Pros
very good health benefits....for now. full week off at Christmas. working in the space program. currently, 40 hr weeks are common (as opposed to 50+ hr weeks).
Cons
not the best pay - consistently about 15-20% lower than aerospace industry standards. the politics are an order of magnitude more onerous than the work itself. occasional shift work that moves with launch delays, making it virtually impossible to plan quality vacation time while still staying on management's good side. low vacation time compared to other industry leaders. as a contractor, you are virtually doomed to be treated as an inferior species by civil servants. limited upward mobility. contractor management typically has absolutely no interaction with employees on a daily basis; performance reviews will come from someone who barely knows your name. no official sick time; being sick counts against your annual performance.