So I am currently a freshman in college and want to work for the federal government. I am well aware that they are very competitive and have very high standards. I am currently triple majoring in Economics, Business Administration, and Asian Culture Liberal Arts. I speak 4 languages already with English being my third language. However, I also want to learn Japanese, and Chinese fluently with my major (Asian Culture L.A.). I am already learning Korean and know how to speak the basics. I love to solve problems and have some computer skills as well. By the time I graduate college, I will know 7 languages fluently and be able to read and write in at least 4 of them. I am also self teaching myself international affairs and as well as global business. Also, I am going to study abroad in Japan next fall to get to know the culture and language even more. Keep in mind, I like to learn languages and love to learn about culture especially Asian culture. So the question would be, what are my chances of being hired and what else do I need to work on? Also, I have time to change majors besides economics, and Asian Culture L.A. which are required. I also forgot to mention, I am in the process of getting citizenship. I have done my research for joining the federal government but if anyone has more experience, I would love to hear some advice.
Your odds aren’t as good since you are not a US citizen. Even if you gain your citizenship, positions that require a security clearance look very, very closely at your present and past ties to countries outside the US.
Well, while I am in the process of getting my citizenship, I am from Germany (but I am Persian) so I have a German citizenship right now and I have never broken any federal laws or even gotten a traffic ticket.
Also, I know that Economics pretty much discusses the business aspect so should I maybe replace that with international affairs (also known as international relations) or something?
They look at your whole life, not just your current citizenship. They really pick through it – interviewing old neighbors, teachers, exes, etc. They are dead serious about foreign entanglements.
Yeah, I figured. However, I don’t see anything bad coming from it since my moms fiance has a top secret clearance since he works for Northrop Grumman and they did a background check on us as well. But besides the point, I appreciate your feed back. So would I still have a good chance if it’s all clear?
I would drop business administration. It’s not relevant to intelligence work and you don’t need to triple major.
I agree that your citizenship may cause issues. You must be a US citizen to be hired, and I don’t know how they’ll look at someone who only recently received citizenship. Also expect delays with the clearance process because you are Persian, and presumably have relatives that are or were Iranian citizens. It’s not impossible to get cleared with your background, but it will take significantly longer.
The easiest way to join an intelligence agency is to intern first (they like to rehire interns). Of course, they only take interns that are US citizens, so you need to straighten that out first. NSA has good summer intern programs for both intelligence analysis and critical languages. I would look into those. FBI and CIA also take interns but are more competitive and they’re more broad in what they’re looking for.
Yeah I figured, I think what i am probably going to do is replace business administration with applied mathematics emphasis on statistical analysis. Also, I am on the last stage of getting my citizenship which is the interview/test. Since I am a freshman I have time to take the internship opportunity and also be a citizen. Thank you again for the advice! One reason I would do this is because I simply love math and am taking Calculus 1 right now. Also, I am already fluent with 4 languages so learning 2 more fluently is not a problem. Although, I can only read and write in 2 languages so adding 2 would make it four.
Why are you trying to triple major? It won’t make you more competitive . You look like you’re all over the place, and this is coming from a senior who’s about to finish a double major (math/CS), double minor (music/dance). Also, liking calc tells you nothing about whether you actually like upper level math or whether you should major in applied math. You can take classes in an area without majoring- either as electives or as part of a minor.
You need to pick an area. People in the government doing statistical analysis are totally separate from the people doing language work, who are also separate from those doing intelligence analysis/international affairs work. Language analysts also only focus on one or two languages, so there’s no point in trying to learn more. It won’t help you get employed, especially since they’re looking for near native fluency in whatever you use on the job.
You do have a point. However, I in general love math and have done some disrecet math for fun and also with languages I am just going to do Chinese and Japanese
and learn them fluently. Also, econ is easy so I don’t consider this technically a triple major. But I have dropped business administration and still debating the applied math major part. Might just minor in that.
Consider serving in the military as a translator for a period. They are in high demand and have substantial signing bonuses. It should also help you with citizenship/clearances later down the road.
Actually, I am not worried about getting citizenship, I have the test/interview coming up and once I pass the test there should not be a reason on why I can’t get it. I still have 2 years for internships and knowing different languages should increase the chances of being hired especially Chinese (Mandarin). I respect the military however, I would not join them.
I would look at current job offerings for FBI/CIA etc or the resumes of people who have been in FBI/CIA who do what you wnat to do and see what background they are in. If 90% of them were in the military, consider it. They may want law enforcement experience.
Have you looked into the physical requirements to get accepted into something like the FBI? There is a physical fitness test you must pass as part of the screening process. If you haven’t looked into it yet, you may want too.