Government job isn't all bad. For folks like us there are many opportunities. Do you want graduate school paid for? Scholarship for service is a great progra

Government job isn't all bad. For folks like us there are many opportunities. Do you want graduate school paid for? Scholarship for service is a great program. I know the lab I was at would give civilians the options to spend 2 years in residence working towards their PhD with their civilian pay. Granted 2 years isn't enough time to do the whole thing, but you can get courses paid for (and the time to take them) while working. Sometimes taking the courses is considered part of your job. Most of my MSc was paid for this way. Government benefits are great--the BS the gov employees have to deal with is what makes it painful. Depending where you are at, there is an opportunity to make an impact and do very interesting work. There are also entrepreneurial opportunities in the government: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=395714 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=395714