DEA questions.

[TEEGRAY1124]

First i wanna say this my first time posting, but i have been in here quite a few times.
Are there any DEA agents in here? I am graduating from college in December and i want to know you guys input about joining the DEA or some FLE. I really dont want to go local. I figured if i applied when i get out of school and dont get hired with the CJ degree i can go back to school and get a masters in acct, finance or cs. Are ther any suggestions from DEA agents on how to go about this, i am very interested, I am 23 turning 24 in dec.

[manstown]

First i wanna say this my first time posting, but i have been in here quite a few times.
Are there any DEA agents in here? I am graduating from college in December and i want to know you guys input about joining the DEA or some FLE. I really dont want to go local. I figured if i applied when i get out of school and dont get hired with the CJ degree i can go back to school and get a masters in acct, finance or cs. Are ther any suggestions from DEA agents on how to go about this, i am very interested, I am 23 turning 24 in dec.

Let me first say it will be hard for you to get hired right out of college by any LE agency, local or Federal, especially an Agency like the DEA that has such a big applicant pool of people with education and experience. I would suggest thinking about going local and getting the experience. If you decide against that your Masters is a great idea as well.

Now don't think I'm saying you wouldn't get hired with just your degree, but it is going to be quite a tough feat. Anyway, Good Luck!!!

[Group 29]

1. The average hiring time is running from about a year and a half to two and a half years to get on with DEA from first application to being sworn in.
2. DEA does hire a very small percentage of new agents directly from college.
3. DEA does hire a small percentage of persons from other than law enforcement career fields.
4. The vast majority of DEA agent hires are of people with state and local department experience and/or military experience.

But, it doesn't hurt anything to try and apply. Just don't get discouraged if you are rejected, just go out and get some experience. :)

[cspy26]

A friend of mine is a newly hired Special Agent for the DEA here in Los Angeles. He has a degree in Accounting (were seeking accounting grads) and had over 9 yrs of professional experience in the private sector prior to getting picked up (not that he attempted to apply sooner though). He should be earning over $100K after 5 yrs of service with an average of 10k raise a year or so. He works monday through friday day shift, which i never understood b/c you would think drug dealers are busy nights and weeknds. He gets a take home car and doesnt pay for gas either. However he does a TON of surveillance and they do their own raids/warrants. Most of HIS academy recruits were ex-city cops or FLEO transfers in thier upper 20's to early 30's.

[Big Texan]

Just remember not to say you are the only person in the room professional enough to carry that gun.

[Arkansas Red]

Just remember not to say you are the only person in the room professional enough to carry that gun.

Or be able to dress self inflicted gunshot wounds. :D

[Big Texan]

Or be able to dress self inflicted gunshot wounds. :D

If you do give yourself a gun shot wound, do not immediately ask for an AR-15; a fourth grader might put you in your place.

[Arkansas Red]

And just thank with the way schools are these days the kids probably have better accuracy than most LEO's.

[Group 29]

A friend of mine is a newly hired Special Agent for the DEA here in Los Angeles. He has a degree in Accounting (were seeking accounting grads) and had over 9 yrs of professional experience in the private sector prior to getting picked up (not that he attempted to apply sooner though). He should be earning over $100K after 5 yrs of service with an average of 10k raise a year or so. He works monday through friday day shift, which i never understood b/c you would think drug dealers are busy nights and weeknds. He gets a take home car and doesnt pay for gas either. However he does a TON of surveillance and they do their own raids/warrants. Most of HIS academy recruits were ex-city cops or FLEO transfers in thier upper 20's to early 30's.

Unless you are working street dealers, you really don't have to spend a ton of time working at nights unless there is a specific reason. You would be surprised how many of the larger drug dealers work banker's hours as well, including shutting down for Christmas and vacations. And, it has been years since many of them were even in the same house as any drugs. A ballpoint pen will put more of them in jail than an M-4 ever will.

Occassionaly, you get a vampire though, and it can really screw up your life trying to operate when he does. And, it is hard to generalize too much, as one office may be working entirely different levels of cases and violators as the next one. The job is not going to be the same in New York, as it is in Miami, or Laredo, or Bogota, or Paris. Some offices do a lot of street work, and some don't do much at all. Some offices do a lot of wiretaps, and some never do them. Some offices kick a lot of doors, and some almost never do. The same as with different police departments and with different assignments in police departments.

But, that is one of the advantages to being able to work all over the country, and in fact, the world. There is pretty much something, somewhere, to make anyone who likes doing narcotics enforcement happy. But, Miami Vice it ain't. Barney Miller is much closer. :)