Getting in....?

[JUS-10]

Curious,

I am a college senior seriously looking into a career in Law Enforcement. My main goal is to get into Federal Law Enforcement (ex. ATF, USMS, DEA, or other). I know that this is not an easy path, but I am willing to take a chance.

My question is: Would joining a State Police first for 5-7 years give me a better shot at a job in the Federal market?

Let me know what you all think.

justin

[abirtz]

yes, the state level would deffinatly help first, but not even neccarsarilly with the state police.  Either that or an upper level degree.  Unless your graduating with an international affairs degree and speek arabic or some other extreemly helpful language.  If thats the case, APPLY NOW and you should have no problem.. Hope this helps.

[Switchback]

For the FBI, degrees in foreign languages (middle eastern in particular), world affairs, hard sciences, and engineering are in great demand.

For the other federal agencies, the bachelors is most important. Packing on some experience will only help you. I don't see a state police job being any more helpful/valuable than local or county. As long as you are in enforcement (not corrections), making arrests and doing investigations is going to give you the experience that you need.

Good Luck.

[Mac]

If you have a college degree, graduated with a 3.7 GPA or better, INS Inspections will snap you up in a heartbeat. Start out as a GS-5 and once done with the Academy, automatic advance to GS-7. Or if you are prior military, Inspections will hire you under the VRA program. The field is wide open and there is massive hiring going on. Border Patrol is also in a hiring frenzy as is US Customs. Check them out under usajobs.com for hiring requirements. Once you are hired as Inspector for Customs or INS or as a Border Patrol Agent, you can pretty much write your own ticket within the Federal Law Enforcement community.

Mac

[Island_Girl]

Please double check on that last comment Mac....I hear quite a bit of scoop (unwantingly) from friends in other agencies. The restrictions have changed since the increase in hiring. What has seemed to happen is that there's been an influx of people joining so that they can get their foot in the door, just so in a year they can cross-over to another agency. This is more difficult with the new Air Marshall positions and also with the Border Patrol and INS. They need these guys in those positions so the stipulations for them are quite different than they used to be prior to 9/11. Does anyone know more about this?

As for you Jus10, I think you are at a good start already. College is always a plus, but no federal agency will hire you unless you have some experience on the street. Don't be surprised if you find it difficult to get into the system. It took my husband almost 2 years and I was told that was a short time. He had all sorts of LE specialist training in the military, antiterrorism, secret clearance, yadayadayada....but they wanted him to be in a civilian outfit for a little while to get that type of experience I guess. And you know what, we only knew that because a friend of ours told us that everything in his package would get him in but they probably wouldn't pick him up since he had no civilian LE experience. So, he got on with a city unit and had to sign a two year contract. Surpise!!! He was picked up by the feds almost to the day the contract was complete. Amazing!! But...it came with hard work. During the two years, we continued to put in our paperwork and kept pluggin' away. Also, be an aggressive person. Be the "GO TO" person who is willing to better your department. Batman started a SWAT team for his little PD in Smalltown USA, complete with FLETC certification. How do you think that would look on your federal application? And right now, he's working on a K-9 Program for his current position. That'll be the only thing he doesn't have on his resume .....K-9. He'll be taking the course at FLETC this year. He's always worked hard, put in extra hours, and kept trying to raise the bar on his goals. I think he's had a great career, but he's never become complacent and I think that's key. Good luck with whatever you decide, but also....let us know what you went to school for. Take care.

[Mac]

They have a outstanding scholar program as well as the VRA and multicultural bilingual program. They are still running those as far as I know. Some do just to get their foot in the door but the hiring requirements differ from branch to branch.

Mac

[JUS-10]

Thanks Island Girl for the great info. I have just taken the first step and have put in an applicaiton to the Virginia State Police. They are a full service force, so I will have many opportunities for advancement and training.

I am planning on staying in it (if i do get in that is) for at least 6-10 years and then going for a federal position. I may try sooner, but I wanted to put my time in for the state and get as much experience as possible.

To answer your question, I came to Virginia Tech for engineering, but I will end up with a B.S. in Technology Education and a minor in Leadership.

Justin

[Island_Girl]

Just one correction....Batman is not going to FLETC for K-9. Bad wife!!! Bad bad wife....for getting the wrong info. Sorry about that. I should've known, I don't even think FLETC has a K-9 course that I recall. Do they SWAT1? I figured you would know since you are there.

One other thing....I don't really think this includes you because you seem to have a great headstart and a good head on your shoulders Justin, but in some cases it is easier to get on with city than it is to get on with a state. Just food for thought.

[Switchback]

Just a little more on what Island_girl said. It is not entirely accurate to say no federal agenciy willnot hire you without experience.



It happens all the time in agencies across the board. Even the FBI will hire you without experience... they want work experience, not LE. LE experience is great, but it's not a whole lot better than any other work experience in most agencies. A job making arrests will help... icing on the cake, if you will.

I'd say that military experience with any MOS will also give you a lot of bang for the buck.

I'm not talking out of my arse, either. I had a degree with ROTC (and a couple MOSes while enlisted in the reserves prior to ROTC). I worked for a little over a year (in a non related field) and was hired by the USMS as an 1811. They were the first only LE agency I applied to.

It can happen. Get a job you like... LE or not. Apply to the feds and keep them on the backburner. It's a long process and you need to continue with your life as if you have nothing going with the feds. Work hard, keep your nose clean and hope for a little luck and timing. You'll be there in no time.

I know if I had lisened to half the people giving me "advice" on a career in LE I would not be where I am today.

[Island_Girl]

I don't think many people realize this, but military experience is very comparible to LE experience because you are trained with a weapon and trained in defense. You will find that some agencies will even give you the option to buy back that time and you can use it to retire early. So, wouldn't you say that was experience Switchback? Not to mention that you had a degree with ROTC.

[Switchback]

Well, my military was completely reserve. Hence, no VA points nor do I qualify to buy back my time. I think my experience lends itself more to an abilty to function as a team, conform to the rules, the ability to lead as well as be a good follower, etc.

A monkey can be tought to fire a weapon. The more subtle lessons are the ones that carry the most weight.

I do believe my reserve expereince helped. Then again so did my volunteer experience. Why limit yourself and don't think you'll miss out without a specific experience. I do know severl guys in the USMS (1811s) and ATF without any military OR LE.

[tommygenewoolworth]

Well ladies and gentleman, after a long spell away to foreign lands (outisde the REZ) I am back.

JUS-10: To provide you some insight into your question, Many of the Federal Agencies are looking for a person of your caliber. Those agencies certinally would like a person with some LE experience, but remember FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT is specialized, not like STATE and LOCAL LE.

With a college education, many agencies will consider your personal background and how well you wrote your KSA's (knowledge, skills and abilities) for consideration.

Those of us who have attended FLETC, Many of the agencies have specific add on programs after CI or a Mixed Basic program.

There is a recuritment shortage all across the Federal Government, especially in LE. Agencies will not lower standards to hire, but may consider applicants with a good education and background.

Hope this helps. If you are considering applying with an agency, I would recommend you contact the recuritment officer with that agency and ask your questions. The recuritment officers should be helpful in guiding you. If nothing else write back and we can help further.

tomahawk134

[Island_Girl]

I'm curious to know the inexperience your friends had before getting on with USMS. By the way, I'm not familiar with an 1811. Can you tell me more about that position? Also, how long ago was this? I'm especially interested in the ATF position that was acquired and what the job title entailed. Gosh, not having any experience to get a job.....sounds great to me. Sorry about the sarcasm...just sounds far fetched to me. So, I would love to hear you dispell this myth about having to have experience. Thanks.

[Switchback]

An 1811 is a federal criminal investigator.

I've been on 7 years and all the guys I reference have come on between 3-10 years ago.

The most recent were coops. Fresh out of college without any experience or military. FYI, the coop program is often regarded as a minority/female recruitment tool.

Others have had a variety of degrees (BS) without LE or military... a couple in my academy class, in fact.

The ATF guy I know seems to be more of an anomoly, but he's still got the 1811 job! Most of the ATF guys have either LE or military... and moreso recently degrees. It was not required until recently.

I'm not putting this info on the table to have someone who, obviously, is not the most informed person to sarcastic and conteptuous. Rather, I bring up these points, because one should pursue degrees/jobs they like and work the FLEO angle on the side. Don't go for JUST the FLEO and then have nothing if it falls through. These insances are not the norm, but they do occur.

[JUS-10]

Hey all,

I appreciate all your posts. ANY information is good information for my at this point in the game.

Most agencies I have looked at require some type of work experience. So, the way i see it is that after graduation I need to get a job doing something, why not get into the type of work I want to do ASAP. The state level at Virginia is perfect for me. Location wise is very benificial and they do offer many training opportunities and specialization after 2 years on the job.

I do know that it wont be easy to get on even the state level. I am also looking into City and County police positions.

All of this may, or may not get me into the Federal Agency of my choice. But, I just may have a have a fulfilling career in Law Enforcement anyway. If your going to do something, shoot for the best, but dont pass other great opportunities at the same time. ANY way there is my 2 cents worth.

Thanks again

Jus-10