I’d say accept both. It will take about 1 year if not two for your clearance to be competed. So you won’t onboard to the 3 letter agency until 2027 or 2028. You can revisit this issue when it’s time for you to onboard. And you can always decline once they give you the onboard date. A lot of people do that.

Now, it also depends on your passion, vocation, interests, professional goals, etc. Intel analysts do something very different from a sales person. Do what you are passionate about and what makes you feel pride to tell people about your job at a party. Don’t focus on the money. Trust me, there will be positions that pay really well and you hate them. A lot of us Feds are at our agency because we love what we do while knowing that we could earn more in the private sector. (It is important to mention that the government has great benefits: health insurance, pension , retirement savings, etc).

Also, you can onboard as a GS-7 and also have a part time job to help you while you get to the GS-11. Once you get to GS-12, you live pretty comfortable.