Strong technical workforce driven by mission not money
Pros
The technical and analytic workforce is very strong. of course there are a few lame ducks, but overall the talent is high and people's drive to do well is very strong. much stronger than most of the contractor workforce. Ability to constantly learn and change: There is so much variety in the mission, that you can move every few years to an entirely different area and only touch a portion in your full career. Overall, very caring culture that supports work-life balance and people's personal requirements. supportive of families. dad's can take 8 weeks of sick leave at children's birth. work schedules for most orgs are flexible.
Cons
post-Snowden has lowered morale. radical innovation is hard, because of bureaucracy. it's harder to move around than it was 10+ years ago. bureaucracy is always painful. management is a mixed bag, often Peter principle. getting a clearance takes a long time.