CIA Careers...

[zxcvbnm]

I realize it's not a LE agency, but this seems like the most appropriate place to discuss.

Anyone looked into/applied for any careers with the CIA?

I'm interested in about a handful of positions that they offer, specifically the Collection Management Officer.

Anyways, I'm getting ready to submit my application and I just wanted to discuss anyone else's experiences and see if anyone had any advice...

[Lawson]

I applied to be a forklift driver for the CIA, but was denied due to lack of experience or something.

[zxcvbnm]

I applied to be a forklift driver for the CIA, but was denied due to lack of experience or something.

Pretty competitive I hear.

[zxcvbnm]

And if anyone has any good forums discussing CIA employment( I know right ), please let me know.

I got the vault one already.

[Group9]

They take applications like any other agency, but most of the people I know who work there were recruited by someone in one form or fashion and asked to apply.

[bigmanallen]

You must have experience as a forklift driver lifting crates of black markers suitable for classified redaction. And Classified-style markers at that.

[roc311]

Hey Group, I'm curious about the statement you made about people being recruited that you knew. Where they college kids who were real book smart or people in the workforce who for whatever reason (background, work experience, language abilities, etc) got the call up. Thanks

[Group9]

Hey Group, I'm curious about the statement you made about people being recruited that you knew. Where they college kids who were real book smart or people in the workforce who for whatever reason (background, work experience, language abilities, etc) got the call up. Thanks

Mostly people recruited from the military or other government agencies, although I do know one guy who was recruited cold from school, but he was a real live, walking around, genius (and he went to work in one of their analytical units, not as some super secret spy).

If you really think you would be interested in working there, go to their web site and look around and/or file an application. You have nothing to lose.

[FPS207]

Hey Group, I'm curious about the statement you made about people being recruited that you knew. Where they college kids who were real book smart or people in the workforce who for whatever reason (background, work experience, language abilities, etc) got the call up. Thanks

Another aspect of the CIA is what type of job you are looking for. A guy who worked with me as a county police officer got a job with their uniformed police division. Though people have a grand idea of federal law enforcement, I know most are usually disappointed with the work aspect, as compared to local law enforcement.

[Switchback]

Yup. The bulk of federal police jobs are more security-oriented.
Do your research.

[106A]

As was previously stated, CIA has a ton of different jobs, from intel collectors and policy makers down to people who clean the offices. If you have more specific questions, especially about intel collecting positions, I'd be glad to help without violation of opsec...by the way, I don't, nor have I ever, worked for CIA.

[Valor55]

I worked in Fairfax County as a cop. There were a lot of CIA facilities outside the obvious Langley. They had lots of office buildings all over. The CIA police officers were always out and about. They had a bunch at each site manning gates and doors and then mobile patrol officers too. They had fantastic training and amazing equipment. But they were essentially asset protection: security. I met and spoke to a lot of their officers out there and they were all great guys. There was a lot of turn over because they were using it as a stepping stone into other federal law enforcement jobs. A lot of them disappeared during the first big hiring push by Air Marshals after 9-11.

I also knew a guy who was on the protection detail for the Director of Central Intelligence. He enjoyed that job but it was all protection. He had some funny stories. On a protection detail in DC he was standing on a street corner and some thug tried to mug him with a knife. The thug had several sub machine guns in his face.

In my first job after college I met someone who was recruited by the CIA when she was getting done with college. From talking to other CIA officers (they aren't agents, agents are the people turned who work for the CIA) she got the impression it was not like the movies. As an officer you are a small cog in a big machine. Your job is to pick up a drop and take it somewhere else. You don't have the big picture information like James Bond. She eventually opted not to take the job.

There are lots or interesting careers with the CIA but not much in the way of actual law enforcement. Be prepared to travel out of the country, live abroad, and not be able to explain to your loved ones what you do. One of the officers my friend met said none of her friends knew what she did for a living. They thought she worked in an office downtown. When you called the phone number on her business card it was automatically routed to her CIA office. One day her roomates showed up at the front desk in the lobby of the building where she supposedly worked to take her out for a surprise birthday lunch. When the lobby called her extension it rang in her real office across town and she had to race across the city in a cab and come in through the back door. None of them knew her real name or real history.

If the protection aspect appeals to you I would recommend the State Department's DSS. They do protection details but they also travel the world. They are in charge of the security at embassies etc. High speed training and great guys. I also met a lot of them up in Fairfax. When Colin Powell was being confirmed for Secretary of State he lived in Fairfax and we were always running into his detail out and about at night. Great folks.

Good luck!

[Group9]

They even have truck drivers.

I had to investigate an accident where two of our agents crashed into a CIA 18 wheeler (the accident tore the rear end off of their G-car, and guns, bullet proof vests, and fake car tags were scattered all up and down the highway.

The police on the scene kept asking me and the CIA safety officer who showed up if it was some kind of operation going on because our vehicle and the CIA truck were, of course, both registered in fake names. When I went to pick up the police reports a week later, they asked me again. I told them it was just a coincidence (which it really was), and their response was, "So you guys are all sticking to that story." :D