Which colleges and which majors help one get interesting intelligence community jobs like James Comey?
You can look on the recruiting web sites of the various agencies.
I’m too old for that kind of stress. Is there an educational or career path for interested students? My 12 year old nephew watches news with his parents and wants to be FBI head when he grows up. Sounds like an interesting career choice to me, never a dull moment.
I guess things start at high IQ, stable EQ and great analytical skills. I told him to ace maths, learn languages and stay fit. I hope that would do for now.
The FBI is mostly a law enforcement, not intelligence organization.
You can google FBI hiring info – they hire folks with specialties – experience in law enforcement, law, languages, accounting etc.
Tell him lead a clean life and don’t get in trouble with the law, post incriminating pictures anywhere online, drink underage or use any illegal substances. Being able to get a security clearance is a very important part of the process.
Some schools offer intelligence majors/minors. Searching for those could be a start.
Very close friend who I’ve known forever is an FBI agent. He had his undergrad degree in Bio, the agency wanted lab forensic folks so they were talking to Bio majors. But to get to the lab job you had to spend several years as a field agent first. He ended up liking the agent part just fine. Spent two years after college working IIRC as IT support (back when it was something you could learn on the job). You couldn’t go straight from undergrad to Quantico; they wanted you to have some life experience. Dunno what current practice is.
At the screening interview, they ask about any past use of illegal substances. Occasional recreational use in the past will not get you booted; lying about never having used (if you did) WILL. Lying is the big big issue.
Actually, the FBI remains very strict on drug usage for recruits, even marijuana.
From their recruitment policy page:
"Marijuana Usage:
Candidates cannot have used marijuana within the three (3) years preceding the date of their application for employment, regardless of the location of use (even if marijuana usage is legal in the candidate’s home state). The various forms of marijuana include cannabis, hashish, hash oil, and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), in both synthetic and natural forms.
A candidate’s use of marijuana in its various forms for medical reasons, regardless of whether or not it was prescribed by a licensed practicing physician, cannot be used as a mitigating factor.
Illegal Drugs:
Candidates cannot have used any illegal drug, other than marijuana, within the ten (10) years preceding the date of the application for employment.
Additionally, candidates cannot have sold, distributed, manufactured, or transported any illegal drug or controlled substance without legal authorization.
Prescription Drugs/Legally Obtainable Substances:
Candidates cannot have used anabolic steroids without a prescription from a licensed practicing physician within the past ten (10) years preceding the date of the application for employment.
Finally, candidates cannot have sold, distributed, manufactured, or transported any prescription drug without legal authorization."
While the FBI is a law enforcement agency, they are also an intelligence organization in some senses as they take lead on counter-espionage operations against foreign agents within the US as shown several years back when they nabbed several inept Russian sleeper agents including Anna Chapman.
There’s no specific mandatory major, but they do pay extra attention to those with computer/tech skills and/or critical foreign language skills.
They also pay extra attention to those who served a stint in the armed forces, especially in occupational specialties where a security clearance is required. This factored into the recruitment of many FBI agents.
I see Intelligence and law enforcement forces as part of our armed forces, just different ways of protecting folks. Unfortunately, no recognition, unsung heroes.
FBI has done only very selective hiring lately. A lot come from military or other policing units, all with significant experience. A couple years ago they were looking hard for specific language skills (Arabic and some others). Hiring fresh outs is pretty rare from what we hear.
He is 12 years old. At this point, the most important thing for him to do is be a ore-teen who doesn’t get into a speck of legal trouble…ever.
FBI = Usually military/law enforcement background, often with law or accounting degrees. Very clean-cut, buttoned-down.
CIA = I’m not certain exactly whom the CIA hires these days. There’s certainly an ex-military, soldier-of-fortune element, but also an international-relations, polyglot, social science element. I bet it helps to be a native speaker of a strategically important language. Also, a certain number of academic types. People I know who had meaningful stints at the CIA included an economics professor and an operations research PhD.
NSA = Math and computer science. Nerd heaven.
Languages can be helpful in intelligence, and computer skills.
At age 12, my son wanted to be CIA director. In his late 20’s, I found little signs hidden in the cellar with his name and “CIA Director” written on them. This is still the age of make-believe.
He’ll go through plenty of career fantasies. Tell him he can be what he wants if he works hard but he doesn’t have to decide for another 10 years or so.
The different branches of the military also have intelligence. My son (assuming he makes it through OCS) is going into Navy intelligence. He speaks good Arabic (four years in college plus two semesters in Jordan) and majored in international relations. He does not drink or do drugs and has an impeccable social network presence. It took forever for his security clearances to come through. (Travel to India, Pakistan, Egypt, the Ukraine and Russian plus a foreign national girlfriend probably slowed things down!)
Obviously, how many of us are doing or even pursued what our 12 year selfs found interesting. At 12, I wanted to be Miss Universe and run United Nations.
CIA still actively recruits on campus-- one of mine did a first round. Two most important skills are CS and a strategic language but you didn’t need to be a native speaker. So Korean, Farsi, Arabic much more valuable than college level French, Spanish or German. They were most emphatically not looking for soldier of fortune types- the more intellectual and cerebral the better from what my kid observed of who went to second rounds…
How much danger is involved? I guess depends on nature of job or assignments but still risky business. Money isn’t that good and you can’t talk about what you do and puts your loved ones at risk as well. Probably, they get tired of never knowing what you are up to. Must be tough on families.
Too old for the stress of looking on federal agency websites? We’re too old, too. How about that nephew of yours doing his own research?
Don’t get upset. I meant too old for exploring a career change. By the way I’m not forcing anyone to reply here. Ignore and move on. @CTTC