Interest in FBI / CIA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a close friend who was a CIA agent briefly (she learned quickly that the job was not for her). She was a history major.

One of my friends in law school applied to the agency. She comes from a semi-famous family and there’s tons of info on them if you do a google search. I could see why the CIA would not want to hire someone with this profile.

FBI is in the business of law enforcement. They need to be law abiding citizens. CIA on the other hand, is beyond this level. They are the type that goes overseas to "take out" enemies. No sense in talking about law and order here.

You know that there are plenty of CIA employees who work domestically in offices and never “take out” anything more exciting than their lunch, right? They’re not all in cover positions overseas.

The CIA employees I know didn’t necessarily follow a special career path; most weren’t actively planning on an Agency career. They have degrees in engineering, comp science, history, law, etc. A handful are career or former military but those special temporary (a couple of years maybe) assignments and not long term jobs.

[Anonymous]

Yale

[Anonymous]

I’ve heard the NSA is the largest employer of math majors in the US.

[Anonymous]

I got my MPA from a large state school, and CIA recruited there.

DH works for FBI. They seem to prefer hiring kids with a few years experience in the workforce rather than directly from college. Agree that CS, accounting, law, and foreign language (think something like Arabic, Russian, or Chinese) are probably your best bet. Physical fitness is also really important. If you can’t pass the fitness test you can’t be an agent. That and the polygraph are two of the biggest barriers.

[Anonymous]

NSA: mathematics, foreign language, computer skills.
FBI: law
CIA: get tapped by Skull & Bones

[Anonymous]

Majors: history, classics, and languages are strong backgrounds for these areas, alongside the more obvious tech connections (remember that analyst work requires reading and distillation).

Pathways: FBI has highly competitive internships for college students. Do well in one of those and you're gaining traction. There are military routes into the CIA but they're not the only routes.

Schools: Places where other people in those agencies attended (you can do some online research to figure that out). Slightly different prestige metrics than traditional DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Majors: history, classics, and languages are strong backgrounds for these areas, alongside the more obvious tech connections (remember that analyst work requires reading and distillation).

Pathways: FBI has highly competitive internships for college students. Do well in one of those and you're gaining traction. There are military routes into the CIA but they're not the only routes.

Schools: Places where other people in those agencies attended (you can do some online research to figure that out). Slightly different prestige metrics than traditional DCUM.[/quote]
This may not be easy to determine. These people aren't exactly supposed to be putting up LinkedIn profiles with all their info.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In demand foreign language, cybersecurity and accounting

Have to be able to pass the psych exam.

[Anonymous]

FBI it total law enforcement and very physical to get through. Even the lawyers have to go through the FBI academy which isn't easy.

I have a kid who is a Russian studies major at a state school. Regulalry they bring the Arabic studies kids in to the class also and have recruiters speak to the entire class. CIA, NSA but also private security companies.

[Anonymous]

FBI and CIA are very different.

For CIA, foreign languages are absolutely critical. Expertise in a geographic region is also a boon, so “area studies” (Middle East Studies, Asian Studies, etc) are good majors. Studying abroad is also important.

[Anonymous]

Also consider the Civil Service if they can pass the exam. Foreign language skills are critical for this and the CIA and appreciated at the FBI.

[Anonymous]

Look up Professors that are former CIA. They all like top 25 schools. The NGA I hear likes Penn State grads. Make sure your kid keeps a squeaky clean image including online. It’s also true there are a lot of Mormons. BYU was not a bad suggestion. I’d also look at University of Utah.

[Anonymous]

Make sure your kid isn’t experimenting with drugs, including weed. Check out the websites. They have a lot of information on different job types. Apply for the internships they are a foot in the door.

[Anonymous]

I know a geologist who works for the CIA. An acquaintance who is at CIA went to Georgetown School of Foreign Service.

[Anonymous]

^ geologist went to state schools, undergrad and grad and was recruited