are no merit raises. They have recently implemented an incentive program for CSRs and Claims Examiners by which they can earn time off and small bonuses. Once in a blue moon the legislature provides a raise, but it's usually to offset a raise in employee's contributions to the pension fund, or rises in cost for family insurance. Sometimes if there is money at the end of the fiscal year there are merit bonuses, these are not large. So unlike private industry there are not routine raises based on performance or cost of living. If you live outside of Austin there is very little training for advancement or improvement of skills provided. The state is reactionary, there is very little forethought or planning ahead. This has to do with budgetary issues.