Government Jobs – Overview
There are a few different ways to look at government jobs. For our purposes, government jobs will mean civil service jobs with the federal government of the United States.
Government jobs are overseen by the Department of Personnel Management. This is basically an oversight organization responsible for the management of the civil service (non-enlisted) positions with the federal government. The Department of Personnel Management runs a clearinghouse online for government jobs. This is called USA Jobs and, when I checked, there were over 26,000 jobs listed there, located throughout the US.
The Department of Personnel Management website has a link to USA Jobs as well as a special site dedicated to student jobs.
Government Jobs Applications
When you apply for a government job, expect to go through an extensive application process and background check. Fill out the information requested as thoroughly and accurately as possible. Some technology positions may require security clearance, a process that can take years to complete.
The US government utilizes some cutting edge technology in some of its departments, especially in investigations (FBI, CIA, DOJ, etc) and Homeland Security. If you have specialized knowledge of older technologies, many of the large government systems utilize older technologies that store tons of critical information (the IRS, for example).
For the technology jobs that I checked, the pay looked competitive, and the benefits and job stability are outstanding.