<p>^ I highly doubt they were 1811/Criminal Investigators.
…
Actually one of the speakers became an Investigator for I.C.E. right out of college, no experience as a cop or any military experience. She said she was honor roll, had many leadership positions on campus, and did the Washington Internship which is what she felt was what really got her in the door.
I was really happy to hear that since I personally don’t want to be a cop lol She worked for ICE as a criminal investigator for a few years and now works for DHS as an investigator for their reversion of Internal Affairs. She said that it’s not essential to have experience as an officer and one of the other speakers (Air Marshal) said he got his 1st federal job as a DEA agent within 2 yeears of graduating with experience as a security officer at a casino.
I guess everyone’s situation is different. I found the whole thing very enlightening personally.</p>
<p>^ Stay away from LE. People with your attitude are dangerous and get people hurt.</p>
<p>You don’t want to do the real work (or else why wouldn’t you just want to become a cop?), you just want to look cool and mimic things you saw on TV.</p>
<p>I’d never want to work with you.</p>
<p>You will not get hired out of college, it won’t happen. Especially someone like you, who has nothing to offer except a bad attitude.</p>
<p>Here is something else I hope you find enlightening:</p>
<p>You’re gonna get people like me killed, so go do something different with your life. Please.</p>
<p>Regardless, people like you usually don’t last through an academy anyways - as if you’d make it to one.</p>
<p>Oh, and most likely they took the one exception to the rule and put her out there recruiting, because they know college kids like are dumb enough to believe that they will actually be doing this work in a couple years - Congrats, you proved them right!</p>
<p>Oh, and Air Marshals aren’t 1811/Criminal Investigators.</p>
<p>Wow. There’s nothing wrong with not wanting to be a cop. That doesn’t mean I won’t make a stellar investigator. Personally, I don’t want to be an officer, just like I know many police officers that would never want to do federal LE. There’s nothing wrong with that. Police and federal LE officers don’t do the same thing. It has nothing to do with a bad attitude. I don’t have a bad attitude I just know what I want to do with my career.
Also, the woman I spoke to who worked for ICE wasn’t a recruiter. It was an Alumni information session, not a career fair or internship fair, which recruiters actually do come to. </p>
<p>As for getting hired out of college, maybe it is your personal experience that people don’t get hired directly out of college but I have spoken to numerous people from many different agencies who have had different experiences. Obviously experience is crucial, which is why I stated over and over again that people need to do internships. That’s how almost everyone gets hired right out of college, their internship experience. More specifically the student employment programs offered by almost all the agencies (SCEP, STEP etc)</p>
<p>It’s is VERY possible to get hired directly out of school based on work completed while in school. DHS has an amazing internship (extremely selective) at their FLETC campuses. The student gain a tremendous amount of experience, not just pushing papers/filing, they spend 50% of their time doing projects for DHS, and the other 50% completing training courses. </p>
<p>And yes I know Air Marshals aren’t 1811, if you read my statement in full you would have seen that I was talking about how he was hired as a DEA agent with his only work experience being as a security officer in AC. I might be wrong but aren’t DEA agents 1811? Please correct me if I was mistaken about that. </p>
<p>I’m not trying to be argumentative, just trying to pass along the information I’ve been given by many reliable sources that have graduated with a CJ degree and have reached their career goals.</p>
<p>LOL, a “stellar investigator”…tell me, what do you know about investigations? Nothing, so shut it. You wouldn’t know a “stellar investigator” if they sat down on your face and wiggled around.</p>
<p>“Like, OMG, some day, I am like totally gonna make a stellar investigator, for sure…right? I’m like gonna arrest people and stuff, and totally be like that gurl on Fringe…ya know, like kick butt but still look hot and stuff. Do you like think they will issue me a pink gun, that would be mad chill if they did, then I could match my nails to my gun…how totally awesome would that be, right?”</p>
<p>Please, go back to your bedroom and do some more dry fires in the mirror with your blowdryer while you listen to the Jonas Brothers - you wannabe.</p>
<p>I can’t wait till you are on a firing line for the first time, in between a former Captain in the 101st Airborne and a 8 year veteran street cop from Philly. But don’t worry about looking like a total fool, I’m sure they will be very impressed with your internship shuffling papers and getting people coffee.</p>
<p>BTW, I like mine with cream and two sugars.</p>
<p>Oh sorry, I wasn’t being prime and proper, I should have said “An outstanding investigator”. Didn’t realize how formal this board is.
If you had actually taken the time to thoroughly read what I said instead of just jumping to making witty assumptions, you would know that those internships, especially the FLETC internship, you would know that they aren’t about “pushing papers”.
As for 'shuffling papers and getting people coffee", what do you think most 1st year cops do anyway? Where I’m from all the first year cops do pretty much just that. At least with those internships you get more hands on experience.
But hey,you can continue giving out limited advice. I’m just trying enlighten other students with all the choices they have instead of just saying “You have to be a cop first” or “Don’t bother applying unless you’ve done some time in the military”. There are many different routes to getting a job in federal LE, at least according to over 20 people I’ve talked to who have all had very different experiences with getting hired.
Your experience and knowledge on the topic is usually really helpful and much appreciated. But to say that it’s the only way is ignorant. To make assumptions that I have no idea what I’m talking about is foolish. Granted some people say things without any backing, but I’ve given solid information with credible sources backing them.</p>
<h2>As for 'shuffling papers and getting people coffee", what do you think most 1st year cops do anyway? Where I’m from all the first year cops do pretty much just that. ~ Shibbychi</h2>
<p>You are 100% wrong, as usual. First year cops don’t shuffle papers and get coffee…it’s the exact opposite and you would know it if you had any experience, but you don’t so I guess I will just chalk it up to ignorance.</p>
<p>First year police officers ARE WORKING ON THE STREET. It’s called Patrol, and it’s where EVERY police officer starts, it’s rule #1. You don’t get a cushy office jobs with nice hours until after you complete your field training and probationary period, then you usually have to spend at least one year (usually much longer) before you can even apply for specialized assignments or a cushy office job. </p>
<p>But hey,you can continue giving out limited advice. ~ Shibbychic</p>
<p>LOL…right. If you consider performing these jobs on nearly every level “limited” than fine, but anyone with a brain will know that YOU, the college student who’s never worked in LE and has zero experience is the one who has a limited knowledge.</p>
<p>If you had actually taken the time to thoroughly read what I said instead of just jumping to making witty assumptions, you would know that those internships, especially the FLETC internship, you would know that they aren’t about “pushing papers”. ~ Shibbychi</p>
<p>Wrong again. Those internships do not provide you with any authority or access.</p>
<p>You are not a sworn LEO, which means you cannot arrest or participate in an arrest, so any real LE work is restricted. You are also not given the proper security clearances to have access to significant information. You really just shuffle papers. If shuffling important papers make you feel better about it, fine, but it doesn’t change the fact that you are no different than any other office worker. By your standards, every secretary at a federal agency would qualify to be a 1811.</p>
<p>An internship is only going to compliment other significant work experience. On its own it will won’t impress anyone. As stated early, I never said doing them is a bad thing, and I believe every student should do everything they can to gain experience and skills, but what you are implying (that internships alone get you hired as a 1811) is stupid and ignorant.</p>
<p>I know people who did some of these internships and none where hired based on them. They were hired based on a combination of education, work experience and training.</p>
<p>Your experience and knowledge on the topic is usually really helpful and much appreciated. But to say that it’s the only way is ignorant. To make assumptions that I have no idea what I’m talking about is foolish. ~ shubbychic</p>
<p>You don’t. You are a college kid with no clearance and has never worked in Intel or LE, which means you have zero credibility.</p>
<p>I’m just trying enlighten other students with all the choices they have instead of just saying “You have to be a cop first” or “Don’t bother applying unless you’ve done some time in the military”. ~ Shibbychic</p>
<p>I’ve never said that. What I have continually said is that you are hired based on work experience, not your education. I’ve stated many times that other good experience is Law, Accounting (CPA), Bio/Chem (toxicology, pathology), and Computer Science (forensics, IT security, ect). </p>
<p>However, the most competitive applicants typically have a combination of education, LE experience and military experience. There are many agencies out there and if you want to make yourself competitive for all of them, that is the best way to do it. </p>
<p>I will also stand by my statement that if you don’t have the set to be a cop, than you should go look for a different career. Having preference for one is fine, but saying you will only do one is ignorant. 1811’s work with local/state police daily and typically rely on them for the bulk of information they receive and without their cooperation their investigations fall short. It’s not like on TV (which is what your experience is limited to) when a FBI agent shows up “at the scene” and start barking orders at the “lowly local yocals” and tell them that “they are in charge and if they have a problem call the President.” </p>
<p>While 1811’s and police officers do perform different jobs, when it comes down to it, they are all LEO’s and contribute to the same goal. You don’t get to pick and choice what roles you want to play when you want to play them. Eventually, you will have to kick in a door, you will have to wrestle down a suspect, you will have to raid a residence, ect. I can personally tell you, that when I’m going into a home I don’t want to be doing it with some chick who’s never done it before and her only previous experience is some stupid internship in a cushy office. No thanks, you can stay at home. Give me the former Marine, the former street cop, hell…the former bouncer at a night club, I don’t care, just give me someone who has been tested.</p>
<p>This career isn’t like other jobs. You will not walk in and get automatic respect just because you are new and people want to make you feel welcome. At some point, their life could rest in your hands, your ability to act and your ability to execute. If you think an internship will prepare you to do that than you are sadly mistaken, and the results of your incompetence could be deadly.</p>
<p>We don’t want to take a chance with our lives by working with some girl who “thought she could do the job”, but never tested herself, instead just worked the system to slide into a position she thought would be “cool and fun…and STELLAR.”</p>
<p>If you think I’m being harsh - wait. Wait till you actually do the job (if you ever get hired). Wait till you have to serve your first arrest warrant on a twice convicted felon (3 strikes for life) who is known to be violent and armed. When that happens, then I want you to honestly say that your office internship at STEP prepared you well for this job. Tell me you are equal to the guy next to you, the former Army Ranger who’s cleared hundreds of houses in Iraq. Are you gonna still feel that your internship prepared you equally? Wait to see how harsh that guy is…bring an extra pair of panties with you.</p>
<p>And please, don’t give me that, “it’s not like you do that everyday, most 1811’s do mundane clerical like tasks.” While that is very true, it’s irrelevant. You don’t need to do it everyday. It only takes one time to cause a lifetime of pain for someone else, a wife, a child, ect.</p>
<p>So sure, you might be able to weasel your way into the position by getting government internships and working the system (unlikely), but is that how you want to start your career? Do you think you will be given any respect for it?</p>
<p>P.S. I like my coffee from the Coffee Tree on 45th Street. Chop, Chop!</p>