Low pay, but GREAT training, management, opportunities
Pros
I was lucky and had a very helpful, communicative and supportive manager! She stood up for me to taxpayers and their accountants who were angry with my good work. Also a great team of educated coworkers! Great views from our building, good location in Ogden, UT. The work was extremely interesting once you passed all the training, and I learned a TON that will be helpful in my career. Also a great resume booster for a masters of accounting student like me! Great work/life balance: 40 hours a week, lots of sick and vacation pay, my manager was very flexible with my hours since I was a masters student. Student Loan Repayment Program and Recruitment Bonus Very cheap, good benefits, Pension AND 401(k) (meaning the TSP)
Cons
The pay is low, and negotiating is not really possible unless you come direct from another job outside. The waiting to get into the job is very long, the training process for the first 6 months can be rather boring, the setup of your computer at the beginning with all the programs is painful. I had issues with my benefits for the first 3.5 months. Some aspects of the job were stressful, such as confronting taxpayers and their accountants about tax fraud or strange things you found. ALSO, the job varies a lot depending on whether a Republican or Democrat is in the White House. Once a Republican came in, a lot of us were let go.
