Small office, lots of responsibility
Pros
The capital is a beautiful location to work in. You'll have the chance to learn a lot about civics as you automate different parts of the legislative and governing process. There's more work there than could ever be done by the tiny developer community in Salem, OR, so you'll have loads of responsibility. Pay is quite good for an entry-level position. People who work in the office tend to have ample opportunity for advancement, and long-term employment. The culture of the IS department is generally quite supportive, mostly laid-back, mentorship-oriented, and enjoys some fun, small office traditions.
Cons
The "Legislative Machine" is hundreds of years old, and every information systems shop can only afford to spend so much time updating, and so there are many, many vestigial components and applications across the codebase, and lots of data is still stored on very old machines. You have to anticipate that changes to the Legislation process will be slow, and that you'll need to put in some effort to stay on the same page with the end-users of your applications. This could be a great learning opportunity, or a deal-breaker, depending on what kind of engineer you are!
