Pros
Great benefits - vacation time for federal workers can only be surpassed by banking industry, pension benefit at least for now, flextime, request for training usually granted if relation to work can be demonstrated Much flexibility in what projects employee supports - employees can actually say "no" to working on specific projects Access to Restone Arsenal technical library - has to be one of the best technical libraries in the world
Cons
Management and leadership deficit strongly apparent; center is directionless at the moment, at the whim of the government but also due to lack of vision in the agency overall and individual centers; work inertia is mind-numbing, entirely too long to produce meaningful results; meaningful work often times is elusive; too many levels of non-functioning management, most middle management and branch chief positions filled with political cronies - most lacking basic technical abilities; little to no incentive for many to be more innovative in how work is performed; No dual career path program, going into management is only way to climb to higher grades