Pros
Job security Gym, bank, cafeteria on site AWS day Holidays Health care benefits Parking garage Predictable Large building Getting paid during inclement weather like blizzards
Cons
I started this job out of highschool because I didnt know what I wanted to do with my life, so a job w/ the federal government seemed like a good idea at the time. I came in as a lowly GS-2 and worked my arse off to make it a career. 10 years later, I am only a GS-5. My superiors have flat-out admitted I deserve to be paid more. Well, Census is not "fair" when it comes to grades below GS-7. If you dont have a degree, do not expect to work your way up, even if you are do work of a much higher grade. It is almost impossible to break out of the administrative grade 4-5-6 curse. Work hard, but dont expect to be paid accordingly, expect your new duties to be written into your GS-5 performance plan. The work is meticulous and detail-oriented. The chain of command moves slowly and many operations are held up because of this.