State Department DSS

[BP348]

Originally Posted by Switchback

I think it could be acool gig for a while, but would likely tire of it.

Reminds me of a USSS agent I was recently talking with. He was telling me how much he liked the investigation side of USSS but every 4 years everything is put on hold and you spend 10+ months of the year traveling.

I know many of the 20 -somethings think that would be great but all the 40-somethings here know what a pain in the a$$ that would be.

[MyOwnNemesis]

Looking at life as a DSS agent, I think that it would be great if one was single. I worked in hardship locations in the Army and as contracted security operator for almost 13 years. No matter how strong the bond is with your spouse it will be broken, you will grow apart, your dreams will change, you will become strangers...She will spend all of your money...oops, I'm sure that was only my ex that did that!

Anyway, I think that anyone interested gets the drift. I look back at all of the things I missed with my kids while I was in some under developed stinkhole of a country, saw a lot of guys drown themselves in booze and women, and of course those that just went Col. Kurtz...way off the farm, lot of my buddies are still in Central America. BTW, if you ever get in trouble down south, just get a cabbie to take you to ANY bar that has a name like "Macs/Buds/Smurfs" "American Bar and Grill", there is at least one in every C. American country, owned and operated by a retired SF MSG/SGM that went a little loco and decided he found paradise.

Cheers

[haobo]

Originally Posted by schoromanski

MyOwnNemesis

I know some agencies pull applicants from right out of college without any prior law enforcement/military experience... Saw on the requirements that a degree is required "at the time of appointment" so I think that means upon graduation. Would you happen to know if DSS is like that at all?

Steve

Hey schoromanski:

I believe that you have to have your 4-year degree by the time you get the FOE (final offer of employment); in other words, before you actually start training. As this entire application process can take up to a year, you can start applying a little before you actually graduate.

Great posts and information from everyone here; I really appreciate it! I know that being a DSS SA will not be an easy task, especially the strain it puts on a family-all the moving around, constant traveling, living abroad for 75% of my career, often in hardship locations, the danger involved, etc. I have explained everything to my wife, and luckily she is very supportive of my dream, at least for now. Hopefully everything will work out and we will still be able to continue our happy marriage and eventually raise kids. No matter what it will be challenging in that respect!
My wife currently has a job that would allow her to keep working no matter where she is, so that's one good thing.
We are both very adventurous spirits. I have already had the opportunity to travel to many places in the world, and even live in a couple of foreign countries, and I have always moved around. We both don't like to be static in just one single place. I'm sure that will change as we get a little bit older, but we are still young enough to be able to welcome the challenge and adventure of living in other countries.
No matter what this is definately my dream, and I would be extremely excited if I really can get the FOE soon. That being said, if my wife didn't support me, then I would have second thoughts. I am truly lucky to have a supportive wife!

Good luck to everyone!

[DSS-137]

Just dropped by to check the forums and found this one sitting there! There are a number of things that I noticed while reading through and I'll try to address whatever I can...

• Hard on families

  My opinion here is that if you have children prior to joining DS, then your spouse and kids should ALL be excited about life abroad or you're in for a number of additional challenges. The normal challenges of life abroad can stress a relationship between you and your spouse on their own, so bringing unwilling children into the equation is going to add stress on all facets of life abroad. The same challenges that ruin marriages within DS can strengthen others. (I could go on and on about this...)

• Good for a single guy/gal

  If that single guy/gal is open to travel abroad, then this could be the best job in the world.

• Hired out of school

  The old rule (Probably still valid though) with regard to applying for DS, was that you had to be within 9 months of your graduation date when you started the application process. This opens the door for a number of applicants... however, the knowledge, skills, and abilities of those applicants will be brought to the front of process during the BEX. DS looks to a wide variety of people to fulfill its mission, and won't limit its applicants to prior LE/Military types... That being said, there are a number of hurdles during the application process that draw on some LE/Military trains of thought. If a 22 year-old with limited experience can see the hurdle (Question ;)) developing and handle it accordingly, then DS may want those folks as agents. At the same time, DS hires 37 year-olds with loads of LE/Military experience as well. Bottom line: If you meet the minimum requirements on the DS job announcement and you want the job, then apply and focus on what YOU bring to the table. Don't worry what others bring, just be confident that in the end you'll be surrounded by people from all walks of life.

• "Real LE work" (Switchback, we're on the same page, no worries!)

  DS has its hands in a few different cookie jars. We do protection, we serve abroad, and we conduct investigations. Because we're a relatively small outfit spread across the world, we find ourselves short-handed on a daily basis. That is good and bad at the same time. Bad because you can quickly get yanked off of an investigation so that you can go work some 6 hour protective detail. Good because you can quickly get yanked off of an investi.... you get the idea. The job is ALWAYS changing and we are usually asked to be flexible and serve as a jack of all trades (Master of none). If you love the investigations work, then pursue field office assignments. If it's protection, then volunteer for details and do an assignment on the Secretary's Detail. If it's serving abroad, then take an assignment overseas that others aren't jumping at... You can steer your career in a certain direction and be pretty successful at limiting the interruptions the further you get with DS.

• Differences between DS and other FLE jobs

  DS is small and we travel a lot. If you aren't excited about all 3 of our main missions (Investigations, protection, working abroad), then I wouldn't even think about applying.

I lost my train of thought a number of times during this, so please bear with me for the stream of consciousness writing.

Let me know if you have any questions... I'll be sure to ask someone else that knows the answers :D...

[haobo]

DSS-137,

Excellent post!
Now I am even more motivated about this position! Thanks again for your first-hand experience and input.

May I ask, how long have you been an agent? Do you personally like it? In your own opinion, what is the worst part of the job? What is the best part?

[DSS-137]

haobo,
I've been an agent for about 4 years now. The job has been a lot of fun from day one and I wouldn't trade it for any other job.

Worst part of the job... I guess I'd have to say that because we're a relatively new agency, we seem to be struggling to grow. A lot of people don't understand the job prior to joining and then they end up leaving somewhere in their 3-8 year window. While that is typical of most jobs, I think the numbers that we lose are frequently equal to, if not greater than, the numbers of agents that we hire. (That being said, I think we have done a better job in the past year or two with our hiring.)

You might have expected me to say that one facet of the job, investigations, protection, or overseas work was the worst part... but I think that we get enough variety to keep any one part from being bad enough to be considered "the worst part".

The best part of the job... The quality of some of the agents. Sure we have knuckle-heads, but we also have people that are top-notch. Because of the wide variety of agents that we get, there are folks with a broad spectrum of skill-sets and getting to contribute your own bits of knowledge and expertise is one of the more rewarding things one can do at work.

Pretty vague, but that's my $.02

[haobo]

I was granted my clearance on Friday, and now my file is in HR for the Final Suitability Review. Has anyone ever heard of someone not getting an FOE at this point in the process for DSS?

[MyOwnNemesis]

Haobo - congrats, best of luck!

[haobo]

Thanks! I'm very excited to have made it this far, and now that I'm at the last step, I'm hoping to get the final good news next week.

Good luck everyone!

[haobo]

I am done with FRB and officially on the "list." I'm ranked pretty high, so HR told me I should be able to get the October training class invite. Anybody here have any idea when Oct. offers will start going out? Anyone here also waiting for an Oct. offer?

[haobo]

I received the FOE for the October class today. I'm so excited!
Thanks for everyone's posts here!

[Nole795]

Congrats,

Send me a shirt from the Congo's when you get stationed...:D

Good luck in your new career.

[haobo]

Thanks Nole! I'll also be sure to get you a cool hat from Yemen!

Originally Posted by Nole795

Congrats,

Send me a shirt from the Congo's when you get stationed...:D

Good luck in your new career.