Secret Service - As a career path?
Hey
I was at a conference today and happened to come across a woman who was from the secret service speaking about her career and what they do. The minute I started listening to her I wanted to know more and more about the secret service. What she does on a daily basis seemed to blow away what I am currently doing in finance. It struck a cord with me. I have always been a person that has wanted to join the Marine Corps, but never did it because of, sadly, liking that pay check in finance. Listening to her and her stories, however, really got my blood flowing as something that I could potentially do and LOVE it.
I am wondering if anyone has experience with the secret service as a career path. I am on the job prowl currently and my next firm / company I work for I want it to be for a long term. I "like" finance, but I "love" the potential for money and prestige (all the wrong reasons? Maybe, but I really do LIKE finance, just not love).
Would like to hear some opinions, if anyone has any. I am beginning to believe I better do something I love, as opposed to trying to do something for the money. Plus, saying you work for the secret service has to win you some points, righttt?
Thanks
Dude, I have said it on here a couple times before but the Secret Service is insanely hit or miss. i know a guy that did it right out of the army and he talked about having to do shit like literally watch a dumpster for 3 hours to make sure no one dumped a bomb in it. It's really not that sexy...at all.
Imagine how many times he's thought of quitting in that short time frame.
Happy, did he have anything else to say about the job? Or did he pretty much just hate it? How was it compared to the Army?
I met a ex-Secret Service guy (I don't think it was for the president though); he was managing part of security for a f500.
They apparently only harvest the best of the best from the military, CIA, etc. It didn't seem as glamorous as you would think. The amount of due diligence is astronomical even compared to banking; every potential threat must be assessed, investigated and mitigated.
Then you also face personal risk, as with any job in security.
Finally, it is all on a public servant's payscale. I wouldn't do it, but there are very few jobs for the government I would find attractive.
I think they get paid better than most, if not all, the federal law enforcement agencies. He wasn't really excited by the idea of talking about work (which most enjoyable people aren't) so I can't really remember much more.
Agree with Happy. Hollywood has glorified those jobs. There's a lot more administrative paper work than you'll ever hear about
if you plan on trying for a government security clearance required job, makes sure in the last 12 months you have not:
1) downloaded software or music illegally 2) taken any illegal or legal drugs without a prescription 3) been to websites that have child pornography on it
These are the top 3 reasons people dont make it past a polygraph. If you are in the 25 year old range, dont mind spending about +60% of your time overseas, and dont feel the need to talk about what you do, check out the CIA. You may enjoy the adventure aspect of the agency more than standing in 1 spot for 4 hours and watching a door.
The only problem with the CIA application process is that they get +100,000 apps a month.
Oh yeah, you also need a language skill for CIA to be competitive.
You can actually get into the CIA without a High School diploma is you do their 'internal security program' or something.
Something to remember about federal jobs is that it is always easier to transfer in than it would be to get the position out right. The guy I was talking about earlier took a job at the Treasury doing something miserable and then lateraled into the secret service.
Okay folks, I went thru several rounds of information gathering on the Secret Service right out of school. Decided against it, but here are the facts:
You start out in a field office (they are EVERYWHERE, from Orange County, CA to New Haven, CT) for 5 years.
Field office work = financial crimes, especially money laundering, credit fraud, etc. The SS is a group within the Treasury Dept. If the President or other leaders come to town, then you are assigned to protect them.
After field office work, you move to White House duty for a few years. After that, you can either go to another field office, repeat duty with the White House/Presidential detail, or seek advanced training in the SS counter-sniper/advanced weapons unit.
Pay= $55k to start. You make $100k within 5 years. But then it flattens out. Retirement @ age 55. Gov't benefits (while they last)
Do they take kids out of school? Not likely. They prefer some military or border patrol experience.
Training= pretty sick military type training: hand to hand combat, assortment of firearms, high speed car chasing in addition to other law enforcement type stuff. Additionally, there is some job specific financial crime training.
MAJOR ROADBLOCKS for applicants: Your record must be SPOTLESS and you will be polygraphed on your record. ZERO crimes. ZERO misdemeanors, excepting parking/non-DUI driving offenses. No academic issues. No history of mental problems. No affiliation with radical political groups. NO ILLEGAL MUSIC DOWNLOADING. NO DRUG USE EVER!!! That's right. If you smoked pot, you cannot apply.
Pretty cool gig, but not for everyone.
I just had my verbal rescinded for my dream job, graduated from a top MFE program. Have 0 other options currently, and am thinking of joining the Air Force. This is the worst job market I've ever seen. I'm thinking Air Force is my only option and the exit ops will be better than from out of another useless and expensive grad program. Any thoughts?
Dude, I don't know what you're talking about, but the MFE market is not bad at all right now. Did you go to a top tier school? What's the rest of your background like? Which cities are you willing to live in? There are a ton of jobs for MFEs. Maybe not in S&T, but I think middle office risk or risk consulting is still a heck of a lot better than joining the military...
For the love of fuck do not go into the military because you think its the best job you can find.
I swear I say this weekly.
won't it look better than being unemployed for 1yr, or who knows how long it ends up being? i just dropped my bank account on an MFE and i can't spend another 200k to go to bschool just for the recruitment
Would smoking pot 1x almost 3 years ago and not downloading music (albeit a shit ton) over 3 + years ago auto ding you?
Dude, are you serious?! You're going to go into the military for how it looks v. being unemployed? You can find something; the military is not a resume filler.
it's only a 4yr commitment and the air force officer program isn't too bad. you get to spend time in different countries, get engineering experience, a paycheck, etc..
Sounds like a dream job, go for it.
....cough....cough...sarcasm.
For the love of God, if you join the military do it because you want to serve your country!!
Do it because you want to be in the military. PM me if you want. There are a lot of other guys that had more experience in the military than I do so seek them out as well.
^-- wow I hope that kid is a troll. What a fuckin idiot.
I recommend absolutely joining the military for your above stated reasons, as it looks like your ABSOLUTELY dumb enough to get in.
Seriously? You can't get into the CIA/SS if you've downloaded illegal music/media? I've got to believe that if you're under 25 there is literally .001% of that sample that hasn't illegally downloaded media. Of that .001%, I'd be shocked if there was anyone qualified, driven and committed enough to get into the CIA/SS.
How do they test for drugs? Hair follicle? How long do drugs last in your follicle?
Polygraph test
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