been in 9 years in it field n still u looking for fed job, then definitely u should go ahead. the reason im telling u this ..if someone works in IT for more than 3 years, he gains he definitely gaines some position in that company unless its a QA/ Ba / developer hire n fire job ..with all these years of experience u should be at be a manager or someone who directly reports to the CEO, but since ur looking to go for a fed job ( which is normally a entry level or one step higher ) ur definitely not happy with the position ur holding in present company. in this case i would suggest u change fed job for secure future, wood work life balance n tension free life. all fed job is stress free, eventually doing nothing all day. yes career advancement is sluggish( u r anyways having in private company ) n lots of politics but this will not hurt ur position.

people who dont dream big n whose stability is main concern these jobs are rewarding

Go for it. You pointed out all the good and bad sides already. So, it mostly depends upon your ambitions, your priorities. Gov jobs offers way better WLB but at the cost of relatively less base pay. If you are starting at higher GS level (or equivalent), you will be fine.

@ Itahari and @ Solate
Its not like i dont have aspiraton to grow (I m in mid 30s), i was just looking for some changes and this thing just happened to pop up and clicking it so far. The pay is lil bit less than the private sector job i m in now but very very close ( less than 5-6k difference). It is for grade 28. Since i know nobody working for govt, just wanted to hear diff perspective before i jump in. Appreciated you guys chiming in quickly, thanks again !

aba mid thirty five ma k experiment garnu ra just for change ko lagi new track linu where u have to restart all from base, stick where ur, aba 5 7 barsa pachi ta nepal farkina tayari garne hola ni, yo automated life kati jiuchau yar 42-45 ma nepal farkera sada jeeban, social welfare ra family sanga bitako ramao ( personal view) ... arko pato bata herne ho bhane timro aile ko job ni khasai gatilo lagena, timley bhane anusar fed ra private ko difference ni just 5-6 k raicha ( thats nothing) .. private ma stick hune one main reason is highly high pay ho.. fed job ma khasai kamai hunna. aba timro aile ko job nai fed job ko pay bhanda dherai chaina bhane pachi testo torpe thau ma k basi ra chance pako bela move gara..aba long term yaha base ho bhane ta fed nai dherai ramro as compared to ur present job

it depends , based on your personal situation eg mortgage, family, vacation, eating out , where you live etc. If the salary does not enough to cover your expense then may not make sense, you been in private sector almost decade meant you have very good financial status so decision is in your hand, in my opinion for working class people, steady and stable job make sense for a lot of people.