True, but they're still privately-owned corporations. Working at one is not like working for the government: you don't get the job security and other perks that government workers get.
However, working there isn't like working at a company in the commercial sector either. You have to get a clearance, you might work with classified information, you'll frequently work with government workers, you might work at government facilities even. And you'll be exposed to a lot of nonsense, as you said, because it is government work, even though you're paid differently.
Basically, being a contractor has two big differences from being a government worker: you generally get paid more, but you don't have the job security and can be furloughed at any time (without pay) if there's a government shutdown or if the contract you're working under ends. (Government workers get furloughed too when Congress doesn't pass a budget, but they usually get back pay after it's over.) The big advantage with government work (government or contractor) seems to be that you can be a worse-than-mediocre worker and still have a job with decent security.
I have heard this about job security with contractors. I have seen the opposite.
It's been 11 years. During furlough stuff, most of our contracts were exempted due to high national importance. For the few people on contracts that had to stop, we found other work for them to do. It would be nuts to lose a good employee to a competitor because of a work stoppage.
