Noob seeks advice...

[Foo Man]

Chewy- I meant no offense to the CBP folks. The "action" statement I made was based solely from what I have heard from BP agents, as I frequent the Delphi BP forum and don't talk to many CBP folks. That statement was also partially influenced by some of your posts where you mock your job (in good fun, of course). I'm sure every POE is different and like you stated, the job is what you make of it. I apologize if you took any offense to my post.

Ahenry- You are definitely not the first person who has told me the cons of being a BP agent. I did a lot of research before applying. I've been asked "why?" by friends and family and my answer is that I fully believe in the BP mission and look forward to doing my part to help secure our nations borders. I see the effects of illegal immigration on a daily basis and look at it as my duty join the fight against it.

I know the type of guys (and gals) you are talking about. These will be the same people who buy the tight-fitting "Federal Agent" T-shirts to wear to Walmart while attending the academy. Trust me, I'm not that guy! I apologize to you also if I came off that way.

[chewy]

Well first let me say I wasn't offended I just wanted to correct your PARTIALLY wrong thinking... there are ports that get NO excitement but we have a lot that get it regularily too.

Second, I'm not really mocking my job in fun... I really dislike it. It's not the JOB really, it's the politics and management that actively prohibit us from DOING our job.

Third, no need to apologize, I'm here to have fun and give a little 'light' if I can on certain subjects but mainly to have fun so it's all good.... Besides, your BP so I understand that you're a little slower mentally than the rest of us and I take that into consideration when deciding to get offended or not! :p

It's all gooooood!

[BP348]

GS-11 Step 4
$63,000???

Chewy, You sound a little low :eek:

Most of the BP I know who ar GS-11's step 4's are in the $70K + range.

Guess I need to get my pay scale out.

And I think the OT cap is $30,000

[drevel]

I am taking the Customs and Border Protection Officer exam on Feb 2nd, 20007 in Newark, NJ. I have the study material they supplied so I will be reviewing this for the next few weeks. You can apply on-line, takes about 10-15 minutes or so.