Vantaggi
NGA offers great job stability. I started my career with NGA as an intern, and was converted non-competitively to full-time upon my graduation. The benefits are as good as what any federal agency has to offer. The mission very important, and will give most employees a sense of fulfillment.
Svantaggi
NGA offers little room for career movement or change (I am speaking to this as a converted intern). While NGA's Career Services makes good effort to ensure employees can develop new skills, it offers little assistance to those whose degrees misalign with their work role and Career Service--particularly those assigned during their internship. NGA assigns employees to different Career Services. Under the Career Service framework, new hires are enrolled in the Career Advancement Program (CAP), where employees are tasked with different milestones. The program is designed so that employees will develop proficiency in their work role, so that they will be able to work effectively and independently in the future. In my case however, I was assigned to a Career Service that was not aligned to my education background or career ambition. While Career Service/Student Programs understands this, they made little effort to place me in the correct Career Service. Now, I am developing skills in the career I do not want to pursue. While I agreed to convert as an employee believing that this misplacement will be corrected, I am fearful that I will be pigeonholed into my assigned career path. I am actively seeking new employment elsewhere.