Originally Posted by Rejuvenated
Working in a government job usually provides great benefits as well as better job security even though the salaries may not be as high as compared to those private firms.
The problem with the pay is that it's uniform across the board. Locality pay doesn't do much to address this.
When you factor in what it costs to live areas like WAS, SFO, NYC, etc, the pay isn't that great. You're right that the private sector pays more ... I have a friend that turned down a govie job to go work for a govie contractor because they offered him significantly more. And a lot of govies leave, only to turn around and come right back as contractors making significantly more.
In smaller towns and areas where the cost of living isn't real high (like my hometown), the government pay is quite good.
It can get pretty good if you stick around for years on end too.