Good place to work, but can be political.
Pros
If you have a public service ethic and a passion for protecting the environment, then the EPA can be a great place to work. At EPA headquarters in Washington, DC you have the opportunity to work on the development of environmental policy and programs and there implementation that are national in scope. The people at EPA smart and friendly, and are generally great to work with. Like many federal agencies the EPA will go through a demographic shift in the next 5-10 years, with the vast majority of its managers eligible for retirement. This will mean that that there will be greater opportunity for people to take on greater responsibility and move up in the Agency in the coming years.
Cons
The mission of the EPA can be highly politicized given the potential for broad ranging impacts on the environment, the economy and human health. This politicization means that their is always some party, group, federal agency, or state that is not happy with what you are, or are not doing. This can add stress to an already difficult job. The opportunities to move up in to the management or higher graded positions GS 14 and GS 15) can be limited. This is particularly true in times when the federal budget is tight. Over the past ten years, EPA and many other federal agencies have been constantly called on to do more with less.
