2) What is the difference between working on the Federal, State, and Local level? a) The funding comes from different sources, which can make you more or less vulnerable depending on which area is belt-tightening. b) Different requirements. Many city jobs have a residency requirement.
4) How do you find government jobs (any particular websites)? There are different websites for different agencies. This is true for all levels of government.
5) Is it more difficult, easier, or the same difficult as landing a private sector position? It depends on the position and the timing. Public sector jobs sometimes have hiring freezes, due to budget concerns. Some public sector jobs may have waiting lists of years.
6) Is employment decisions strictly based on civil service exams, or does the hiring manger have leeway who he wants to hire? Some jobs may not require a civil service exam.
7) How long does it generally take from application until employment (if successful)? I personally know of cases where it was a month or two. In some cases in can be a couple of years before you get a call.
10) How else is it different than private sector jobs? There are usually many more rules, regulations and procedures that need to be followed in public sector jobs. This may include buying from specific vendors (woman or minority owned), legally mandated bidding processes and time periods, legal requirements about posting job openings, etc. Unions are much more prevalent in government jobs. The stereotype of lazy government workers is usually not true, but lazy and incompetent workers are often shielded more than they would be in private industry.