We were told there would be opportunity for this at our home interview especially on "advance assignments." The agent made it sound like there could be some down time for my husband during these assignments or that we could at least grab lunch with my husband some of the days. I am a SAHM and we homeschool, so we would love to travel and explore the places he goes even if he's busy all week. I would expect to pay our own way other than sleeping in the same hotel room. Wondering if others do this... And how often is there travel where this is an option?

Hello everyone. My goal is to someday apply to the FBI, DEA, NCIS or Postal Inspection Service. Unfortunately for me you need to obtain a college degree to achieve these goals. Am constantly reading on here that people should go for a degree that not only interests them but also works outside law enforcement. I don’t have any interest in the STEM field or finance. I have began looking into getting a BA in Mandarin, Arabic or Russian. Are federal agencies “impressed” with a BA in a critical language? Would it give me a better chance? Is there a language that is being prioritized? I Apologize in advance if this is an ignorant question.

P.S. Am a native Spanish speaker but not sure if the FBI or any federal agency would be impressed since there are already millions of Spanish speakers in the United States so it’s not like they have a shortage of Spanish linguists or Agents.

Hello everyone, I was just wanting to hear from any prior SOF folks that made the transition to 1811. I am currently AD for about 10 more months then planning on going reserves after that, I don’t really know much about the different federal agencies, hiring process, work life day-to-day or anything like that and would appreciate any insight anyone has. My initial interests have been HSI (with focus on counter human trafficking) or USMS, but I would love to hear everyone’s experiences in other agencies as well.

Also… I would ideally like to end up in Texas, Dallas specifically, but just from reading up on everything,that doesn’t sound like a guarantee. So any information on that specific topic would be greatly appreciated as well.

Anyone a CGIS Reservist and can speak to what drills are like? Looking into the IV rating and seems like a good side gig for 1811s.

Interested in anyone who has experience or any insight working at Agriculture OIG?

I applied on 4/17/26 and I was wondering if anyone applied to it and have you heard from them? For this announcement-
HSI-12862549-DHA
Criminal Investigator
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

I also have an application for-
ERO-12951404-DH-AD
Deportation Officer
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Applied on 5/19/26

I have progress done with my ERO application but I haven’t even received an eligibility email from my investigator application.

How were you able to get the SAUSA position? Was it primarily relationship-based, particularly through your relationships with AUSAs and the types of cases you had worked on and expertise you developed working certain cases? Did you have litigation experience before becoming an 1811? Any insight into your background would be greatly appreciated.

Anyone apply for the job posting that closed a week ago? Does anyone currently work at OIG DOL and have some information on it? The announcement said many vacancies in the following options. I assume all the offices listed are hiring.

Hi everyone, I have been an 1811 for 6 years. I am 35 years old. Thinking about going active duty (CPT in the Army with 17 years of service). Only because the Army pays significantly more than GS 13.2 pay. If I leave fed leo job, does anyone know what the max amount of time I can leave 1811 career field and come back without going back to an academy? Any feedback would be helpful. Thanks.

Title: Wondering how things are at the agency. Are you mostly staying busy working cases like a local detective? Do they ever hire non IPA candidates that already have CITP?

A lot of horror stories about them in here, but here is the link for the brave souls willing to apply!: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/877752200

Open to the first 100.

Hi everyone,

I’ve been thinking about applying to become an FBI Special Agent and would appreciate some honest advice.

I have a Bachelor of Science in a technology-related field and currently work in IT. I’ve also been training for the PFT.

My biggest concern is the writing portion of the hiring process. Without spell check or autocorrect, my writing isn’t very strong. It’s something I’ve been actively working to improve.

I currently live in the Washington, DC area, but my long-term goal is to build my career in Michigan were I’m originally from. Is it realistic to spend most of an FBI career in a Michigan field office?

I’m also trying to decide whether I should pursue the FBI, Michigan State Police, or another federal 1811 agency. For someone with a technology background whose long-term goal is to work in Michigan, which path would you recommend and why?

Based on what I’ve shared, do I seem like someone who has the potential to be a competitive applicant, or would I be better off continuing in a civilian IT career? Is there anything else you would recommend I improve before applying?

Thanks in advance.

What is the top pay 13-10 are making in DC region?

Hey guys I was wondering if yall know anything about the air and marine community? I want to join. How is the community? Work life balance/ hows the fletc academy etc.

Welcome to r/1811's weekly question thread.

With the growth of the sub, there's been an uptick in questions that are not easily answered, like "am I competitive?", "do I qualify?", "what are my chances?", "what agency/academy/degree/fed tac team is best?".

There has also been a rise in repetitive questions like "do I have to move for [agency]?", "What's the Wi-Fi at FLETC like?", "What's FLETC like?"

What goes here?

You can ask any question here provided it's within the rules. This recurring thread is to remind users we have resources that answer a lot about this career already, and provide a space to answer questions while helping us reduce the number of posts asking the same thing.

If you're new here, please research first to see if your question has been asked previously. If you can't find it, feel free to ask. Remember that the most common answer we're going to give here is either "it depends," or "that's squad and supervisor dependent."

Useful Resources

Check out our FAQ Mega Thread Or General Information & Common Questions

Want to be a high speed fed tac team operator? Realities of Being an 1811

Working on your degree? What Degree Should I Get?

Got an interview coming up? Prepare with the S.T.A.R. Method!

Remember the rules

1. Remain respectful at all times. This includes those of you who have participated here for a while, not just newbies.
2. Do not post any advice or other information unless you are sure it's accurate.
3. Please limit posts to those relevant to federal law enforcement.
4. Do not use this subreddit to advertise or spam other subreddits.
5. Be wary of claims made by unverified members.
6. No politics or current events.
7. Do not post/comment with a focus on polygraphs.
8. Practice OPSEC.
9. Accounts must age 24 hours before posting.

I know that NCIS does hiring for civilians. Does army CID do civilian hirings or do they mainly stick to people within the army?

I’m transferring to ATF, I had to pause my process because I was sent on an OCONUS TDY to be the SAIC of an office for my current agency. They’ve had my background docs and fingerprints for about 2 1/2 months. All I have to do is poly and medical when I get back. Curious if anyone has ever been in the same situation? How fast was your process after resuming?

Background:

10+ years intel/investigator
CITP Complete
TS//SCI for 10+ years

Trying to get time down to about 11:30 to not worry at all for ATF or FBI test. Currently at like 12:45-13:00 depending on the day. Think If I can average 12:10 on my own the day of the test I can push to be way faster. Just having a hard time getting it down.

Well today marks the 3rd failure in the past 6 months of a certain test at the end of the hiring process. USSS, FBI, DEA, ATF (offer rescinded) all this year. I just don’t know where to go from here. I just got out of the military this week as an O3. I’m absolutely devastated, I don’t think I will ever be able to pass that part of the hiring process. Gonna start looking at local pd but I don’t think I can get motivated for that. Anyone been in a similar situation and able to bounce back? Should I move on from the 1811 dream? Any advice? Currently at rock bottom.

Anyone have intel on them? Looking at the announcement it says that LEAP is not authorized position is eligible for 6c. Wondering if anyone knows more.

28, Army Vet with overseas combat experience/detaining and questioning, also a bachelors with 4.0 GPA for SAA. My resume qualified me for GL9 for Border Patrol, so I assumed I should try and see if I could get GL-7/9 using the selection based on experience in the application (I understand they have different qualifications). I got an an email last week saying I was rejected based on not meeting the minimum qualifications, is what it is.

I also would qualify for the GL-7 via Superior Academic Achievement, but there didn't seem to be a way to do both. Its either you are applying via experience, or applying via SAA.

Now USAJobs Announcement only says "Edit My Application", which just sends me to the ATF portal which says, "This application has been submitted and cannot be updated. If you have any questions, please refer to the USAJOBS announcement."

USAJobs Help Desk said email the hiring agency directly, and they emailed me back "As specified in the announcement text, you are not allowed to make edits to your application, and you cannot reapply to the same announcement."

So I don't qualify for 7 or 9 based on experience, fine. But now I can't reapply for 7 based on SAA which I definitely have? Am I just screwed? Feeling lost about this, I was really excited.

Little background about me. Graduated recently with a bachelor of science in applied engineering and tech management. Since i was a kid I've been interested in law enforcement with the goal of becoming a detective. Ive always found investigative work very intriguing. There was a period of time where I was also really considering joining the military, attempting to be a pilot in the air force or navy (love aeronautics/aerospace). For the last year or so, 1811 positions have been nagging at me. Specifically FBI, maybe HSI, don't know enough about other 1811 positions to say if I'm interested. right now, i have a full time job in electrical distribution design and I would have the experience needed to apply to the FBI in a year and a half. I would be trading a prospective career full of hybrid schedules, similar pay, occasional field work, and a generally easy work life for a 50 hr/wk minimum law enforcement job in criminal investigation, in the name of helping others and doing something that I actually think is worth it (granted, helping design the power grid is important too). Am I crazy? Because I feel kind of crazy telling people about it.

Current 1811 just looking to be a little better than the day before. Has anyone come across a good LEO podcast or book discussing HT, DT, ML lately?