upcoming college grad job advise

TexasBulldog · #1 02-06-09, 01:36 PM

Graduating college in december with a bachelors in parks and recreation, specialization in park law. immediately going for my masters in park law enforcement. I hope to go into the federal air marshal service or the fbi. any advise you guys could give that might help me into those programs?

**Xiphos** · #2 02-06-09, 02:16 PM

With your background, why not NPS?

**Five-0** · #3 02-06-09, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xiphos

With your background, why not NPS?

That is what I was thinking. The Air Marshals and FBI would not be first on my list.

**Retdetsgt** · #4 02-06-09, 10:11 PM

Any place but the FBI. That's the most screwed up federal agency I have ever dealt with.

TexasBulldog · #5 02-07-09, 03:34 PM

NPS just doesnt seem like my thing. I've had a couple tastes of it and its just not my speed. I'd like something a little more aggressive than park conservation and glorified tour guiding. Im leaning to FBI because I think I would enjoy getting on with an HRT team, but I also know thats a tough road to get on. I think FAMS might not be a bad fit for me either. I have the parks and rec/park law background because thats the closest to law enforcement this univ had to offer. why didn't I change schools? football scholarship. as long as they were paying for it, why move? if you guys know of any agency that might be good for me that I've overlooked or havent thought of, feel free to throw it at me.

**Xiphos** · #6 02-07-09, 03:54 PM

If you want any "speed" FAMs isn't the way to go. You sit on an airplane and you aren't allowed to watch movies or sleep. Of all the FAMs there has only been a couple arrests since 9-11 that they've been involved in. And that's only the arrest, another agency does the investigation and prosecution.

Anyone who's worked with the FBI will tell you that's mostly bureaucratic as well. Many agents will never even use their handcuffs.

I would recommend you spend several years after college on a police department in a medium to large city. You will get tons and tons of OJT and will be able to write your ticket anywhere.

If you want to kick in doors and KATN I would sugest ATF, DEA or USM. Even some sections of ICE are in the KATN business with smugglers and child porn investigations etc. A couple of years as a street cop in a medium to large city in the US will get you anywhere you want to go. If you want to knock heads though the FBI would be the last place I would recommend you go.

**BigDawg** · #7 02-07-09, 07:06 PM

I agree with Xiphos, the FBI is the last place I would go. I suggest the Marshals, ATF, DEA, or even Border Patrol.

**Five-0** · #8 02-07-09, 07:49 PM

Don't forge that the National Parks are becoming a good place to bust grow operations. If you are in Texas, how about the Rangers? Medium to large departments (both city and county) have everything you are looking for, and you don't have to change jobs to get a different flavor. At my agency (County) we have Patrol, Investigations, TRU [swat], Drug Task Force, K9, Negotiators, Transport, Civil Division, ect. You will probably find that your tastes will change as the law enforcement world opens up to you. With your background (education, in shape from football) you will be able to start at better agencies than a lot of new hires. Right now I get an additional 12% on top of base pay. 10% for a bachelor's degree, and 2% for a fitness incentive. I will try to get an additional 5% by getting my master's degree. On top of that I don't have to travel all over the place. That is a big plus when you start a family. Considering what I make is very competative with a federal agency $$$ wise.

**Retdetsgt** · #9 02-08-09, 12:06 AM

Don't you have to have prior LE experience to be a Texas Ranger?????

I'd look past the feds. They're okay, but you may or may not get to decide even what part of the country you live in. A good friend of mine went with the FBI and was transferred to L.A. He has horrible allergies and the air down there was awful for him. He asked to be sent anywhere else but they wouldn't move him. He had to quit. One of the reason I went with a municipal dept was I couldn't be sent all over the place against my will or have to be transferred to take a promotion.

And if you go to work for a decent size S.O. or city dept., you will probably have more opportunity to do more varied types of police work than you ever would with any federal agency.

**sgtbear111** · #10 02-08-09, 01:41 AM

Agree with what's been said so far. I worked for a State, and wore a big hat. I spent most of my career in investigations. What got me there was the previous experience I had working for a Sheriff's Dept. I already knew how to write criminal case reports, search warrant affidavits, interview people, take evidence and preserve it for court, and get confessions. I knew my limits, but had opportunities. I went thru the academies for county and city depts, and the trooper academy. The emphasis of criminal / traffic in one academy, was about opposite in the other.

Many agency academies, including the Feds, have this attitude "if we dont teach it here, it isn't worth knowing". I looked "outside" for training opportunities, and worked "outside" a few years where I had very little agency contact. I became a city police detective in all but name, and where the paycheck was written. We investigated the drug cases our DTF developed, but if there was a related crime involved we jumped on that too, or went federal. Best Feds we worked with were the individual special agents we knew by name, and often contacted directly. The bosses could play alphabet soup or "turf wars".

From where I have been, suggest you try a medium to large city or county agency. You will get the full spectrum of experience from traffic and barking dog complaints to multiple homicides. You will acquire "street smarts" practice them daily, and have those tools/skills in your next job. A more specialized agency early in your career means narrowed windows of opportunity, and you won't see, or learn as much.

Terminator · #11 02-08-09, 01:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retdetsgt

And if you go to work for a decent size S.O. or city dept., you will probably have more opportunity to do more varied types of police work than you ever would with any federal agency.

Agreed.

**maclean** · #12 02-08-09, 03:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retdetsgt

Don't you have to have prior LE experience to be a Texas Ranger?????

Good question.

I know I'd gladly surrender a nut to be a Ranger. Their job description sounds like the shit!

TexasBulldog · #13 02-08-09, 09:24 AM

8 years LE experience to be exact for the rangers. i would love to be a ranger but its a long time before i get to meet basic requirements. i appreciate all this information fellas. youre helping my career decisions more than you know.

**Five-0** · #14 02-08-09, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TexasBulldog

8 years LE experience to be exact for the rangers. i would love to be a ranger but its a long time before i get to meet basic requirements. i appreciate all this information fellas. youre helping my career decisions more than you know.

I didn't know that about the Rangers. The one I have met was teaching a class I was in. He impressed the hell out of me.

**Retdetsgt** · #15 02-08-09, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Five-0

I didn't know that about the Rangers. The one I have met was teaching a class I was in. He impressed the hell out of me.

I think most of them are prior Texas DPS officers. We had a guy quit my dept and go back to Texas and become one. I was thinking it was 5 years prior experience, but 8 is no doubt right. With their job, you better know what you're doing when you start.

I grew up in Texas and met one when I was in high school. He was investigating some crime or the other and needed to talk to my Dad who apparently knew someone connected with it. As a rule, growing up there in the 50's, early 60's I wasn't terribly impressed with the Texas cops I'd dealt with. But this man was was kind, funny, carried one hell of a presence with him and you knew he was a real professional. As a 16 year old smartass kid, I stared at him kinda big eyed.

I thought about it them a little, but I would have had to trash 8 years of retirement benefits built up in Oregon, so I didn't pursue it.

**Xiphos** · #16 02-08-09, 11:05 AM

One thing you have to consider is how the media portrays law enforcement on TV. Locals are often portrayed as corrupt and/or inept, while the FBI is often portrayed as being super cops. Often in TV the FBI is the catch all for all federal investigatory agencies. They are often portrayed as stepping on the local guys to get a tough job done.

In reality, federal investigations are spread out among different agencies. Although there is some overlap sometimes, as a general rule each agency has its own expertise. The feds investigate federal crimes and some murder in hick down is not a federal crime.

We have officers at my agency participating with federal task forces and working right along side other cops and federal special agents on a daily basis. We have guys with the ATF and they are doing under cover investigations, high risk search warrants; they are kicking in doors and making big cases in federal court. We have guys with the DEA doing the same thing but more drug centered cases. We have guys with the US Marshals who are hunting dangerous fugitives. They are chasing them down, kicking in doors, and dragging dangerous people back to prison.

We have nobody working with the FBI. They don't want to share the spot light with us. I don't know what they do, I haven't seen an FBI agent at work in years and years. They are mostly tied up doing white collar crime investigations. I've had friends work with them on a couple search warrants and they have no idea when it comes to any tactics, safety, or actually catching bad guys. The few who do were once street cops but they are rare. With a street cop background you could get into the FBI and actually get into the interesting stuff like bank robberies and anti-terrorism. Plan to live somewhere like NY city though. I was told this by an FBI agent trying to recruit me.

**Retdetsgt** · #17 02-08-09, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xiphos

One thing you have to consider is how the media portrays law enforcement on TV. Locals are often portrayed as corrupt and/or inept, while the FBI is often portrayed as being super cops.

I was once told by an FBI SA over a few beers one night that they are taught in the academy to assume all locals are corrupt. As soon as he told me that, a lot of things started to make sense.

My experience is that the FBI is the most inept of any federal agencies, mostly because of their stilted ego and refusal to admit errors. A Muslim attorney here just made 2 million bucks because they misidentified a fingerprint and indicted him for terrorism. One guy screwed up the ID and others were afraid to say he was wrong.

Recently they arrested an old retired school teacher for bank robbery and threw him in jail. They accused him of being the "Waddling Bandit" even though he had a bank ATM receipt that showed him to be in a different part of the state during one holdup. Then the locals down in Eugene captured the real bank robber. The FBI refused to apologized and refused to admit they made errors. If I'd done that sloppy a job of investigation, my dept would have had me washing patrol cars. The old man settled for an "undisclosed amount" of tax payer money.

Any other federal agent comes to my house, they'll be welcomed in, offered coffee, etc. My first words to any FBI agent would be to ask if they have a warrant. I've worked probably a dozen cases with them and every single one left me pissed. I don't trust them and have plenty of personal experiences not to.