Pros
Working for the federal gov't is far less stressful than the private sector. Being a parent of a young child, if anything happens, I am able to take off and attend to him. Overtime is optional and the flexible work schedule is a great benefit as well as teleworking from home up to 4 days a week. It is rewarding working in the Contracting field knowing that you are directly supporting the mission of the war fighter.
Cons
If you want to move up, NETWORKING is KEY. It's not what you know, it WHO you KNOW. It's great to know your job and work hard, but if you do not network with management and key people, you will not advance and that's the truth. The pay is lack luster to say the least, it would nice if the federal gov't tried to be more competitive salary wise with the private sector. Resources are sometimes wasted. It's time for the baby boomers to retire and let the millennials come in and do a better and more efficient job.