@blossom : The CIA certainly has soldier-of-fortune types (although many of them are probably contractors rather than Agency employees). After all, somebody has to kidnap targets off the streets of somewhere, transport them to black sites in countries with high cash needs and low standards, and torture them until any information they provide is useless. And somebody else has to train warlords’ armies we that aren’t publicly approved aid recipients. They don’t recruit on college campuses for those types of positions!
JHS, my kid was interested in intelligence, not black ops so I don’t have enough information to respond.
A number of students who major in cybersecurity, cyberinvestigation and digital forensics at Champlain College are hired by the Feds. In fact, a security clearance is required for some of their upper level courses.
CIA also hires people with various different backgrounds, including engineers and other majors. They do go to various college campuses and career fairs. Having an impeccable background with NO whiff of legal problems as well as NO drug use ever is helpful. CIA and other agencies hire many people who do work that is very different from what is pictured in James Bond and the like–lots of running computers and making sure things are working properly.
The Department of Defense hires a lot of folks who make sure computers and phones for their operations are running 24/7/365. It may not be as glamorous or as dangerous as the folks in the field but it is part of the work that needs to be done and allows for a better family life.
I have family members who do/have worked for various federal agencies, so have some familiarity. Many federal employees have to have background checks every 5 years or so, so get along with your neighbors and be sure you stay out of financial trouble, since your neighbors WILL be interviewed and your credit will be examined as relating to your fitness for work.
Mormons are common hires of the FBI/CIA. Clean living and language skills from doing missions abroad.
Look at Embrey- Riddle and Champlain College. Both of these institutions educate future government employees for both FBI and CIA.
I did a round of on-campus interviews with the CIA when I graduated with a CS degree (technically Logic & Computation). Like any big government agency they need lots of different skills, including programmers. I kinda wish I’d followed through (I passed on additional interviews) as it would’ve made for a more interesting career.
Ironically, this insistence on having no whiff of legal problems/drug use is one reason why the FBI and other law enforcement/military/intelligence agencies have had problems recruiting the best CS/tech folks. And it’s a reason why some have publicly considered relaxing the drug use issue:
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27499595
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/the-fbi-cant-find-hackers-that-dont-smoke-pot
While the FBI has intelligence elements, with a significant CT focus post 9/11, I still view it as mostly a law enforcement agency.
Since nobody mentioned it so far, note the GPA requirement to even apply for Intelligence jobs.
I know someone with an engineering degree who had always wanted to work for the FBI. They wouldn’t hire him right out of school (very well known engineering school) but took him on after he’d worked in industry for several years. He absolutely fits the straight-arrow, clean cut stereotype and loves his job.
The CIA does not just hire “soldier of fortune” types… they recruit them from the SOF community (including JSOC)
Most CIA employees sit at a desk in the DC area. It is not dangerous. That said, when you work overseas, there is always varying degrees of danger.
You might not be able to talk about work specifics, but I’m sure you can still talk about your annoying boss or the obnoxious coworker or the person in the other office that isn’t being helpful on your project or whatever.
The Intelligence Community has 17 agencies, you can find out more here: https://www.intelligencecareers.gov
The Defense Department has a substantial intelligence presence, and other agencies that you might not think of have smaller intelligence offices (Energy, Treasury, etc).
Stay away from illegal things, and do well in school. Obviously, these places hire everyone from area experts to IT staff to financial types… they need everything to function.
Along with avoiding illegal drug use, is copyright violation like downloading music or movies illegally.
Georgetown has a Securities Studies program.
^^as do many other universities (d has an interest)
My S18 was interested in working in the CIA a few years ago and was advised by a college/service academy recruiter that he should not be telling people that this is his career goal. If the background check revealed that “everyone” knows that he wanted to work in intelligence, that would likely diminish the agency’s interest in him.
I took a battery of tests after I enlisted in the service. My scores led to an MOS of Intelligence Assistant. The most interesting test was to read a story in a made-up language and then try to answer some questions about it. I found it fascinating and did very well. I think this part of the test was to find out how quickly you could learn a new language on very little sleep.
FBI and intelligence agency positions are extremely competitive and hiring varies with political winds. Government service is just that, “service”, as the pay is (often considerably) less than in the private sector and the hours are long. However, that feeling of making a difference by doing something meaningful for your country is worth it to many.
I believe that having significant debt (e.g. student loans, credit card debt, big car loans) would make you less attractive as a candidate as well, as you may be perceived as more vulnerable to criminal activity for profit to get out of your financial plight.
Ironic, when your job might well be downloading other peoples’ files.