I'd like this sub's opinion on the matter even though it's not the best fit for what is discussed here. Please refer me to a sub you think would be better, if you know one.
For below, TLDR; public agency has pension, benefits and job security, but lower raises, worse management, and fewer opportunities than current private sector job. Am I being stupid staying with the private sector even though I'll be working a bit harder?
Full story: I'm a consultant with a private company and my main project is with a project group of a public agency, let's call it A for short. A's employees say I'm much better off working for A at some point because of better benefits, a pension, and job security. Yet they constantly make light of how the culture at A makes promotion impossible due to bad management that gets hired out of nepotism, which wouldn't necessarily be a problem if raises didn't average 2.5% a year while those managers don't even give them due credit for their work. On top of that, every so often someone returns a story of how someone they knew passed away weeks or months after retirement, so they didn't even get to enjoy their benefits or pension.
Since some of A's employees worked in A's contract department, they know my company collects a big lump sum from my work that's more than what I'm getting paid in a year (i.e. they bill A $100 an hour for my work when I'm only getting $35 an hour out of that). But my raises have always been much better than their average raises, and in fact my 10 percent raise this year (after 4 years working since graduation) has me making close to what A's employees are making even though they've worked at A for 3 or 4 times as many years. The only tradeoff is I've got to grind a little more at work than they would since I work 2 or 3 projects at a time (still getting paid for extra time worked). I live a very minimalist life so I can get the most of what I earn regardless of how low or high. Am I missing something that would make working at A the better option if it's easier and I'd not be working as hard?