How to get a job with the FBI/CIA/etc?

Career Opportunities & Internships
1

I’m a sophomore at a top 10 school in the US and I’m interested in working for a US intelligence agency like the FBI or the CIA but I have no idea what that career path looks like. I’ve done some preliminary googling but so far I haven’t been able to find anything all that helpful, does anyone here know what kind of stuff I should be doing to make myself a more competitive applicant?

I have taken Chinese for 8 years (though I’ve read that native speakers fail to pass the FBI fluency test so I’d definitely need to bulk up a little in order to be considered useful) and Arabic for 3. I’m doing well academically (as an IR major if that matters) and I’m a marathon runner so im definitely in good physical shape. What else can I do to prepare myself for work in intelligence? I know the FBI doesn’t hire straight out of college- what type of job could i take those first few years to help me to become a more competitive applicant down the road? Would it be useful/productive for me to join the military, even if i did not do ROTC in college?

I’m a white girl from a small town outside philly. my dad’s a dentist and my mom’s a librarian. I’m smart, athletic and hardworking. I want to serve my country but I have no interest in politics. Is this the right direction for me? Will these types of agencies even take me seriously? What can I do to try to make my dreams a reality?

2

I hope this is not too all over the place to be of value to you:

What kind of job in the IC do you want? I know you said you did a little research… which career paths were you looking at? computer forensics? special agent? NCS? analyst (there are tons of types of analysts)? program manager? engineer? computer science?

These places hire from literally almost every educational background you can think of. And it is super hard to get in the door. People will absolutely take you seriously, but there are TONS of applicants for each job, and the budget situation is not on your side right now. It takes most people multiple tries to get into the IC.

As a baseline, you should keep working on your languages and you should probably study abroad somewhere that you can work on one of your languages. Have you looked into the Boren program? Look into it. https://www.borenawards.org/boren_scholarship (there is also one for grad students)

Most importantly, you should be applying to every single government internship related to intelligence that you can find. Consider branching out further into national security / international relations related stuff. I’m sure you could get an internship SOMEWHERE that deals with this, because there are tons of think tanks.

Can you do summer abroad this year? Do it. If not, start hitting up the think tanks.

In the fall (August/September/October… October might even be on the late side) you should apply everywhere in the IC that you can. All of these internships have cut offs in the fall for the following summer. Start researching them now and make a list. Look at the dates for last year. State has open internships now but they are for the fall.

Have you looked here: http://www.intelligence.gov/mission/member-agencies.html Almost all (if not all) of these places have internships. Apply to all of them that are even remotely interesting. Once you get in you can move around relatively easily, but you have to get in first.

Are you interested in the policy side at all? Those are also super hard to get and my impression is they hire most of their entry level people through the Pathways program out of grad school. You can find policy stuff in DHS, State, DOD and some other places as well.

Right now, you should consider any IR/national security experience to be a plus on your resume. You should also consider anything that gets you a clearances a plus. If you can get an SCI clearance, that’s your golden ticket.

The military is almost always a good option for people interested in the IC, ideally with a job related to intel. With a bachelors, you can either enlist or go to officer school and get a commission. FYI, a lot of people will tell you that joining the military is the way to go. It is not your only option, and may not be the best option for you.

Also, lots of government contractors (big and small) work with the IC. Many of them hire people out of undergrad (and have internships). Booz Allen, SAIC, etc A lot of times you can switch from contractor to government employee because you will have the inside track (or work your whole career as a contractor)

You can also go to grad school… if you are interested in this, I would strongly suggest going to grad school in DC (there are a number of programs in the area) and applying for internships every single semester. Fall/Spring internships are less competitive than summer internships. You are very competitive, but it’s a numbers game. The acceptance rate at these internships is often less than 10%. I did an unpaid policy related internship that had 350 applications for ~12 spots during the spring; they had 500+ applicants for the summer.

Extremely important: do not join the peace corps!!! Joining the peace corps will make you ineligible for the kind of work you ultimately want to do for a period of time (read: many years)

Edited to add: avoid things you aren’t supposed to do… basic things like speeding tickets or drinking underage will be fine (drinking and ending up in the hospital multiple times, probably not fine), but DUIs, arrests, illegal drug use (including pot, even if you are in a state where it is legal) will reflect poorly on you in the clearance process.

hope that helps some and points you in the right direction (there is no one easy answer)… feel free to reply or PM if you want. =)

3

Keep the languages going. Even if you don’t think you are getting very far in them, demonstrated academic success can get you considered for additional agency training.

Communications and writing skills are key. Keep sharpening those and go forward in them.

Finally, as soccerguy315 mentioned, keep your nose clean. Stay out of the drugs and alcohol (as a minor) completely and do NOT participate in any questionable or illegal downloading.

4

@JustOneDad @soccerguy315
hi I am also thinking of working for the FBI as a special agent. I have been recently accepted to Criminal justice and criminology at University of Maryland, which it is known for. Also, I have been accepted to UNiversity of Toronto’s Forensic science and international affairs. Which undergraduate studies will push me further to my dream job?

5

I think they will both get you there… being physically at UMD will provide you better access to the resources of Washington DC. Those are different programs though… which one do you like better?

6

The FBI has occasional 2-day seminars to educate you on basic FBI matters and you get a certification at the end of it. They also provide a free 6-month gun training program, which I am looking into. I got a referral from somebody who was an agent for many years, but maybe you can ask around your police department.

7

You really can do almost anything and go into those agencies. Military is certainly one good way to go (maybe the best?), but it certainly isn’t the only way. I grew up in that environment and the people I knew ran the gamut from history majors to accountants to Rangers to redneck sharpshooters. You also need to decide what path you might want to take. With a focus on white collar crime you could be an accounting major etc and go to the FBI. There are too many options to even list.

I will throw out one thing, though, that nobody has mentioned yet. Find out what kinds of skills are required for a given agency and practice them. Better yet, find a job where you can demonstrate that you have mastered them. Say you want to be in the Secret Service: they must be very observant. One of their tests judges how well you notice things that others might miss. That is a skill that can be practiced and that will help you if you ever make it to the testing round. Marksmanship is obviously another skill that can be practiced and demonstrated.

The best way is probably to find a mentor to guide you along the way. Of course, that is easier said than done. First you have to find a person who could be a mentor. Then you have to prove to them that you are worthy of their time and effort. The people whom I know that were mentored all ended up getting jobs with those kinds of Federal Agencies (then again, that was a couple of decades ago and things might be different now).

Being persistent also helps. One of my friends became an FBI agent and it took him several tries before he was finally accepted.

And, as has been mentioned several times, KEEP CLEAN. Not just your record but live a life that you would be happy to have scrutinized by your mother or minister. I have first-hand experience with background checks for several of those agencies, and even stuff that wasn’t on someone’s record will be found out from interviews with neighbors, friends, co-workers, etc.

Save a kid from bullying. Shovel the snow for an old neighbor. Give back the change that you weren’t owed but received. Lead an exemplary life and you would be amazed at how many times something little will come up that tips your case one way or the other. Your odds go up if there are hundreds of little good things you did versus lots of little bad things.