Federal Employment

[Epicfire13]

Good Afternoon All,

I am contemplating pursuing federal employment and would like to know if any of you would recommend a particular agency or job over another? I guess I’m trying to find out what all options are out there and/or would be best suited to my background.

I will be finished with my M.S. in Administration of Justice in December, 2009 and plan to pursue federal employment a few months prior to graduation (unless you think I should start now due to the length of the process). I definitely want to finish my Master’s prior to gaining employment, or else I will never go back.

In terms of experience, at present I have roughly 5-6 years experience as a 911 dispatcher, almost 3 years experience as an adult probation/parole officer, and almost one year as a County Detective (non-sworn/non-certified position, however).

I also have a Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice and can “get by” in Spanish if need be. I’m female, 25 years-of-age, single, and willing to sell my house and relocate (preferably to the DC area since I’m from Central PA) against my parent’s wishes . I prefer investigative and fieldwork as compared to street work, if that makes sense.

I should probably also mention that I could stand to lose 20-25 pounds (but am still considered within a “healthy” BMI per the FBI standards) and really need to work on my running. I’ve lifted weights since junior high and played fastpitch softball all my life, so my strength is good. The only parts of the PAT that I’ve failed in the past are the sit-and-reach and 1.5 mile run, due to lack of preparation on my part.

I love to travel and am fascinated with commercial aviation, but can’t say whether or not I would enjoy it full-time. I recently learned that I was “high on the list” for FAMS vacancy announcement from last year, but don’t think I should reapply for this year’s vacancy notice due to wanting to complete my degree first.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I greatly appreciate any information anyone may be able to provide.

Thank you!

[just joe]

Well, it's too late for you to major in something besides CJ, which is probably what everyone's advice is going to be. It doesn't hurt that you are a female. Brush up on your foreign language skills--maybe do an immersion program if you can. If not, take language classes. You might try searching past threads about this topic. You might also consider trying to get your foot in the door by becoming a uniformed police officer for one of the federal agencies that uses them.

[madchiken]

The biggest thing with the feds is deciding what type of LE you want to do. Each agency has a "specialty", whether it be conservation, immigration, environmental, tax, firearms, etc.. You have to pick what you are interested in.

[SoCalFed]

The biggest thing with the feds is deciding what type of LE you want to do. Each agency has a "specialty", whether it be conservation, immigration, environmental, tax, firearms, etc.. You have to pick what you are interested in.

Excellent advice. Once you hone in on an area/agency of interest, try doing an internship. Not only will this give you more of an insider's view of the agency so you can if it is really what you're interested in, but also might give you an inside shot at getting hired after your internship is over....