Career advice

[Sheepdog4297]

Just wanted to get some of your opinions on a dilemma I'm having. I've been a LEO for a few years now and I love my job. I'm only 24 and I feel like I want more out of my career. By no means am I saying a know everything about the job or anything like that though. I was just thinking about applying with the DEA or US Marshals once I get a chance. I only have an AA degree, but I've recently been added onto our SWAT team. My credentials aren't as highlighted as others, but I'd still appreciate any feedback and/or advice u guys can give.

Thanks guys, stay safe out there.

[Madcap_Magician]

I believe for federal you will need to have a four-year degree, so that would be a good place to start and give you an interim goal to work for.

[sethd27]

I believe for federal you will need to have a four-year degree, so that would be a good place to start and give you an interim goal to work for.

This.. and I also BELIEVE that prior law enforcement exp in/of itself isn't qualifying experience, you need investigations experience if I am correct.

[just joe]

A four year degree is not a requirement for the USMS. That said, you may not be a viable candidate without one. The guys I know who went federal had four year degrees (but none of them had investigations experience). I spoke with a deputy marshal who left his city dept after five years or so, and he said he regretted leaving the street so soon.

[Sheepdog4297]

My understanding of the reqs was that it wasn't necessary to have a 4 yr degree, as long as u had at least 3 yrs of investigation experience? I'm definitely looking to get a degree tho, I just thought I would already meet the requirements to apply. I thought the req were the same for both the USMS and DEA. I was also planning on getting with the NARC unit at our PD to add that onto my resume as well. JustJoe, can I ask why the deputy marshal regretted leaving the streets?

[Jim1648]

Career Advice

.....can I ask why the deputy marshal regretted leaving the streets?

Maybe he found out that court security and prisoner transport was less exciting than running light and sirens to in-progress calls.

[Sheepdog4297]

That's definately true. I would miss all the in-progress calls...right now I'm leaning towards the DEA. I Know they just had an opening about a month ago, so for now it's just more research for me.

[just joe]

Maybe he found out that court security and prisoner transport was less exciting than running light and sirens to in-progress calls.

Because deputy marshals do a lot of boring stuff and he hadn't gotten "the cop" out of his system before he left the road.

[Wise135]

My understanding of the reqs was that it wasn't necessary to have a 4 yr degree, as long as u had at least 3 yrs of investigation experience? I'm definitely looking to get a degree tho, I just thought I would already meet the requirements to apply. I thought the req were the same for both the USMS and DEA. I was also planning on getting with the NARC unit at our PD to add that onto my resume as well. JustJoe, can I ask why the deputy marshal regretted leaving the streets?

To my knowledge, the FBI is the only agency that specifically mentions the 3 years of investigative experience, and even with that applicants still need a bachelor's degree. Others view just one year of investigative experience as qualifying. And while some offer ways of qualifying without a degree, you should also remember who you're competing against for the job: people with not only bachelor degrees, but some have advanced degrees and qualifying experience.

Learning more about federal special agent hiring might also confuse you as you watch who gets to process, and who doesn't. Additionally, the requirements for the USMS and DEA are not the same. People with no military experience can have a good chance of getting hired by the DEA, but with the USMS - based on their last announcement - people virtually had no chance if they had not served in the military. Additionally, I knew an officer with over 10 years experience, including in narcotics, who was told by a DEA agent that although he might make the initial cut, he was unlikely to progress far in the process since he didn't have a bachelor's degree.

[Albert Wesker]

Just wanted to get some of your opinions on a dilemma I'm having. I've been a LEO for a few years now and I love my job. I'm only 24 and I feel like I want more out of my career. By no means am I saying a know everything about the job or anything like that though. I was just thinking about applying with the DEA or US Marshals once I get a chance. I only have an AA degree, but I've recently been added onto our SWAT team. My credentials aren't as highlighted as others, but I'd still appreciate any feedback and/or advice u guys can give.

Thanks guys, stay safe out there.

As the others have said, you should go ahead and complete your Bachelor's degree if you want to be a 1811. Otherwise you are fighting an uphill battle. Yeah you could succeed, but it literally will be twice as hard. You are young and taking classes online, you will be able to complete the degree in a few years.

I know a couple of BPAs who joined DEA, both had Bachelors degrees and both were also fluent in Spanish. One was a DEA TFO here at Border Patrol, so he already had extensive experience. It's a pretty competitive position, so you want the cards stacked in your favor. Your SWAT experience won't mean much if you don't have investigative experience as well.

[jtl323]

A four year degree is not a requirement for the USMS. That said, you may not be a viable candidate without one. The guys I know who went federal had four year degrees (but none of them had investigations experience). I spoke with a deputy marshal who left his city dept after five years or so, and he said he regretted leaving the street so soon.

From one former street cop to another, let me echo these words. My life's biggest regret is leaving local law enforcement to go federal. Stay local. Stay a sheepdog. The fight is in the streets , not in the office. You are way too young to even think about an investigations spot in your agency. Stay on swat, stay on patrol, maybe some street crimes enforcement or tactical patrol, but stay active on the streets.

[jtl323]

Because deputy marshals do a lot of boring stuff and he hadn't gotten "the cop" out of his system before he left the road.

What's the old police maxim? 90% boredom and 10% action? 8 hours of trying to stay awake followed by 30 seconds of sheer terror? If they say these things about patrol work and they apply, then factor that out into a job where you are less likely to have things go sideways....ever.

The only job "exciting" or "dangerous" for Marshals is fugitive hunting, but only about 10% of the workforce focuses on this job. The rest do arcane mundane bull**** that should be done by contract employees and private companies to free up 1811s to enforce laws and "investigate" something other than angry birds while they sit in court all day. The Usms needs a major overhaul in the way their employees are job prioritized.

[bayranger]

What's the old police maxim? 90% boredom and 10% action? 8 hours of trying to stay awake followed by 30 seconds of sheer terror? If they say these things about patrol work and they apply, then factor that out into a job where you are less likely to have things go sideways....ever.

The only job "exciting" or "dangerous" for Marshals is fugitive hunting, but only about 10% of the workforce focuses on this job. The rest do arcane mundane bull**** that should be done by contract employees and private companies to free up 1811s to enforce laws and "investigate" something other than angry birds while they sit in court all day. The Usms needs a major overhaul in the way their employees are job prioritized.

Our Marshal in my regular court prefers Temple Run over Angry Birds. Could be a regional preference. Not sure.

[Sheepdog4297]

don't get me wrong, I love patrol. It's just that I wanna make a larger impact with my work u know. I want to know that my work pays off instead of giving some turd a few days I jail for a little Baggie of dope. Then sooner or later u realize ur seeing the same faces over and over. Doing the same crimes as they did before. I know Youre not supposed to take it personal, but it definately takes a toll on you..

[jtl323]

don't get me wrong, I love patrol. It's just that I wanna make a larger impact with my work u know. I want to know that my work pays off instead of giving some turd a few days I jail for a little Baggie of dope. Then sooner or later u realize ur seeing the same faces over and over. Doing the same crimes as they did before. I know Youre not supposed to take it personal, but it definately takes a toll on you..

I understand where you're coming from, this was the mistake I made. I falsely assumed that in order to make a difference I needed to go lock up murderers rapists and terrorists. That makes sense, except for one thing… you may not get to arrest murderers rapists and terrorists. As I said, maybe only 10% of the marshals go after the worst of the worst, those marshals on the task forces that focus on state and local warrants. Do you want to know what the rest of the marshals service wants consist of?
Probation violations, pretrial violations, white collar tax fraud, and some other silly silly ****.

My days on patrol, whether I was saving someone from a burning car, rescuing a child from a horrible domestic situation, or locking up three guys on a traffic stop on a rolling meth lab, those truly were days that I could go home at the end of the shift, look myself in the mirror, and know that the world was a slightly better place, even if it only lasted until the beginning of the next shift when they all got back out of jail. Seven **** bags in jail for 12 hours is mathematically better than one TurboTax fraud guy Who is also going to bond out. The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow does exist as far as marshals service top fugitive Hunting.... But it's rare. If everyone found the pot of gold, the leprechauns would not have anything left.

The next time you chase down a shoplifter, or return a stolen purse to an elderly woman, or help a kid who's frisbee got stuck in the sewer drain, do me a favor… ask one of those people whether or not you made a difference to them that day. I'll bet the answer will surprise you.