FBI Work after JD? Forum

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Tangysalt

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by Tangysalt » Fri May 05, 2017 10:12 am

No, the OP does not work for the FBI.

Sorry, but this sounds like fantasy career land. People who want law degrees because they fantasize about being FBI agents, detectives or politicians. It's a long shot for all these things. Better option: Grow up. study something practical like engineering, healthcare or computers. Put down the detective novels and stop watching the t.v. shows.

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cavalier1138

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by cavalier1138 » Fri May 05, 2017 11:07 am

Tangysalt wrote:No, the OP does not work for the FBI.

Sorry, but this sounds like fantasy career land. People who want law degrees because they fantasize about being FBI agents, detectives or politicians. It's a long shot for all these things. Better option: Grow up. study something practical like engineering, healthcare or computers. Put down the detective novels and stop watching the t.v. shows.
So since you're not even planning on going to law school (at least from your posting history), maybe you should ease up on providing pearls of wisdom.

The FBI does actually like people with JDs for a few positions. I'm not sure how easy it is without pre-existing ties to the Bureau/law enforcement, but it is actually much more realistic than the JD-to-politician route.

Anyway, there's no way in hell the OP is still around, so this is a pointless necro.

Tangysalt

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by Tangysalt » Fri May 05, 2017 3:12 pm

Sure, Perry Mason. Whatever you say.

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by str8shot122 » Sun May 21, 2017 6:58 pm

Damn this conversation really devolved. I'm a former Army Captain going to UCLA this fall. Also interested in FBI. Yeah, there are other pathways to becoming an agent and, yeah, becoming a FBI agent isn't easy. But that doesn't mean JD students considering it shouldn't be able to ask for advice. After all, the acting FBI director went to WUSTL, practiced biglaw, then became a g man. I wouldn't claim to know much about the FBI. But, if it's anything similar to the military officer world, no one cares about your degree once you get in.

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dannyswo

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by dannyswo » Wed Jun 07, 2017 6:01 am

JD is one of the best ways to get into the FBI.
https://www.fbijobs.gov/career-paths/special-agents

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A. Nony Mouse

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by A. Nony Mouse » Wed Jun 07, 2017 6:57 am

dannyswo wrote:JD is one of the best ways to get into the FBI.
https://www.fbijobs.gov/career-paths/special-agents
Why do you say "best"? (I ask just because I don't think any of the FBI agents I know have a JD.)

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TooMuchTuna

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by TooMuchTuna » Wed Jun 07, 2017 8:20 am

dannyswo wrote:JD is one of the best ways to get into the FBI.
https://www.fbijobs.gov/career-paths/special-agents
Ha, definitely would not say "one of the best." It is just one of many skill sets that can get your foot in the door.

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dannyswo

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by dannyswo » Wed Jun 07, 2017 9:17 am

TooMuchTuna wrote:
dannyswo wrote:JD is one of the best ways to get into the FBI.
https://www.fbijobs.gov/career-paths/special-agents
Ha, definitely would not say "one of the best." It is just one of many skill sets that can get your foot in the door.
It's easier than doing a 4-6 year stint in the military.

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TooMuchTuna

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by TooMuchTuna » Wed Jun 07, 2017 9:27 am

dannyswo wrote:
TooMuchTuna wrote:
dannyswo wrote:JD is one of the best ways to get into the FBI.
https://www.fbijobs.gov/career-paths/special-agents
Ha, definitely would not say "one of the best." It is just one of many skill sets that can get your foot in the door.
It's easier than doing a 4-6 year stint in the military.
Haha, I'll give you that. But there are still easier ways to get a foot in the door than to get a JD (which I'd argue absent passing the bar and working as an attorney for at least a couple of years won't really help you) or do a 4-6 year stint in the military.

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dannyswo

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by dannyswo » Wed Jun 07, 2017 10:26 am

TooMuchTuna wrote:
dannyswo wrote:
TooMuchTuna wrote:
dannyswo wrote:JD is one of the best ways to get into the FBI.
https://www.fbijobs.gov/career-paths/special-agents
Ha, definitely would not say "one of the best." It is just one of many skill sets that can get your foot in the door.
It's easier than doing a 4-6 year stint in the military.
Haha, I'll give you that. But there are still easier ways to get a foot in the door than to get a JD (which I'd argue absent passing the bar and working as an attorney for at least a couple of years won't really help you) or do a 4-6 year stint in the military.
I definitely overstated, but I look at it like this:
You ditch the three years minimum work experience requirement, so you're 22 with a BA, 25 with a JD when you start.
Contrast with BA/BS at 22, 2 years for an advanced degree, 3+ years work experience, which means grinding at your first job and then ditching that paycheck to start at the bottom again.
From a military perspective, it's tough to stand out with 4 years, and most people are looking at 4-6 years for their first stint, longer for pilots. An Academy guy owes 5 years, and it's the worst 5 of your career. So looking at $5400 a month + $3,231 (tax free) housing at Camp Pendleton (or $2,634 without dependents) and all your tax free advantages, you're going to turn down 6 figures to start at the bottom?

Shortest and easiest path seems the best to me. Not a reflection of your ability to get hired, but to overcome the minimum requirements.

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TooMuchTuna

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by TooMuchTuna » Wed Jun 07, 2017 10:42 am

Yeah, that all makes sense. That page is a little confusing because it says having a JD will waive some, but not all, work experience requirements and then directly below it says if you have an advance degree, you still need 2 years work experience. In the past, if you had a JD, you still needed to have 2 years of work experience. But maybe they changed that requirement and they'll waive more than one year from the requirement on a case-by-case basis.

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A. Nony Mouse

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by A. Nony Mouse » Wed Jun 07, 2017 11:41 am

I tend to think there are other options besides JD and military, though (like other advanced degrees). Like go get trained as an accountant or in computers or learn languages.

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TheSpanishMain

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by TheSpanishMain » Wed Jun 07, 2017 12:10 pm

dannyswo wrote:An Academy guy owes 5 years, and it's the worst 5 of your career.
Being an ensign/2nd Lt. is hardly the worst years of your career. Yeah, no one respects you, but you can't really mess much up and no one expects too much. I'd argue the worst 5 years of a 20 year career are probably being an O4 on a staff somewhere. You go from being a senior O3 who can actually get things done to a bitchmade office drone.

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dannyswo

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by dannyswo » Wed Jun 07, 2017 12:21 pm

TheSpanishMain wrote:
dannyswo wrote:An Academy guy owes 5 years, and it's the worst 5 of your career.
Being an ensign/2nd Lt. is hardly the worst years of your career. Yeah, no one respects you, but you can't really mess much up and no one expects too much. I'd argue the worst 5 years of a 20 year career are probably being an O4 on a staff somewhere. You go from being a senior O3 who can actually get things done to a bitchmade office drone.
I love staff work. No people and no equipment to worry about. O-4 means no one tells me what to do, I can just get on with my job. :lol:

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usn26

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by usn26 » Wed Jun 07, 2017 12:32 pm

dannyswo wrote:
TooMuchTuna wrote:
dannyswo wrote:
TooMuchTuna wrote:
dannyswo wrote:JD is one of the best ways to get into the FBI.
https://www.fbijobs.gov/career-paths/special-agents
Ha, definitely would not say "one of the best." It is just one of many skill sets that can get your foot in the door.
It's easier than doing a 4-6 year stint in the military.
Haha, I'll give you that. But there are still easier ways to get a foot in the door than to get a JD (which I'd argue absent passing the bar and working as an attorney for at least a couple of years won't really help you) or do a 4-6 year stint in the military.
I definitely overstated, but I look at it like this:
You ditch the three years minimum work experience requirement, so you're 22 with a BA, 25 with a JD when you start.
Contrast with BA/BS at 22, 2 years for an advanced degree, 3+ years work experience, which means grinding at your first job and then ditching that paycheck to start at the bottom again.
From a military perspective, it's tough to stand out with 4 years, and most people are looking at 4-6 years for their first stint, longer for pilots. An Academy guy owes 5 years, and it's the worst 5 of your career. So looking at $5400 a month + $3,231 (tax free) housing at Camp Pendleton (or $2,634 without dependents) and all your tax free advantages, you're going to turn down 6 figures to start at the bottom?

Shortest and easiest path seems the best to me. Not a reflection of your ability to get hired, but to overcome the minimum requirements.
Don't need your username to know your designator, Daniel

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dannyswo

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by dannyswo » Wed Jun 07, 2017 12:34 pm

usn26 wrote:Don't need your username to know your designator, Daniel
ha ha! I went OCS so it was only 4 years of the suck for me.

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TooMuchTuna

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by TooMuchTuna » Wed Jun 07, 2017 2:23 pm

A. Nony Mouse wrote:I tend to think there are other options besides JD and military, though (like other advanced degrees). Like go get trained as an accountant or in computers or learn languages.
Definitely! In fact, I was told that one of the BEST Phase 2 interviews conducted was with a middle school teacher! That's what is so cool about the FBI. You have Special Agents from ALL walks of life.

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by notgreat » Wed Jun 07, 2017 2:57 pm

Don't you need three years of full time work experience to get in to the FBI as a special agent?

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TooMuchTuna

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by TooMuchTuna » Wed Jun 07, 2017 3:23 pm

notgreat wrote:Don't you need three years of full time work experience to get in to the FBI as a special agent?
Nope, there are exceptions (e.g. having an advanced degree, eligible veterans, etc.).

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usn26

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by usn26 » Fri Jun 09, 2017 2:10 am

(*Anecdata alert*) Out of the very small sample (10-20?) of SA backgrounds I've encountered recently, it seems like the best way to become an SA is join the FBI. The vast majority of straight-to-SA's I saw had 5-15 years of state/local LE experience, although one was a wine salesman of some sort. One was military. A majority had converted to SA from lab analyst or other internal non-SA positions though. I met one SA who was also a practicing FBI attorney, but I can't remember which job he held first (I want to say he was a lawyer first). He was the only one of the group with a law degree. Most of these agents joined in the late 90's so maybe things have changed. But that tendency to promote from within seems typically fedgov.

ETA: I found this pattern surprising but I recognize this probably was not a helpful post.

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by Lexigator » Fri Jun 09, 2017 2:31 am

dannyswo wrote:
TheSpanishMain wrote:
dannyswo wrote:An Academy guy owes 5 years, and it's the worst 5 of your career.
Being an ensign/2nd Lt. is hardly the worst years of your career. Yeah, no one respects you, but you can't really mess much up and no one expects too much. I'd argue the worst 5 years of a 20 year career are probably being an O4 on a staff somewhere. You go from being a senior O3 who can actually get things done to a bitchmade office drone.
I love seeing officers discuss the military. It confirms my suspicions that they are just as ate up, if not more so than the enlisted side. Also from an enlisted perspective, picking up O-4 and going staff when coming off a line unit looks like the worst part of a career. From being the Company commander to some guy in battalion where no one knows what he does seems, humbling? It's kind of nifty to see confirmation there too.

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dannyswo

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by dannyswo » Fri Jun 09, 2017 3:14 am

Lexigator wrote:
dannyswo wrote:
TheSpanishMain wrote:
dannyswo wrote:An Academy guy owes 5 years, and it's the worst 5 of your career.
Being an ensign/2nd Lt. is hardly the worst years of your career. Yeah, no one respects you, but you can't really mess much up and no one expects too much. I'd argue the worst 5 years of a 20 year career are probably being an O4 on a staff somewhere. You go from being a senior O3 who can actually get things done to a bitchmade office drone.
I love seeing officers discuss the military. It confirms my suspicions that they are just as ate up, if not more so than the enlisted side. Also from an enlisted perspective, picking up O-4 and going staff when coming off a line unit looks like the worst part of a career. From being the Company commander to some guy in battalion where no one knows what he does seems, humbling? It's kind of nifty to see confirmation there too.
I can understand that perspective. A lot depends on the staff as well. On the Navy side JOs are on ships, crushing 18-24 hour work days, deploying 6-9 months, commuting an hour each way to get on bases that only open one gate, you're standing watch, running a department of 150+ sailors, working on training teams, other collateral duties, and by the time you learn how to be an Engineer/TAO/ASWO, they give you 18-24 months, they send you to a new ship class with a new job and you start over. Then you make O-4 and you can go gung ho for promotion, or take a job where you've got a view of the ocean from a nice office, no lines to get on base, no people, no equipment, a good base gym... Take an exchange tour, or go work on a NATO staff in Europe, absolutely awesome.

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Re: FBI Work after JD?

Post by kterbo » Thu May 10, 2018 3:47 am

To the person that said Secret service is at the low end.....further down than park rangers.....That could not be further from the truth. I've Two family members in (were in secret service). It was not myself.

I've been in and out of the white house since 1985. Both family member have the highest quality of life, and lucrative life style. *Both are retired and have loved every bit of their jobs.

I can tell you that to get into that field.... they only pick the top of the class in law school. Top three that I am aware. And the background checks go back to when they were almost babies. So very clean past you need. Wish we can say the same for the presidents. :roll:

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

Now there's a charge.
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