Weekly Hiring Questions Thread - January 25

As far as Federal goes:

Unless you're also a veteran, you have absolutely no chance of getting into the DEA or U.S Marshal Service. They haven't hired a civilian in years, and only recruit about 250 Agents a year, all are former military + at least a 4 year degree.

FBI, NSA, CIA really only hire people with advanced degrees. You will need a Law Degree, or advanced degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Math, or Accounting.

The only job you'll even have a shot at is Border Patrol or one of the other smaller agencies under the DHS. Even then, the majority of jobs go to people with degrees and military experience.

Federal Law Enforcement jobs are almost purely going to Veterans at the moment.

Source: I'm currently working on completing my graduate degree. I've taken a Federal Law Enforcement class taught by the Cheif U.S Marshal for my state. He also had an ASAC DEA Agent, and the Agent in charge of recruiting for the FBI for my state. As I said, I'm finishing up my Masters, and I know that even I have no shot. I'd probably need to go for my PhD to be considered by the FBI, and I still wouldn't get into the DEA.

For local, test as soon as possible, but it really depends. I know some departments that do the entire hiring process, all of the testing, in one single week. One I remember reading about that directly was Tucson Arizona, you literally had a test every day of the week, and you knew by the end whether or not you were hired. You were in the academy 1 month later.

Then on the other end of the spectrum, for the past decade the NYPD has been taking an average of 4 years to get hired from beginning the process; and that's for qualified candidates who score well on the exam. And right now, you can't even take the test anymore because the backlog of people became too long. Some say they're freezing hiring for years.

The LAPD has been going quickly because they're desperate for hires right now.

It really depends on the department, and the timing. Some are fast, some aren't. Usually it will say on their website.

/r/ProtectAndServe Thread Parent