<prompt> Human: So Im an active-duty military paralegal with 3 years of paralegal experience, and Im getting out of the service in the near future. I also have a BA from before I joined if anyones wondering why I didnt go officer, I enlisted specifically for job training in the paralegal field; there are no officer paralegal positions.Im being heavily considered for a permanentfull-time GS-5 legal assistant position on another military base, but I have a lot of reservations about it. Mainly due to the fact that it begins and ends at GS-5, so there is no promotion potential. The duties as they were explained to me during the interview sound more akin to a receptionist than a paralegal, so I dont know if I would be challenged enough; I didnt work this hard only to answer phones and greet clients. The salary at that level would start at 32k substantially less than my current military pay, however the southern state where the job is located has a much lower cost of living than where Im currently at.Basically, Im not sure it would be worth it to move across the country for a job that pays so little and has no promotion potential, even if it is a federal position in a place Id really like to live. Id be looking for something better almost immediately, which wouldnt be fair to my employers. Then again, Ive read a lot of advice online that if you want to work for the feds, you get in wherever you can and its much easier to land new positions once youre in the system.Ill also mention that Ive been referred for several other legal assistant GS positions with promotion potential, however I havent been contacted for interviews yet and that whole saying about a bird in hand, etc.Any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated.  <response>: Then again, Ive read a lot of advice online that if you want to work for the feds, you get in wherever you can and its much easier to land new positions once youre in the system.This, this, this. If you are sure you want to end up in federal service this is the only part thats really important.The majority of federal positions are not open to those not already in a federal job. As uZagor64 says, dont be concerned with leaving quickly and that being unfair to your employer...the culture around this is very different in the federal system. Doing exactly that is, if not expected, certainly not frowned upon.Also, almost all GS positions require 1 year of specialized experience at the next lower grade level of federal employment. Even if the position youre talking about does not have promotion potential itself, spending a year in that role automatically makes you eligible for other jobs at the next higher grade.If the location is not just somewhere youre willing to live, but somewhere that the cost of living will permit you to live reasonably on that salary for a year or 2, and again, your goal is to end up in federal service long term, Id be inclined to advise you to take it. 