(Edited for accuracy)

The copium some people have about gov work is absurd, GS pay raises don't match inflation AND (at least in the IT field) typically pay worse than industry standards, for....

1. slightly cheaper insurance benefits
2. faster time off accrual (assuming you stick around for 3 years for 6 hours per pay period (2 weeks) or 15 for 8 per pay period, which is only for annual leave. Sick is capped at 4 hours regardless.)
3. a pension that a political party absolutely intends sweep out from under you (that you pay more into than any of the folks in your office that have been there since before january 1 2013, 0.8% of pay vs 4.4%)
4. TSP: a 401k by a different name.

Oh, but it's also "more stable" (we're definitely not facing a shutdown deadline on the 8th and 22nd of this month, which is somehow more confusing in news coverage because nobody covers who is/was affected which shutdown deadline or if the march 8 shutdown is still possible).