Noob seeks advice...

[Fear&Loathing]

Hey all - first time posting.

I was recently promoted at my current job in a print production company to middle management and make 54K approx. I enjoy the work, and know there is room for advancement - though exactly how much Im not sure (maybe move into magazine publishing, add freelance work, etc...).

How would a career as a CBP Agent with DHS look next to this? I think I can find a certain level of enjoyment in the work, do it competently, and advance regularly. I would be hired at the GS-5 level and begin with a yearly salary of aprrox 29K.

I have two brother-in-laws both NYPD retired, one currently applying for CBP who knows working CBP Agents. He states overtime is essentially unlimited, work is not too strenuous, great benefits, free uniforms and other included necessities...

Can someone clear up this picture a little? Is it realistic to make between 10-15K a year in overtime? If I can, will I ever see my wife and daughter?

Any help is appreciated. Hope everyone had a great holiday.

P.S. Forgot to mention I've just received my letter of tentative selction - so now its just a matter of time before I have to make a decision where Im headed...

[O'Gee]

Hey all - first time posting.


P.S. Forgot to mention I've just received my letter of tentative selction - so now its just a matter of time before I have to make a decision where Im headed...

I tested last June , got a TO in July , A huge packet of paper work to fill out a week later, medical/physical in September and still havent heard from my BI. It's the only thing left so id say you have quite some time before you get the call. Im speaking for a NY port that is. Take your time and research it as much as you can.
Good Luck and keep us posted

[Cinnamon]

I have a couple questions...

OK, so you're in the printing industry or middle management and can move into magazine publishing or something...... how do you go from that to a CBP Agent with DHS????? What made you decide all of a sudden to think about switching professions?

I know that a CBP Agent is a government position, as you mentioned GS-5 level, but what exactly does CBP and DHS stand for?

I work for a county dept, and it would be very easy for me to make 10-15K a year in overtime if I chose that. I work 14 days a month, and I would have to pick up maybe 3 or 4 days a month to make the 10-15K. So, yes, I would still see my family.

Lastly, what's the meaning of your screen name???

[O'Gee]

CBP Officer is short for US Customs and Border Protection which is under the Depatment of Homeland security=DHS

the name iI can not help you with because I myself am wondering

[Cinnamon]

Duh! Thanks O'Gee... bonus points if you know why the screen name was picked :rolleyes:

[O'Gee]

Duh! Thanks O'Gee... bonus points if you know why the screen name was picked :rolleyes:

He likes the movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas so much that its a perfect screen name for a LE forum.....Ok now wheres my BONUS?

eh?


Just kidding F & L welcome to RP.

[Fear&Loathing]

He likes the movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas so much that its a perfect screen name for a LE forum.....Ok now wheres my BONUS?

eh?


Just kidding F & L welcome to RP.

Thanks for the welcome. Yes, it was an oft used term in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas but Hunter Thompson first coined the term in his early work as a journalist.

Please, anyone that can shed some light on the day to day activities of a CBP Agent, along with income potential would be greatly appreciated.

[O'Gee]

Thanks for the welcome. Yes, it was an oft used term in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas but Hunter Thompson first coined the term in his early work as a journalist.

Please, anyone that can shed some light on the day to day activities of a CBP Agent, along with income potential would be greatly appreciated.

No problem. First its CBP Officer. Agents belong to ICE which are both under DHS. There a few of both in here to fill you in but the type of work really depends on what port and in what state your going to be in. From what i understand Officers at a landport, seaport and airport all have similar but diffrent jobs.

[Foo Man]

DHS= Department of Homeland Security

Chewy is the one to ask about CBP and I'm sure he'll chime in sometime soon. There is also a CBP forum on Delphi: http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/mai...customsinspect

I'm in the hiring process with the Border Patrol right now. From what I gather, CBP works POE's (Points of Entry- airports, sea ports,etc.) and doesn't see much "action" in terms of LE work. I'm waiting for my BI to be cleared for the Border Patrol right now. It's more of the type of work I'm looking for.

[chewy]

OK...

Hey all - first time posting.

Welcome to RP. It's a great site, especially for information about jobs and how to DO the job...

I was recently promoted at my current job in a print production company to middle management and make 54K approx.
How would a career as a CBP Agent with DHS look next to this?

It all depends on what you're looking for in life. If you want to do print production related jobs all your life then CBP wouldn't really do anything for your experience... If you wanted to be a cop the rest of your life then CBP would look a LOT better than just a printing type job..

How would a career as a CBP Agent with DHS

There is no CBP Agent. There is Border Patrol Agent and CBP Air Marine Interdiction Agent and CBP Officer positions but no "CBP Agent"

I think I can find a certain level of enjoyment in the work, do it competently, and advance regularly. I would be hired at the GS-5 level and begin with a yearly salary of aprrox 29K.

Assuming you are talking about a CBP Officer position, then you would do fine. All you really need is the will to learn and the ability to work and deal with people. The hardest part of our job is talking to people and trying to decide who is up to something and deserves a harder look/search and who isn't and should be let go without any search. The other hardest part is dealing with management and HQ who is more concerned about public image and keeping the traveling public happy than they are actually doing our job and catching criminals and contraband. If you can work in this type environment you'll do fine. We have some absolutely outstanding people AND we have the people who don't do anything and just sit around. It can be hard to deal with the lazy slugs but if you can keep yourself motivated to do your job then you can do great at CBP. The lazy people will be in any job you go to so that's nothing new. CBP has some very important work to do and if you stick with it you can to good things. We do get small seizures but we also get as many large seizures. That's a great thing about our job; you can just as easily get a 500lb MJ seizure or a 50lb Coke seizure as you can a 5grm MJ seizure. It all depends on you staying focused and just plugging along.... And also your port, a lot depends on where you are.

I would be hired at the GS-5 level and begin with a yearly salary of aprrox 29K.

Don't worry too much about the money, you may start as a GS-5 but CBP Officers are Journeyman GS-11's so if you start as a GS-5 within four years you'll be a Journeyman GS-11 which, for NY, would be around $63,000 or so. The pay isn't so bad.

I have two brother-in-laws both NYPD retired, one currently applying for CBP who knows working CBP Agents. He states overtime is essentially unlimited, work is not too strenuous, great benefits, free uniforms and other included necessities...

This is partially true. The "unlimited" overtime all depends on what port you go to. Some ports there is ALWAYS overtime available. These are generally your bigger ports, like JFK, Detroit, Buffalo, Miami, LAX etc. Some of the smaller ports don't have much overtime; it all depends on where you go.
We don't get "free" uniforms but you get a uniform allowance that you can order uniforms with so therefore it is essentially free as long as you don't spend all your allowance and still need items. We have a company you have to buy your uniforms from but the government gives you $500 a year allowance, which can ONLY be used for that company, which is enough to keep you in uniforms.
The work depends again on where you go. Overall it's all easy but each port will be different kind of work. In the airports, like JFK or LAX, you will do a LOT of standing and walking around. At land border ports if you are working passengers you will do sitting and standing while clearing people and searching cars. If you go to the southern border you will be doing a lot more work than the northern, generally speaking. A lot of it is up to you. If you want to sit around and do nothing and just slide by, well, we have a lot of useless people that do that now. If you are energetic and want to put the effort into it you can do as much as you like within reason... again, this depends on your port, some ports are way more restrictive than others. All in all, you can do as little or as much as you want keeping in mind that you get what you put into it.
As far as strenuous, no, our job is generally not to physically strenuous. If you get on an AT-CET you may be doing a lot of lifting and climbing etc to move freight around in order to climb into the container or truck/train... but as a general rule most Officers don't do a lot of physically demanding work... go to any port and look around at the bellies of the men and women working there and that will be obvious :D

Is it realistic to make between 10-15K a year in overtime? If I can, will I ever see my wife and daughter?

Yes and yes. We have an overtime cap of $25,000 (they might have raised it to 30, I don't remember) a year. We have people that cap out every year. I almost capped out a couple years and, as a GS-7 and 9 made a base pay of about $37 to $44,000 and actually, with OT and night diff etc, made about $64,000 and $69,000. My base this year is $61,500 and I worked very little OT this past year but will end up with a year total of about $63,000. Obviously as a GS-5 you will have to work a lot more hours to make $20k of overtime than you will as a GS-11 step 4 but as you get up in the pay grades/step increases, you will make more and more.
Our overtime is straight double time which means for every hour of overtime you are getting paid like you worked two hours of straight pay. For example, I'm a GS-11 step 4 (almost 5). I make $29.46 an hour. If I work one hour over my 40/week then I make $58.92 for that hour. So, if in one pay period (two weeks) I work four hours of overtime I make $235, if I work eight hours OT in one pay I make $471. I've worked pay periods here in Detroit where I've worked 5 doubles (means in two weeks I worked five 16hour shifts, eight hours over my scheduled 8hour shift.) and made about $2356 in two weeks just in OT. Now keep in mind that taxes KILL you if you work too many hours but it's VERY EASY to pad your paycheck with not too much OT.

P.S. Forgot to mention I've just received my letter of tentative selection - so now its just a matter of time before I have to make a decision where Im headed

I would say if you aren't hoping to do patrol or investigative Police work then CBP Officer is a very good job that you will find rewarding and exciting IF you put the effort into it and will certainly pay well for you once you have a few years on the job. If you have a degree and you want to do more then you can start applying for agent (1811) type jobs and the degree along with your CBP time will help you out. If you don't have a degree you can still apply but you will want to get your degree... TRUST ME... it's very hard to get hired as a criminal investigator without it, even with a lot of experience. Or you can work CBP for a while and start applying for a local or State police agency of your choice or Border Patrol if you want to do patrol type police work. Ultimately CBP will look good as LE experience on your resume and will pay well in the interim until you find what you really want. Or, you may find that you like our type work and stay here for a career. I would say if you have no other police type jobs on the horizon and want to do LE work then you should take the CBP Officer job as you can make good money, do good LE work and pad your resume for future jobs should you want to go that route. A lot of us also have bad things to say about CBP but it's primarily politics and changes dramatically port to port so don't base your decision solely on what a couple of us say. CBP, while not always allowing us to do our jobs the way we should be doing them, pays well, is WAY WAY WAY less dangerous than a patrol cop position and if you get an airport is climate controlled. Plus, being federal you are a sworn federal officer and can carry anywhere you want in the US :D Plus you can transfer to just about any state in the country as well as AK, HI, Canada, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Ireland and if you get CSI you can go to one of several countries around the world for up to three years a tour (Holland, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea... there’s more I just can't think of them off hand.)

Feel free to send me a private message if you want more information or want to ask any other or specific questions. Tom.

[chewy]

From what I gather, CBP works POE's (Points of Entry- airports, sea ports,etc.) and doesn't see much "action" in terms of LE work. I'm waiting for my BI to be cleared for the Border Patrol right now. It's more of the type of work I'm looking for.

That would be something I would expect to hear from a Border Patrol Agent but it's not really true. No, we don't have shootings every day or anything and we don't do persuits but the POE's see a lot of action. We get large drug seizures and tons of warrants. On top of that there are fights at various POE's on a weekly basis almost around the country. Granted, you may be at a port and not see any serious "hands on" action for a while but it does happen. I've been in Detroit 9 years and we've had two shootings at the POE (one the bad guy was killed by one of our Inspectors), thousands of warrant arrests, probably about a hundred or so good fights/brawls/wrestling matches with uncooperative to violent people, 5 or 6 bomb type incidents, and all kinds of seizures of drugs and weapons. Granted, it's not the same as a patrol officer or BP agent but we do see "action" and, as stated, above and beyond the physical encounters we do get a lot of action in reguards to narcotics, currency and weapon seizures. Again it all depends on what port you are at too. Smaller ports don't seem to have the siezures or fights that the bigger ports do and airports have even less of the physical confrontations then management plays a roll too as we've had supervisors prohibit us from interfering in fights. We actually had an Immigration Inspector get jumped by a guy who was putting him on a bus back to Canada and our supervisor ordered us to not get involved then handcuffed the front doors shut to prevent us from going to assist.... fortunatly they have more than one door in the building :mad: we do have MORONS working here!

In a period of about 5 to 5 1/2 years (I'm in an office the last three+ years so I can't count it) I seized in the neighborhood of $450,000 in currency, 20 some stolen vehicles, about 50 wanted persons, around 900lbs of Marijuana, over 12million tablets of pseudoephedrine (precursor used to make meth, one seizure buy the way :D), several pounds of X, some mushrooms, and collected somewhere in the range of 6million dollars in penalties and fines for various personal and commercial violations of import/export laws. I've been in around 36 violent incidents/confrontations involving passengers or wanted felons who decided to fight and try to run rather than give up. So, no, we don't shoot people every day and as an individualy you won't have a super exciting day everyday but it's there and it does happen. That's why I ALWAYS tell people that if they want to be an agent or patrol cop like on TV then this ISN'T the job for them as we have way more mundaine or boring days than we have exciting days but we DO have the excitement as well, just not as much.

[ahenry]

From what I gather, CBP works POE's (Points of Entry- airports, sea ports,etc.) and doesn't see much "action" in terms of LE work.

I am a BP agent. I’ve never been a CBP officer, but I have interacted with them professionally and I’ll come to their defense here. Like Chewy said, all POE’s are different, some of them never have anything to crazy going on and others have a bit more...excitement. And something else to keep in mind, CBP officers are on the front line when it comes to keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of here. Believe you me. CBP officers have had more than their fair share of impact on the safety of Americans. Nobody seems to think about what kind of impact they’ve had, but speaking for myself here, I’m glad they’re there doing their job.

BTW Foo Man,
Border Patrol work is not like any other law enforcement. No cop in any PD, sheriff, fed LE, or anything else routinely catches big groups by themselves with backup a long way away, works in the boonies, catches as much dope, is hated by almost the entire population in the cities or towns where they live, is as hamstrung by politicians, or (as an agency) is as requested by other countries for advise. Then again, BP doesn’t have to deal with many of the really tough situations that most cops probably consider old hat. My point (other than a shameless plug of BP) is that a cop in NY could compare his job to a cop in LA. I’m sure differences exist, but there are probably far more commonalities than differences. When it comes to the Patrol however, there is nothing to compare it to. Just cause you’re coming to the Patrol and are understandably excited about it, don’t think it’s “better” than any other law enforcement work. BP is unique in it’s job description, but I see way too many PA’s that think they’re just the “shiz-nit” solely because they’re a PA. Ain’t nuthin’ in my job description that says I’m Billy Bad ***. Besides, there’s nothing more humbling than seeing some old man that’s been working concrete his whole life, leave you eating his dust when you try to chase him down.

[Fear&Loathing]

Wow, I guess its time to shut down this thread.

Just kidding, but by all means Chewy, you've given me more information than I've been able to find elsewhere.

Thanks to everyone who's contributed so far - it's greatly appreciated.

[chewy]

Wow, I guess its time to shut down this thread.

Just kidding, but by all means Chewy, you've given me more information than I've been able to find elsewhere.

Thanks to everyone who's contributed so far - it's greatly appreciated.

It's not a bad job. There are other more "exciting" police jobs but there are a whole lot worse jobs to have too... Just be informed before deciding. And, as I stated, don't hesitate to Private Message me with any other questions you have. There are several of us CBP Officers on this site so you should do ok with advise!

[oscarmitre]

Rain check on the rep for you Chewy