@Mwhite you have the right idea, take in the good and ignore the bad. You’ll know who’s squared away and who’s not. The job is what you make it. Time management will be key. As far as which side of the spectrum is better, in my opinion, I would say the Fed side for a few reasons. You’ll get a lot of mixed opinions and form your own once you start talking to Fed investigators you meet and get to know. Here are mine:
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It’s a federal position. I have 10 years of prior military service that I could buy back.
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More pay on the long end. Some investigators have been doing this long enough to where they could not take the initial cut in pay for GS7 rate. I’ve only been doing this for two years.
The guy who trained me when I first started has since gotten picked up on the fed side and I know a few of the NBIB guys/gals in my area. All I can is that it seems as if the case load is not as heavy, re-opens are not as numerous. I may be wrong, but, I don’t think the federal investigators have fully taken on tiered case types yet. Those T3’s can be a mess!
I am in no way complaining as I interviewed for a position in my area last month 
But…back to the tips. Anymore tips?