It has been extremely different working for a government entity compared to my many years in private industry. - Waste Water Laboratory Technician Pima County (Arizona) Employee Review

It is almost impossible to get a raise or promotion (the perception is that you have to wait for someone to die or retire) and unless you are being hired for one of the upper level classifications you have zero negotiating power for starting salary. It is almost impossible to get fired from the county, regardless of how incompetent you are. (The deadwood just gets shuffled to a position where they can't interfere with the actual work of the department.)