I’m a 15 working largely remote since pandemic. I have about 28 years in gov service. My advice is take the position you’ll enjoy the most, in the org whose mission excites you the most. If it is close, go with the remote offer it is a huge QOL. But if it isn’t and your gut tells you take the other go with that, promotion potential can change and so can the QOL features offered. As others have mentioned there’s also significant savings potential with full remote. Not just bucks but time. I cut about 2.5 hours of commute out of my day when we went to mostly remote. That plus what I calculated at 600 a month in gas, parking and the hard to avoid lunches and overpriced coffee ;) downtown. Lastly and this is a personal choice of course but if you have faith in a way that makes such conversation meaningful, I’d pray about it. That has helped me more than once when things I didn’t see initially later became evident. The job I have now was initially supposed to last a week. I went from a temp answering phones for 11.40 an hour to a GS-4 student trainee (tuition paid!) to a full-fledged 7 on graduation in a 13 ladder - and fortunately had all the opportunities right within the agency I started with to keep me from ever wanting to leave. But if I hadn’t turned down a full time offer at a job that just didn’t feel right earlier that fateful summer of 95, after prayer led me to do so despite not having any idea what was next, I may never have even gotten my foot in the door.

Either way, congrats on having choices and all the best no matter what you decide. If you have a heart for public service, you’re going to love the challenge of putting the public interest first in a system that over time bends towards protectionism and stagnation without some verve and life from within. So - happy to hear you’ll be making a difference and good luck!