Detective

[schoromanski]

Hello All,

I am a college senior with a major in accounting hoping to land a federal job someday. I am pretty involved with my school. Have an internship at the federal level right now.

From the research I have done and seen federal jobs do accept people not only from the military but also from the police end.

Is it better to work for a local police department or the state or to go into the military to beef up the resume?

Also how long does it take to be promoted or offered a spot as a detective. I have interned at a local PD before and I heard it depends on the vacancies. For a federal job such as the FBI, if you were to apply through the accounting announcement you must have a couple years with experience in the white collar or financial crimes division. I know local PD's do that but do not know how long that would take for me to get into that spot.

Any response would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks

Steve

[Piggy]

From the Federal side you'll be better off with the military. You can claim Veteran Preference Points and you will be higher up the hiring list than those without. For some positions, it's the only way to get hired.

As to making Detective on a local PD, every agency varies. You can get on with one year, sometimes wait a whole career.

[DeltaV]

For a federal job such as the FBI, if you were to apply through the accounting announcement you must have a couple years with experience in the white collar or financial crimes division. I know local PD's do that but do not know how long that would take for me to get into that spot.

You can also get your CPA and gain experience in the private sector as an accountant to qualify under the accounting entry method (if that's what you're shooting for). While local police experience is desirable, many criminal investigator positions don't consider patrol work as qualifying experience.

As to how long it takes to be a detective, it's all dependent on the agency. One thing is for certain, and that's the fact that you must be a good patrol officer before you're even considered. Two years is probably the minimum anywhere, and it's many more at other places. At my agency, detective is a promotion and you don't have a chance of getting promoted until you've been there at least five years. It takes most people much more time than that.

[jarobins]

You may also look at gaining investigative experience working for a state Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU). Most states have them and they are considered either law enforcement or quasi-law enforcement depending on the state.

[Roger Dat]

Minimum of 5 years experience to get promoted to detective in my department.