Posted on Jul 11, 2015
What is the best degree for future employment with an alphabet group such as DEA/FBI/CIA?
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I've searched through numerous websites trying to narrow down what exactly is best degree to help increase my odds of being picked up by one of the numerous agencies out there. The only answer, I've generally been able to find says the "requirements change constantly so there isn't a specific degree to being working on".
Does anyone have any personal recommendations or just general advice on procuring a career in any of those agencies?
Does anyone have any personal recommendations or just general advice on procuring a career in any of those agencies?
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 46
Well....I'm currently looking for someone and a Master's in Forensic Science would be helpful. It's an agent position specializing in computer forensic analysis. DC Metro area.
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Each agency have different requirement. On a broad scale focus on Law enforcement type of degrees. Criminal Justice, Homeland Security and even Forensic Science.
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If you have a law or accounting degree, you have a much higher opportunity than others.
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Actually the single biggest asset as a veteran seeking employment with CIA/FBI is a security clearance. They will still do their own background investigation and you still need to have skills or experience they are interested in, but having a clearance already is a huge plus.
Upon retirement, I had a job offer from a contractor for a DIA contract, and an offer from FBI. Both offers were based on my experience, more than on my degree in National Security Affairs. State was also interested but I did not apply there. In my observation, people leaving the service tend to land in jobs pretty close to the last active duty job they had. It's your most recent experience, and your freshest professional network of contacts.
Upon retirement, I had a job offer from a contractor for a DIA contract, and an offer from FBI. Both offers were based on my experience, more than on my degree in National Security Affairs. State was also interested but I did not apply there. In my observation, people leaving the service tend to land in jobs pretty close to the last active duty job they had. It's your most recent experience, and your freshest professional network of contacts.
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Well, your military job could have helped, if you'd chosen something lateral to what those agencies do -- even without a degree.
Fun anecdote: I was a CTO when I was in, which means I had an SCI clearance. Being young and dumb, I figured this made me a shoo-in for the CIA, so I wrote them a letter asking about employment. They eventually responded 2 months later that they couldn't discuss employment with me while I was overseas...a response that came a year after I'd returned. I kinda scratched my head at that, heh.
Fun anecdote: I was a CTO when I was in, which means I had an SCI clearance. Being young and dumb, I figured this made me a shoo-in for the CIA, so I wrote them a letter asking about employment. They eventually responded 2 months later that they couldn't discuss employment with me while I was overseas...a response that came a year after I'd returned. I kinda scratched my head at that, heh.
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The first thing you need to decide is what are you interested in and what do you actually want to do. Just chasing whatever pays the most will not lead to a happy and fulfilling life. Once you decide what you actually want to do when you grow up, you can then do the research and determine the educational and experience requirements to actually succeed in that career.
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