Pros
You gain life experience dealing with all types of people, especially low income. You also learn about how municipal governments operate, which can also be seen as a con.
Cons
(Specific to Department of Human Service Programs): A lot of the citizens that come in for help can be pretty nasty and mean. Management practices extreme micro-management on employees, which on top of an already stressful job, creates even more stress that will affect you outside of work as well. Management also tends to be very harsh, especially after the 6 month mark. If you don't learn all the information and give all the correct information perfectly, they will find ways to terminate your employment there. There's a very high turnover rate, especially in this position from what I learned from previous employees there. Management also tends to be very two-faced. They will initially act nice to you at first, but every single mistake you make will be reported to the director where they keep track of you. Unless you're related or close friends with somebody who works for the City of Cambridge, there's almost no chance of you getting promoted or transferred to another position / department. I know this because even with a bachelor's degree from a university, good references and outstanding work experience, I was not able to land any of the 6 other jobs I had applied for with the City of Cambridge. If you're a minority, your chances of promotion greatly diminish. The City of Cambridge unfortunately has a reputation for preventing minorities from reach the important positions in upper management. The City of Cambridge also has had a history of discrimination lawsuits against them which shows the how unbalanced the workforce and opportunities for advancement are.