So you want to be a Fed?
As new federal agents ourselves, we know how daunting and impossible the job application process seems. We've been there! The federal bureaucracy can sometimes seem like a black hole -- your questions, resumes, and applications seem to disappear into a vast void, never to be seen again. And just try to get a single person to answer your emails! Arrgggh! It was only after we finished our training, got our badges and guns and were sworn in did we have the insights that would have helped us so much from the very beginning. We try to pass along these hints here.
Not your father's federal agents.
Not too long ago, almost all Federal Agents came from three backgrounds: former police, lawyers and accountants. No more. Federal agencies have learned that a diversity of backgrounds make for better federal law enforcement. You might be surprised how your own background -- whether it's business, the arts or information technology -- makes you think in ways that are in high demand for federal law enforcement. And agencies are hiring as never before, and paying competitive salaries. And let's not even being to talk about the federal benefits...
ATF, NRC, DOJ, oh my!
You might also be surprised at how your skills can fit with any of the agencies that are out there -- whether you're a Special Agent with the Secret Service, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or the National Education Association. We're all in the same job, enforcing the same federal laws (albeit different subsections), and have the exact same initial training. The difference's are smaller than you might think, and you can find a fit in places you never dreamt. This is good news for you, as you can apply to many different agencies at once (in fact, we encourage it). With the right advice, which we try to pass along, you can have the pick of the litter when the Feds come a-callin'.
I wish I knew then what I know now.
Take a look through our site. We hope it can give you the advice that we never had back when we were in college, grad school or work, floundering around trying to figure out what to do with our lives. The life of a Special Agent in the U.S. government is one of them most rewarding careers we have ever had, with opportunities to do things no other job in the world can offer.