Career in Federal LEO/edit to include all levels of LE

[Hmac]

I have a buddy in Army CID. He's been doing that for several years and is still a big fan. He transferred in from EOD.

[Turnkey11]

Depends on the route you want to go, obviously you can always shoehorn into the BOP to get started. I had a friend at the FDC there that got a deputy Marshal spot in Phoenix a couple years after starting, ICE also has an office inside staffed by former BOP. Id shy away from anything at DC, virtually every agency is in Hawaii, stick with that for now.

[Wake27]

Bumping this thread. Initially I wasn't going to go into detail on a public forum, but I have a date for Special Forces selection in late FEB. That is the career path that I want in the Army, but the selection rate is pretty damn low. Even if I do get in, I don't know if it is something that I can do for 17 more years - I just hate being away from home for extended periods. I'm hoping that will change if there's a relatively good reason behind it, but who knows. I hate for it to be such a motivating factor, but to be honest, salary will be a significant consideration for me. The branch I'm in isn't extremely competitive, and at the risk of sounding a little self-inflated, I could probably make O-4 without changing a whole lot of my work ethic. That's at least $72k base pay, plus healthcare and all that stuff that the military still provides. Considering my expensive hobby and the fact that a child or two in the next few years is very likely, money is probably going to be more important than I'd prefer. I've done a little shooting with some LEO-types lately, and it has reignited my curiosity of some type of SWAT/SRT as plan b. Part of it is the desire to do something badass that actually involves shooting, but there is also a very real desire to feel like I am having some type of positive contribution as well. For those of you with any type of full-time LEO experience (at any level), I'd definitely appreciate further feedback.

[chuckman]

Bumping this thread. Initially I wasn't going to go into detail on a public forum, but I have a date for Special Forces selection in late FEB. That is the career path that I want in the Army, but the selection rate is pretty damn low. Even if I do get in, I don't know if it is something that I can do for 17 more years - I just hate being away from home for extended periods. I'm hoping that will change if there's a relatively good reason behind it, but who knows. I hate for it to be such a motivating factor, but to be honest, salary will be a significant consideration for me. The branch I'm in isn't extremely competitive, and at the risk of sounding a little self-inflated, I could probably make O-4 without changing a whole lot of my work ethic. That's at least $72k base pay, plus healthcare and all that stuff that the military still provides. Considering my expensive hobby and the fact that a child or two in the next few years is very likely, money is probably going to be more important than I'd prefer. I've done a little shooting with some LEO-types lately, and it has reignited my curiosity of some type of SWAT/SRT as plan b. Part of it is the desire to do something badass that actually involves shooting, but there is also a very real desire to feel like I am having some type of positive contribution as well. For those of you with any type of full-time LEO experience (at any level), I'd definitely appreciate further feedback.

Not to be an ass, but I am being blunt: it sounds like you have already self-selected. If you don't feel like you can give 100% to SF, don't do it.

[tostado22]

To piggyback on this...

Would a particular bachelor's degree be more marketable at the Federal LE or DoD level?I've only got some core classes so I'm not committed to a degree plan yet.

Wake, chuckman is right. I made the mistake of going to SFAS too young and honestly, immature (not saying that's you, but leads to the same place). Aside from being out now and local LE, I think I would be better off attending selection now compared to my trip there in 2012. On paper I performed well, but my head wasn't fully in it. After all that I ended up getting injured of all things lol.

[pointblank4445]

I've done a little shooting with some LEO-types lately, and it has reignited my curiosity of some type of SWAT/SRT as plan b. Part of it is the desire to do something badass that actually involves shooting.

I've been SWAT for all but about the first 7 months of my LE career, but I was extremely lucky in that timing. If you don't like the day-to-day, call-to-call street stuff and live only for the SWAT/SRT, sexy tactics stuff will only sustain you so long before the other stuff beats you down. If you just want to shoot and play with guns, most places might disappoint you. There are some green pastures where they have decent budgets, but that's not the norm. Ultimately, if you don't have a deep desire or are in it only for the cool/sexy stuff...it's only a matter of time before you pop smoke and wind up playing the "what do I want to be when I grow up" game again.

PS the game is really not what it once was...check out the nonsense going on in Fife, WA and add that to the pile.

[Hapworth]

Bumping this thread. Initially I wasn't going to go into detail on a public forum, but I have a date for Special Forces selection in late FEB. That is the career path that I want in the Army, but the selection rate is pretty damn low. Even if I do get in, I don't know if it is something that I can do for 17 more years - I just hate being away from home for extended periods. I'm hoping that will change if there's a relatively good reason behind it, but who knows. I hate for it to be such a motivating factor, but to be honest, salary will be a significant consideration for me. The branch I'm in isn't extremely competitive, and at the risk of sounding a little self-inflated, I could probably make O-4 without changing a whole lot of my work ethic. That's at least $72k base pay, plus healthcare and all that stuff that the military still provides. Considering my expensive hobby and the fact that a child or two in the next few years is very likely, money is probably going to be more important than I'd prefer. I've done a little shooting with some LEO-types lately, and it has reignited my curiosity of some type of SWAT/SRT as plan b. Part of it is the desire to do something badass that actually involves shooting, but there is also a very real desire to feel like I am having some type of positive contribution as well. For those of you with any type of full-time LEO experience (at any level), I'd definitely appreciate further feedback.

Kudos for the first legitimate thread resurrection I've seen in a while.

Unsolicited advice: going SOF is like getting married -- if you don't want to do it with all your heart, don't. You sound iffy.

Per career paths in law enforcement: strongly suggest you run a search on M4C member Firefly and read everything he posted about being a cop; hopefully at least some of those posts still exist, as he wrote superbly insightful things on modern policing. Firefly no longer posts here, but he might answer a PM if you reach out.

[T2C]

I've been SWAT for all but about the first 7 months of my LE career, but I was extremely lucky in that timing. If you don't like the day-to-day, call-to-call street stuff and live only for the SWAT/SRT, sexy tactics stuff will only sustain you so long before the other stuff beats you down. If you just want to shoot and play with guns, most places might disappoint you. There are some green pastures where they have decent budgets, but that's not the norm. Ultimately, if you don't have a deep desire or are in it only for the cool/sexy stuff...it's only a matter of time before you pop smoke and wind up playing the "what do I want to be when I grow up" game again.

PS the game is really not what it once was...check out the nonsense going on in Fife, WA and add that to the pile.

This is an insightful post. If you don't want to do the day to day stuff for the right reasons, a military or law enforcement job will grind you down in a big hurry.

A person trying to make a career path decision doesn't want to make a decision based on whether they think the job will be "cool", recognition or how they perceive others outside of the working community will view them. A person should make a decision based on what they want to invest their heart and soul into doing for the rest of their lives.

[Wake27]

Guys, I realize how the post comes off with regard to selection, but that is only because I didn't see the need to make a long post on here about it being what I want to do. I just want to be able to have a decent idea for my next couple of options if I don't make it. That doesn't mean that I'm only half committed and I don't want that to really be any part of the focus here. Also, keep in mind that I'm not someone new to working in the federal government. I've been on active duty for almost four years and I'm not an idiot so I know that there's BS everywhere. What I am looking for is what federal agencies to steer away from (FBI is too political maybe?), or that a large city PD may be great because beyond that you're too far removed from everything but at the same time it's hard for career advancement, because there aren't a whole lot of upper positions.

Ultimately, I want to do something that feels like I'm helping my country. On the civilian side, my ideal route would be something like working patrol or special agent just long enough to get on the tac team, work that for a few years, and then move up into a higher counter-terrorism/major crimes management role I guess. Based on one of the PMs I received from this initial post, I know that Austin PD has lots of sections to include CT so I'm also looking for feedback on departments like that. Hopefully that helps narrow my question.


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[26 Inf]

On the civilian side, my ideal route would be something like working patrol or special agent just long enough to get on the tac team, work that for a few years, and then move up into a higher counter-terrorism/major crimes management role I guess. Based on one of the PMs I received from this initial post, I know that Austin PD has lots of sections to include CT so I'm also looking for feedback on departments like that. Hopefully that helps narrow my question.

I would caution you about taking any LE job, whether it be Federal, State or Local, with a timetable, career path like you've laid out here.

At an agency such as Austin PD (your example) you are going to be competing with a lot of guys who have the same goals. It may not happen. So, unless you could see yourself starting in patrol, and perhaps staying there for the majority of a career, I would suggest not even starting an LE career.