The path for College Students

I ask you to first read the above material and do the hard work by helping yourself truly understand this profession. The above compilation is the most relevant, concise and organized information you will ever find about the 1811 profession. Skipping over the volumes of valuable information on this site in favor of a quick email response demonstrates poor judgment and laziness; which is not respected by law enforcement professionals of any kind and will be noticed by recruiters (who constantly complain about this issue). 

Now that you are well on your way to earning a degree, you need to engage in activities that maximize your chances of success and get you started on a path that leads to meaningful work experience.  Your combination of degree and relevant experience will make you the ideal candidate. 

INTERNSHIPS: As college students, you are encouraged to immediately seek & obtain internships with federal law enforcement agencies. There are a myriad of paid and unpaid internships by most of the 1811 agencies; which I have highlighted on most of my profile pages. It is incumbent on you to "pound the pavement" and get into these internship programs. Many of these law enforcement internships will open the door for little known vacancy announcements which will obviously favor the resourceful candidate. If you are unable to get law enforcement internships, I would urge you to consider other federal government related internship programs (i.e. CIA, DIA, State Dept.); which offer the benefit of having a fantastic internship on your resume and WILL help demonstrate your seriousness as a working government professional. In case you are wondering, high school internships are not applicable BUT they do look good on your resume and demonstrate progressive levels of responsibility. 

RESUME: Your resume must be detailed and a minimum of 2-3 pages. List everything you have accomplished to include high school sports/clubs, internships, college activities & awards and jobs. The more detail you give; the more likely your resume will pass the sufficiency needed by HR to forward to agency recruiters. 

COLLEGE JOBS: I encourage all college students to seek and obtain college jobs at their State, Local or Federal law enforcement agencies. Getting an entry level job (i.e. community service officer OR student assistant) with government agencies will go far in building your network, resume and future prospects in law enforcement. 

GRADUATE DEGREE: If you have your heart set on a graduate degree and have the finances worked out; then you should do this by all means. It will absolutely help your competitiveness as a future 1811 applicant and there are excellent programs out there (i.e. Forensics, MPA). However, don't do this just to be competitive for a criminal investigator application; do this only because it is something that you personally want for yourself. There are lots of idiots on various forums who advise applicants to "get a law degree" and claim that is the *only* way to get an 1811 job (which is obviously preposterous). I bring all of this up because there is a chance that you could apply during your senior undergraduate year for an 1811 job and might get selected OR you could simply get the relevant work experience by obtaining a uniformed position (which will also help you become similarly competitive).  Basically, get the master's degree because you want one and yes; it will provide value in the future. Personally, I have a master's degree and it has indeed helped me move to the front of the applicant line. 

ENTRY LEVEL 1811 POSITIONS FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS: In FY 2021, the United States Secret Service (USSS) is aggressively recruiting college graduates who meet their requirements & selection process. Why you ask? Mostly due to the extensive amount of travel required for continuous protective service operations; which get tiresome for older agents that have families. This gives you, the young college student, a great opportunity. Additionally, there are a plethora of federal agencies that routinely post vacancies geared toward college students ( i.e. "Pathways Program" or "Palace Acquire") or pipelines for college students with high GPAs, Americorps Service or specialized skills (i.e. language, computers). Again, you must put in the work and research to find them. Agencies change their recruiting programs all the time and I encourage you all to routinely visit the agency website that interests you the most to get real-time updates. I am constantly amazed that students go on forums and expect others to send them job announcements; this demonstrates a staggering amount of laziness & those types of applicants likely won't get far.   

OTHER LEO OR FEDERAL JOBS: It is always an option (as I have discussed in the posts) to get a job as a uniformed federal law enforcement officer or local/state police officer. There are upsides and downsides for this route. Just remember, it is your COMBINATION of degree and law enforcement experience that will best qualify you for entry level 1811 vacancies. Having the law enforcement experience without the degree will put you at a disadvantage unless you have extensively worked as a detective; which is a position that can take years to obtain. I would also highly encourage college students to check out positions such as the FBI Surveillance Team, Air & Marine Operations - Aviation Enforcement Agents, Federal Air Marshals, U.S. Probation Officer Assistants, Inspection; the possibilities are endless and all will offer fantastic & unique experiences that slightly differ from the uniform law enforcement route (search for these positions in USA Jobs or on agency websites). 

Now after reading the information above, if you still truly have questions; please feel free to send me an email and I will do my best to respond in a timely manner. Try demonstrating some of your "soft skills" in your emails; which many of the young applicants seem to lack. Finally, do not compare yourself to anyone else on those crazy forums (which are full of bitter applicant rejects); your circumstances & talents are unique and if you work hard; you will become a special agent. 

Good luck.