Federal Employee

[Lone_Wolf32]

I am currently a student majoring in Public Relations and am in the process for being hired as a non-sworn cadet at a local police department (where I will remain until I graduate with my bachelor's degree). My goal is a federal-level law enforcement job hopefully in, or leading to, investigations.

I have looked into:

Office of the Deputy Inspector General
US Environmental Protection Agency
FBI
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
The Pentagon Force Protection Agency
ATF
USSS
Airforce Civilian Employment
NCIS
and the NSA

I know each of these agencies have varying job entry levels and requirements, and my goal is to go federal as soon as possible after I graduate.

My question is how can I maximize my chances of being hired by one of the above agencies with only having a few years of cadet experience as well as a bachelor's degree? Are there recruiters or other people I should try to contact? Which agencies would be best to focus my attention on?

Regardless, I will apply at local police departments as well as the above agencies so that I can have as large a possibility for employment as possible... as well as for experience.

Any information is GREATLY appreciated!

[DOAcop38]

My question is how can I maximize my chances of being hired by one of the above agencies with only having a few years of cadet experience as well as a bachelor's degree? Are there recruiters or other people I should try to contact? Which agencies would be best to focus my attention on?

Regardless, I will apply at local police departments as well as the above agencies so that I can have as large a possibility for employment as possible... as well as for experience.

Any information is GREATLY appreciated!

If you are going FED-GO FED, if you want local,go local- you are talking about dissimilar law enforcement.The only Fed agencies that do police work similar to their local ( muni ,county,or state) cops are the Park Police,DoD Police-in some areas,FPS police,Capitol Police , and sometimes ,,the Postal and Va police- again,depends on the region they work in. With School, clean driving record,and that cadet experience, you should have no problem joining the BATFE,Secret Service,EPA, or the U.S. Marshals

[GoldBadge]

I am currently a student majoring in Public Relations and am in the process for being hired as a non-sworn cadet at a local police department (where I will remain until I graduate with my bachelor's degree). My goal is a federal-level law enforcement job hopefully in, or leading to, investigations.

I have looked into:

Office of the Deputy Inspector General
US Environmental Protection Agency
FBI
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
The Pentagon Force Protection Agency
ATF
USSS
Airforce Civilian Employment
NCIS
and the NSA

I know each of these agencies have varying job entry levels and requirements, and my goal is to go federal as soon as possible after I graduate.

My question is how can I maximize my chances of being hired by one of the above agencies with only having a few years of cadet experience as well as a bachelor's degree? Are there recruiters or other people I should try to contact? Which agencies would be best to focus my attention on?

Regardless, I will apply at local police departments as well as the above agencies so that I can have as large a possibility for employment as possible... as well as for experience.

Any information is GREATLY appreciated!


Wow, where do I start?

Office of the Deputy Inspector General? Every federal department (Justice, Homeland Security, Treasury, HHS, etc. has an inspector general with special agents serving as criminal investigators).

The NSA is not a law enforcement agency.

I hate to tell you this but a bachelor's and cadet experience alone will not make you a leading candidate for an federal agent job. The FBI hires alot of candidates with law degrees and other agencies look for candidates with master's or a bachelor's with law enforcement experience.

You're going to need to do a lot of research as to what kind of job you want, what type of candidates those agencies are looking for, and then see if you qualify.

There is no quick or easy answer to your questions, you're just going to have to do some research and then come back with more specific questions.

[Lone_Wolf32]

Basically what I lack is experience. So, DOAcop38, if I apply for BATFE,Secret Service,EPA, or the U.S. Marshals would I have a higher chance of being hired for an entrance level (federal) job in law enforcement?

Using the experience I get from that job, would I then be a better candidate for a special agent program?

My end goal is to be a special agent/investigations officer. According to the requirements for most of the special agent programs, they require federal level law enforcement experience in protective service (or investigations). So my real question is... how do I get to that point from graduation? Is DOAcop38's reccommendation best?

Thanks for the replies!

[UCFJAY]

its this easy, 9 months before you graduate college, apply to the federal agencies of your choice, and go from there, i applied to ICE for a special agent, in nov. 2005, i graduated in may 2006 from college and now im done with the first parts, oral board/exam/etc. now im waiting for a TO, but like he said up there, if you want FED, go federal, if you want local , stay local

[SoCalFed]

Basically what I lack is experience. So, DOAcop38, if I apply for BATFE,Secret Service,EPA, or the U.S. Marshals would I have a higher chance of being hired for an entrance level (federal) job in law enforcement?

Using the experience I get from that job, would I then be a better candidate for a special agent program?

My end goal is to be a special agent/investigations officer. According to the requirements for most of the special agent programs, they require federal level law enforcement experience in protective service (or investigations). So my real question is... how do I get to that point from graduation? Is DOAcop38's reccommendation best?

Thanks for the replies!

Some agencies hire more Special Agents with no prior LE experience than others. However with that said, having local LE experience under your belt NEVER hurts. I'm speaking as a former local officer who is now a Special Agent.

So where do you apply? Check out usajobs under series 1811 if you are interested in a Special Agent position. Do your homework, just as local LE positions differ form agency to agency, so do 1811 slots. An 1811 working for the Department of Education OIG (yes, they have gun toting criminal investigators) generally caries a far different caseload from an 1811 with BATFE. Once you have decided what agencies interest you, it wouldn't hurt to send out applications to ALL of the agencies which have openings (usajobs list most, but not al 1811 openings). Some agencies such as BATFE and USSS require that you pass a standardized test (TEA), while others rely on the KSA's (knowledge, skills, and abilities) you write up.

What chance do you have of getting picked up as a college grad with no experience? You have zero chance if you don't apply, however the more openings you apply for, the greater your odds. As a note of encouragement, I have met recent college grads in nearly every agency working as 1811's.

Good luck!

[ParkLE]

The US National Park Service has a lot of LE Rangers, they are though jobs to get but you seem to have time. Like the other guys said you will have a hard time finding a "patrol" job with the feds. Land Management agencies like NPS, BLM Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife are really it aside from DoD. Unless you are a Vet you will have a better chance of getting hit by a bus full of topless nuns then getting a job as a US Marshall right now. Land Management LE jobs are not impossible but they are pretty hard to get into right off the street.

[Lone_Wolf32]

Thanks for all the information, and the motivation for that matter! Several of the agencies also have summer internships for college students who are in their junior or senior years, so I can apply to those as well to further my chances.

Thank you again for the help and if I have any other questions I know where to go!