Need info about careers in FBI/Secret Service

[Tiggeroo]

I have a son who is a sophomore in High School. He has always considered certain types of careers, ex. military, CIA, Secret Service, FBI. His personality seems well suited for this. When he was younger he was into survival type courses, and orienteering. He works hard to stay in shape and wrestles and plays football. He runs every day and always reads books on military and similar fields. Recently he met with his guidance counselor and has been trying to narrow things down a bit. His preference is for secret service or FBI (but not a full time desk job, although he understands there will always be paper work involved). His guidance counselor wants him to research what he would need to do to pursue this course. He made it sound like it is almost impossible to get this type of job. My son needs to know what schooling path he should be pursuing. What he should be looking for in college. Is there an advantage to a military background. The problem with this is, that by the time he gets his college degree and does 4+ years in the service, he will have less time to get into the FBI, since they have a max age requirement of between 32-36yo. I know there are a couple of posters here with dh's in this line of work. I wonder if anybody can help me out. Does anybody have any experience with these agencies summer intern programs. They must be very difficult to get acceptance into. I love my son dearly, but he is very unlike the rest of our family.He has an uncle who was a SeaBee during Saudi and works as a part time body guard for his local government officials. He worships this man. He loves the macho stuff. He loves sports like wrestling. Has an interest in weapons and hunting. Considers it very important to be in super shape. (didn't get this from me) And in many ways has a military type demeanor and attitude now. But he tends to goof off in school and his grades are a roller coaster. He is very gifted but lacks focus. His guidance counselor and I are hoping that if he finds a focus, and can start to work toward a goal he wants this will improve and become more consistant.
I would like to find something as he told me yesterday that he things being a bouncer would be cool. And he also would love to be in something called the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where contestants try to kill each other.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

The Bureau looks for people with accounting backgrounds, believe it or not, as does the ATF. The job is not glamorous...much of the work is desk work. It seems that your son may have a warped notion of what this type of job entails.

Snoopy's husband works for the USSS, so I'm sure she'll chime in. With the Homeland Security reorganization, this may be changing, but the USSS works counterfeit and check fraud cases in addition to providing protection for the president and other high ranking officials.

 

[Tiggeroo]

and is looking for field agent. He realizes that some positions are completely desk work, and that there are positions that involve field work, investigative skills, or providing protection. This is the area he is interested in.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

It doesn't work that way.

Fully 50% of the agents in my office came from the Secret Service. All of them rotated between field offices (where much of the job is desk work) and the protective details. You aren't able to "specialize" unless you are part of the Counter Assault Team or something similar, and even that is something you earn...you have to pay your dues first.

 

[Tiggeroo]

Thanks alot. I wanted him to know the pros and cons of this line of work. If after seeing this, he is still interested in this line of work, do you know how he should pursue this. From what I understand there are five ways to get in. Law degree, Accounting degree, Foreign Language, Having a general degree with special training a field needed, such as law enforcement or chemistry, etc. and a fifth that I can't remember.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

I think you've about covered it. Tell him to keep his background spotless and keep the grades up. My opinion is that it will be easier to find jobs in federal law enforcement in the future because so much emphasis is being placed on security at this time. 2 or 3 of our agents have Criminal Justice degrees, many have accounting degrees, and we have several lawyers. Having a foreign language fluency is important. In our agency, those are the people looked at first. The 2nd group we look at are people with computer forensic backgrounds.

 

[caitycaity]

addicted to wdw has covered it.

i was very interested in the CIA when i first started college and i went to a lot of recruiting seminars about getting jobs there that were sponsored by my university. grades are really important. tell him to study hard and make a's. the grades really do matter. one of my friends who ended up getting a job there actually took farsi for 4 years in college outside of the university so that he could have a better chance of getting in.

 

[snoopy]

My DH works for the Secret Service, so I can give you a little info, although Addicted mostly covered it.

There are two types of jobs with the Secret Service: the special agents, and the uniformed officers. The special agents deal with things like counterfeiting, credit and debit card fraud; computer and telecommunications fraud. They also have the responsibility of protecting the President, Vice President & their families, as well of former Presidents and their families, and visiting heads of state. This job requires a college degree, preferably in criminal justice or some other law enforcement field.

The unformed officers are more like the police - they not only protect the President and the Vice President and their families, but the White House building and other Presidential buildings. One could work on a countersniper team (this is what DH does), they could be an EMT for the Secret Service, they could do foot patrol, or they could have a stationary post. As Addicted said, you don't get to pick and choose what you want to do for the SS, you have to earn it or prove yourself. Special training also gives one a leg up - DH is a marksman and highly trained in martial arts. He also has a degree in foreign languages. BTW, I don't believe you need a college degree to be a uniformed officer, but I could be wrong. I do know that you have to have a stellar background, so tell your son to keep his nose out of trouble if this is the job he wants to pursue.

 

[mrsv98]

Just to add my .02 My Dh has degrees in Mathematics and Physics and was going through the hiring process for the NSA before having to drop out - his Mom had cancer and was sick for a long time before she died. In any event, they do indeed look for people who have advanced degrees, and I would think these days, computer science, programming and such would also be in high demand. DH said the hiring process was rigourous and the background checks unbelievably thorough. Good luck to you DS.

 

[Judy from Boise]

Good luck to your son......I just had to chime in and say my Dad was a Seabee for 20 years


We Build ....We Fight.... Seabees CAN DO !


The very hard we do immediately the impossible takes a bit longer.