Noob Question!

[futuredetective]

Hey Guys.. I know my user name says futuredetective but pay that no mind.

I'm a freshman undergraduate in college going for my MD in CJ; Could you guys possibly help me out by answering a few questions.

I want to become a Postal Inspector and need a few questions answered so If you are a Postal Inspector or know a lot about the agency could you please offer me some info?

Would it be better for me to get my BD or MD in CJ?
Would I need any previous experience? (Police Officer or a Post Office Worker)
Should I learn another language and if so what language?
Do they have any internship programs or at least something that would help me get a good feel of what being a Postal Inspector agent is like?
What is their hiring process like?
When I graduate from college should I go right ahead and apply?

Oh and guys can you tell me some other Right From College Federal Agent Jobs are there?

[Creeker]

...Would it be better for me to get my BD or MD in CJ?...

My suggestion would be to get any other degree than a CJ degree, since you may find that LE isn't as interesting as TV shows make it out to be and then you will find your CJ degree useless in attempting to break into... say, Business Management. It is also useless after any mandatory retirement when you may want to begin a second career. But nothing else interests you, you say? Fine, but don't claim that no one warned you about the realities of life.

...Would I need any previous experience? (Police Officer or a Post Office Worker)...

My wife is a Postal Employee, and I know that there have been occassions in the past that openings for the job have been posted for eligible employees to move into Inspector jobs, but with the USPS cut backs and offers of early retirements to employees, I doubt they will be doing much hiring for more than Temps as clerks or carriers in the future. I don't know how that will interpret to the PI's.

...Should I learn another language and if so what language?
...

Yes you should, and from the way things look, there will always be a need for Farsi... :rolleyes:

[Joeyd6]

Better do some homework. Lots of activity going on right now with USPIS such as take home cars removed from many, budget has been reduces, and the crime lab and employees have all be taken over by POstal OIG. Additionally, OIG is taking any USPIS who wants to voluntarily roll over right now. Might be another hostile take over like the whole Customs/ICE/Legacy Customs thing soon.

[explcdt8]

What's going on with Customs?

[Kimble]

Oh and guys can you tell me some other Right From College Federal Agent Jobs are there?

If you're expecting to become a federal agent straight out of college, you'll probably be in for a rude awakening when it doesn't happen. Read this (this applies to Postal Inspectors, as well as other federal agent positions): http://forums.realpolice.net/showthread.php?t=82267

[Big Sexy]

What's going on with Customs?

Nothing, we're still chugging along. Joey is referring to the merger 5 1/2 years ago.

[Piggy]

I was under the impression the postal inspectors were a dying breed and were being replaced with OIG. Is that not happening?

[Kimble]

I was under the impression the postal inspectors were a dying breed and were being replaced with OIG. Is that not happening?

It's been speculated, but far from anything final. USPIS is still very much an active agency involved in postal-related cases (at least they were as of last week when I got a residence mail listing for a warrant).

[futuredetective]

My suggestion would be to get any other degree than a CJ degree, since you may find that LE isn't as interesting as TV shows make it out to be and then you will find your CJ degree useless in attempting to break into... say, Business Management. It is also useless after any mandatory retirement when you may want to begin a second career. But nothing else interests you, you say? Fine, but don't claim that no one warned you about the realities of life.



My wife is a Postal Employee, and I know that there have been occassions in the past that openings for the job have been posted for eligible employees to move into Inspector jobs, but with the USPS cut backs and offers of early retirements to employees, I doubt they will be doing much hiring for more than Temps as clerks or carriers in the future. I don't know how that will interpret to the PI's.




Yes you should, and from the way things look, there will always be a need for Farsi... :rolleyes:

Thank you, so maybe Criminal Justice and Law? Oh, I didn't say nothing else interests me but this was just a top priority.

Farsi, Spanish, and Mandarin are good languages right?

[futuredetective]

If you're expecting to become a federal agent straight out of college, you'll probably be in for a rude awakening when it doesn't happen. Read this (this applies to Postal Inspectors, as well as other federal agent positions):

I know a couple of people from another forum that said they were hired right out of college at a Federal Agency. I don't know if they are completely lying or if they are telling the truth, they don't have to be verified like they do here.

[Kimble]

I know a couple of people from another forum that said they were hired right out of college at a Federal Agency. I don't know if they are completely lying or if they are telling the truth, they don't have to be verified like they do here.

You have to realize, though, that just because some people get hired by a federal agency right out of college, it's by no means an illustration that it happens to everyone. Far more federal agents I've met had a career before they became an agent. Out of a class of about 50 new agents in my training class at FLETC, one (1) was straight out of college (and it helped that she was a former intern and her dad was a retired agent with the agency).

By no means am I saying you shouldn't apply and give it your best shot. Just be sure you come up with a back-up plan on how you'll pay the bills (and possibly gain some relevant experience) if the Postal Inspectors aren't mailing you your job offer the day after you graduate from grad school. ;)

[Maverick24]

ROS speaks the truth, although there are of course exceptions to the rule. The vast majority of hires have some kind of career before entering federal law enforcement. We arent saying its not possible though, and I certainly encourage you to apply to anything that interests you. Just dont put all your eggs in the federal basket and ignore other opportunites out there that might help you reach that goal down the line if it dosent work out right away. For most (as myself, ROS, and many others can attest) the application hunt usally takes years and a pile of thin letters before you finally hit the mark.

Also I think CJ is a fine degree (I have both my BS and MS in CJ). Just make sure you are 100% committed to a career in the field Criminal Justice, because if you decide its not for you (like a previous poster stated) It wont help much in other areas. Plus most agencies dont have specific degree requirements.

As far as language goes taking classes dosent hurt, but understand you have to demonstrate real profeciency in that language (usally with a test) for it to mean anything. It can take years to get to that point especially for some of the middle eastern languages. If you really want to though, spanish certainly never hurts IMHO.

[futuredetective]

I guess I'm getting false information..But thanks ROS, Maverick & everybody else. I CANNOT argue with you because you guys know a lot more then I do.

But can one of you or both of you answer another question?

What about the NCIS? I heard they hire a lot of civilians out of college more then they hire anybody else.

If not what are some jobs that doesn't involve being a Police Officer (not that I have ANYTHING against them) to gain experience in?

[Kimble]

What about the NCIS? I heard they hire a lot of civilians out of college more then they hire anybody else.

Speaking from personal experience, I call the bullsh*t flag on that play. I'm not sure where you're getting your info, but at best it's flawed. I believe you're also getting information from officer(dot)com under the username detective42: http://forums.officer.com/showthread...70#post1410170. The info posted there seems accurate, and nothing in that thread would suggest to you that "civilians out of college" get hired in droves by NCIS.

If you did an internship with NCIS, you have a shot at getting hired without work experience, but we didn't have any like this in my basic class. Everyone there had either previous military, law enforcement (most had criminal investigations experience) or some other professional full-time job before coming aboard NCIS.

If not what are some jobs that doesn't involve being a Police Officer (not that I have ANYTHING against them) to gain experience in?

Well, there are many options available: military (though I suspect if you're not interested in being a police officer, the military doesn't appeal to you too), corporate fraud investigations, business management, regulatory investigations, etc. Out of people in my agency I've met who weren't former cops or military, we have also hired a former scientist, a former crime lab technician, a former chief probation officer, a former parole officer, former high school teacher, and a college grant writer.

[gma21]

A futuredetective who doesn't want to become a cop? Are you kidding me?

I think ROS was pretty straight forward, but I don't think you understand yet. 99% of of individuals applying directly from college will not get hired!

Those of the slim minority that does get lucky enough to get a 1811 spot out of college typically would have some other skill to replace their lack of work experience. Those skills range from foreign languages (it takes years and dedication to become fluent, don't think you can just take a few classes. To gain the level of fluency required), advanced computer skills (probably at an expert/savvant (sp?) level), or hard science (chemistry and biology).

Ask yourself, what would you bring to an agency? A CJ Degree, I'm sorry but CJ Degrees are a dime a dozen these days. It will fullfill the degree requirement, but it will not make you stand out or impress anyone.

What you need is work experience. While some other avenues are available, Law Enforcement (yes, being a cop) is the most direct. Gaining experience in handling evidence, interviewing witnessing, building a case, testifying in court, acquiring advanced training, and being a part of specialized units/task forces is realy what you need.

Of course, having a Law Degree would help (not CJ and Law, I mean a JD). Accounting experience is good for several agencies, I guess that might be the best alternative to LE, unless you are the science type and can excel in chemistry/biology.