Need help with job choice.

[troy555]

Hello everybody. For awhile now I've been considering a job in law enforcement. I have always enjoyed the investigation parts of law enforcement, and would really want to do that as a job. I plan on going to college getting a law degree and joining the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, in which I would become a military officer after college. After discharging in the military I want to do law enforement, but I'm in a dilemma on whether to do local law enforement or federal (F.B.I.). I wanted to do local, but alot of people are telling me that the big cases are federal, that I can do something better than local. I would like to work in narcotics or organized crime, and not have a boring desk type job. I want to see some action (raids, takedowns, ect.) and from what I hear the F.B.I. can be a very boring job. Can anyone supply me with information that can help me with my decision? I am leaning towards federal law enforcement, but I'm still not sure.

[Kimble]

Hello everybody. For awhile now I've been considering a job in law enforcement. I have always enjoyed the investigation parts of law enforcement, and would really want to do that as a job. I plan on going to college getting a law degree and joining the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, in which I would become a military officer after college.

Good plan so far...

After discharging in the military I want to do law enforement, but I'm in a dilemma on whether to do local law enforement or federal (F.B.I.). I wanted to do local, but alot of people are telling me that the big cases are federal, that I can do something better than local.

Who are these "people"? Are they people who work in law enforcement? Are they your school friends? Consider the source before you determine how realiable their information is.

I would like to work in narcotics or organized crime

These types of cases can be investigated at all levels: local, state, and federal (and not just FBI, but also DEA, ATF, ICE, etc.)

... and not have a boring desk type job. I want to see some action (raids, takedowns, ect.) and from what I hear the F.B.I. can be a very boring job.

Such is often the nature of investigative work (whether with the FBI or with a local detective position). You put in a lot of desk time and paperwork that may result in a few minutes of warrant-serving time.

Can anyone supply me with information that can help me with my decision? I am leaning towards federal law enforcement, but I'm still not sure.

If there is a concrete reason why you want to pursue federal LE, you need to identify it. Right now it seems like you want to work exciting cases and do action-packed stuff, which I would be willing to bet you may have a better shot of doing at the local level. Plus, working at the local level first can be excellent experience before applying for the feds. Do some research into exactly what you want to do, what types of investigative work you want to participate in, and which agencies are the most appealing to you. You look like you've put some thought into this, but you've still got some issues you need to investigate further for yourself before you'll know what's right for you. If you have any more specific questions, feel free to fire them off.

[jarobins]

I think that you have quite a few years to have to worry about making that decision. It sounds like you are getting ready to go to college, so you still have 4 years for your BA/BS, 3 years of law school, and then a few years in the military. An inifinite number of things could happen between now and then. The differences between local/Federal LE will could change again in the next ten years. The mission of Fed LE changed dramatically after 9/11. Plan on going in to LE and enjoy college and don't do anything stupid that could disqualify you later on. Then after you graduate re-evaluate what you want to do based the options available at that time. Depending on your options you could still go to law school, go straight into the military, or go into LE. I wouldn't worry much now about the exact job you want in ten years, rather I would just make sure I was headed in the right direction.

[DeltaV]

Keep in mind that if you're going to have the military paying for your law school, they're probably going to want four years or so of active duty work in the JAG Corps before you can get out. Since you'll probably be around 30 at that time, your ideas of what you want to do with your life may change. You may enjoy the practice of law and decide you want to do that...either by staying in the military or re-entering the civilian workforce.

Most younger officers (and younger people in general) like the 'excitement' factor of the job. That will wear out after a while. If you want to work investigations, there are plenty of federal agencies to look at, from the FBI to Army CID.

The best advice that anyone can give you now is to keep your background clean all through college. Don't use drugs, get arrested, or anything of that nature. Having a clean background is important with any LE job, and is especially crucial if you're trying to get on with an agency such as the FBI.

[ExUSPP]

What is the rush? You haven't even gone to college or been offered any of these jobs yet. The way I see it, you have four years in college to decide what you want to do. Apply to both local and federal agencies in your junior and senior years and then decide. Just make sure if you choose a local department make sure it is big enough so you can do the type of investigations you want.

[ICEGrrl]

There are more federal agencies than just FBI. Try looking at some agency websites or you can PM me, I work for the feds in an investigative capacity & can answer some ?s for you. Also, with ANY type of LE job, paperwork's going to be involved, no getting around it. So be sure to learn your grammar, spelling, etc.well while in school.

Not all LE jobs involve breaking down doors and doing raids on a daily basis. Ask some of the street cops on here, I'm sure their job is a lot more exciting on a daily basis than most but I'm not totally sure...

[K-9MALY]

Troy555,
You were just given a goldmine of advice here by Sr. members who dissected your questions. I would add that my $0.02 in regards to your wondering about State vs the FBI. If you go into a state police career, you will learn the A-Z of police work, and more than likely experience it also. With Federal LE, it focuses on specific mission objectives that will see most of that agencies efforts concentrated on. Both have merit and valid career fulfillment, but are unique in what they do. I firmly believe that the more real police work you get under your belt, the better you will be in investigations.
In a police department, you don't see 21 year olds joining the force and instantly becoming Detectives, but you can do that essentially with the government as a Criminal Investigator.
You have loads of time to research your options, so good luck.

[Group9]

It is a good thing to be thinking about what you want to do as early as possible and obviously, we here all think law enforcement is a great career.

At his point, you need to be doing a lot of research on what different law enforcement agencies do to help you narrow your career goals some. Go to the your public library or large book store and look in the true crime or current events section and you will see a lot of books written about every aspect of law enforcement there is.

Also, most of the larger federal agencies and police departments have web sites that will give you and idea about what is generally required as a background for all federal agencies and all police departments. You can also get a flavor for what types of cases they work.

Most law enforcement, whether federal, state or local, can be divided into two categories, patrol or investigation.
You will find that each job is similiar whether you are in federal or state or local agencies.

For instance, a police officer on patrol who works for a city department is going to have similiar duties to a federal police officer like the US Park Police. A local narcotics detective is going to be doing similiar work to a DEA agent. And, you need to be aware of changes in federal law enforcement since 9-11 (the FBI, for instance, has been re-directed from law enforcement to anti-terrorism investigations to a large extent).

And, in each of these two areas, patrol and investigations, there are almost endless varieties of work depending on what sub-unit, or what location, you are in.

You are smart to be looking around and asking questions. I am sometimes amazed at how little I knew about law enforcement when I got in and I realize that luck, more than good planning, played the biggest role in any good career choices I have made.

[troy555]

Thanks for all the information. When I think F.B.I. I think things involved with internet crimes, counter-terriorsm, and crimes involved with money fraud(not sure of the term for it.) Those kind of tasks I wouldn't really want to do. I'm not sure how they handle assignment, whether you choose what you would like to do, or they just assign you to a division. Is it possible to transfer? I have thought about the DEA, but someone I know has a friend who is a DEA agent and from what he has told me other types of narcotics agencys are better. So I'm unsure on the DEA. When I bring this topic up with other people they expect me to do better things than just become a cop, no offense. So I guess some peer presure is pushing me towards federal, and is afflicting my decision. Sorry for the stupid questions, and again thanks for the information.