Grad School or the real world?

A very smart person once told me that you could never get enough education. Neither one of my parents went to college, so naturally they helped to push me to go to school. Now that my undergraduate career is coming to an end, I have come to a crossroads, and no, I don't mean that terrible Britney Spears movie. I want to gain as much knowledge as I possibly can, I love to learn. I plan on attending graduate school, even though I know it may not be at the time I wanted to. I won't be able to graduate in May, and will need a summer class in order to finish my degree in August. Don't switch majors any later than freshman year folks. That puts me into an awkward position in apply for my master's degree. Do I apply now for the upcoming fall, or do I wait and apply the following year and get a job in the meantime. I know that I need to ask my academic advisor to see if I can still get into grad school after getting my degree during the summer, but my dream job doesn't necessarily require grad work.

I want to work for the federal government, either for the USDA or the NASS as an agricultural statistician. It combines my highly analytical mind along with my passion for farming, a perfect fit in my mind. Complicating the grad school issue is the fact that the government will pay for grad school after a year of work.

What to do, what to do...