Vantaggi
You may end up in a great department or NOT (see below) You get some time off (although some of it you have to buy) You get health benefits. If you are in a good Department the people can be amazing and really a joy to work with.
Svantaggi
Everything? Well depending upon your department. I was conned into working for a horrifying department that was grossly unprofessional. Lets just say anything with the word "Services" after it you must avoid if you want to have a career in the county. First i was told to write my own job description, then they threw me into a different position, my job was threatened after 2 weeks of being there because of a bully manager- literally because he didn't "like me," nothing to do with my work or work quality at all. Nothing happened even when I called HR about what was going on. My new office was even worse. There was severe bullying and harassment of staff members. They went against every value the county is supposedly supposed to have. My manager was always too busy to meet with me. The program I was in you were supposed to receive additional trainings and also be able to meet with a mentor. Instead I was just questioned and interrogated by my management team for leaving the office for 2 hours once a month (or even less in some cases) to talk to my mentors. Other managers felt I was being bullied but no one said anything. Eventually (after severe stress disorder) I quit! No one deserves to be treated like trash. Oh to top it off my subordinates made more money than me. It took me literally 8 months to begin to feel normal and not have panic attacks. Before this I thought people who were bullied at work were making it up. Yeah I'll never think that again.