I get uneasy nowadays with so many people saying they want to work for the government. The same way I got uneasy years ago when lots of people said they wanted to "get into computers." They didn't know why. Just that it was where the jobs were.

Government jobs may be aplenty and growing. Some estimates range from 250,000 to 600,000 new jobs, primarily due to the stimulus bill and changing government priorities, says Stewart Liff, author of Managing Your Government Career, who also suspects those numbers are too high.

Nevertheless, if that's the direction you're pursuing, know what you're getting into.

First, let's look at the main reason many people — maybe you — want to get a government job: security. Job security is indeed one of the advantages of working for the government, Liff says. The government offers more job security than the private sector because it's funded by taxes, doesn't have to make a profit and will always exist in some shape or form. You also don't have to worry about corporate mergers or jobs moving overseas.

But plenty of people lose government jobs. And there is always the risk of consolidation, Liff points out. Indeed, government workers do have strong protections. And "the federal government offers an incredibly attractive array of benefits," Liff says.

On the other hand, government jobs may not pay as much as the private sector. (Sometimes they pay more or about the same.) There's all that bureaucracy due to the sheer size and scope of government, Liff says. And don't forget about the rigid and complex rules and a "culture that far too often enables poor performers to skate by" and can "sometimes result in pressure to promote, reward, protect or retain undeserving people."

Another disadvantage is that since elected officials change, agendas shift. "New procedures may be diametrically opposed to the approach taken by the last administration" and you may "have to change course 180 degrees and follow the direction of a political appointee who does not really understand the organization that the civil servants have devoted their working life to," Liff says. This can be extremely frustrating.

Getting into computers because it was where the jobs were or because it was thought to be "secure" was foolhardy. Just as getting into government or healthcare is today for that reason alone. I can introduce you to thousands of people who hate their jobs and lives today because they blindly applied the it's-hot-and-where-the-jobs-are criteria. Many of them have — or want — to change careers.

A career in government might be perfect for you. But only for the right reasons.