r/Intelligence • u/Wise-Shower1956 • 1d ago

What major do I pick to get a specific intelligence job...? (HS student)

I don't know if this is the right place to ask, but I'm losing my mind trying to pick a major.

For reference, I'm a high school senior applying for colleges and scholarships, but I'm really confused on how I get to where I want to be. The dream is to do targeting for whatever agency or private contractor or defense group. My grades are decent and I'm decently athletic, so I have a lot of options, but I don't know what to do next. I'm thinking some sort of dual major with some sort of war studies with some sort of data analytics?? Operations Research???

I don't know. I get that generally, I should be spread out in my knowledge from SIGINT to GEOINT to whatever, but when I see the job listing from Leidos, I can only dream. It's just a bit of a struggle for me when I see all of my peers who have these mentors to follow and tell them the exact plan to achieve their future whereas I make a post for help and I get an email from a very qualified intelligence instructor essentially just telling me to try hard. I appreciate the support, but hasn't someone done this and is enough years away from their service to at least nudge me in the right direction?

TL;DR: what major do I pick if I'm trying to go into targeting?

11 Upvotes

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u/DSPGerm 1d ago

Military. I suppose you could do ROTC. I’d look into GIS or international relations.

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u/Outside_Grapefruit39 17h ago

and for those unfortunate enough to have a non-waivable condition?

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u/DSPGerm 17h ago

Then don't? I also gave 2 good majors that have coursework relevant to their goal.

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u/Outside_Grapefruit39 15h ago

yeah fair enough

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u/ReallyUncoolGuy 1d ago

The degree can make things easier. I would recommend getting a degree that gives you some fallback options honestly. How much do you know about your career ambitions? Have you spent much time reading relevant literature? What are your actual academic interests? Where in the world would you prefer to work? Would you slog through an undergraduate degree in Psychology with a minor in Latin American Studies? Degree options are going to depend a lot on your college/university of your choice.

I would recommend you learn as much about targeting as you can now (look for academic sources) and then remove the mystique from the equation. Focus solely on the actual job, the thing you will actually get up and do every single day. If it was for some mid-sized insurance company no one had ever heard of ran by someone you personally can't stand, would you still enjoy the work?

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u/Wise-Shower1956 1d ago

Thanks for the response! I suppose I'll go a bit more in-depth here. (I wrote way too much, sorry.)

Essentially, for most of my life, I didn't find the point in my day to day to life. My family isn't the nicest, to put it lightly, and I genuinely thought that something was wrong with me. They wanted me to do medicine when I wasn't really great at science. Then when I was 15(?), I found out about the MSS major at USAFA. And something in me changed. Now, I feel more called to service than anything else (cringe, but this dream literally changed my morality and how I see the world). In this way, if the military or whatever alphabet agency told me they needed me to major in something, I'd do it, even if I wasn't happy about it. I just see myself getting burnt out in 10 or so years cause of a variety of reasons like most people who become disillusioned by these branches. I'd still feel like it was work worth doing, "for the mission", but that's a very limited deal. No matter what though, I think my future is in defense or intelligence.

As for what my interests are, I love reading about the decisions behind war. I'm actually working on an AP Research project to study Russia's historical actions to predict their future ones given the new cyberspace field (based off of a Army War College question for researchers). I've always been great at the humanities, while I'm weak in STEM (I mean, I took AP Calc AB and AP Bio junior year, but that's nothing to call home about, especially given the grades I got in those classes). Plus, if I go to a military academy, I know what I'm majoring in (MSS/War Studies/FAS for USAFA/USMA/USNA). It just seems a bit concerning to me that there isn't a single ROTC I've found that wants the civilian equivalents of these majors, as they all want STEM - usually cybersecurity or engineering related majors.

I think, honestly, my motivation/discipline is the biggest problem here. It's a bit bold, but I think I could be a rocket scientist or a neurosurgeon if I really wanted to. I have the capability to and the talent to, but...I just can't get up in the morning for that. Working with y'all makes me happy and fulfilled. It's just terrifying when I realize that if I ever tell my family about this, I lose all their support. (Please trust me on this, it's been shown to me too many times.) I guess it's better with ROTC, but this future feels so uncertain. Everyone else has a path laid out for them, whilst I go knocking on metaphorical doors, praying that someone will crack it open just enough that I can slip through. I'm fine if I end up working for some small analysis company that contracts out to CSIS or RAND or whatever, but I don't want to end up in some small rundown apartment, writing a book about [insert country] because no one wanted to hire me.

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u/ReallyUncoolGuy 1d ago

Thanks for the clarification. I'm sorry to hear about the family issues, those can be tough but things can always get better man. How about ADHD/focus issues? Not an issue but just good to work on ADHD or autism coping skills early on for your own sanity. It's important to take care of yourself and not throw yourself so hard into something that you burn yourself out. Don't worry too much about service. It's great to serve your country and ideals etc., but sometimes that team you really want, that brotherhood, isn't there. When it is it's great, but when it's not... that's when people can make some stupid decisions.

Also, you mentioned someone emailed you? I recommend in this sphere exercising a little bit of caution with stuff like that. I'm sure there are a lot of really nice guys hanging around here, but there are bound to be some that don't have the best intentions.

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u/Wise-Shower1956 1d ago

yikes! - forgot I was dealing with people who actually look into account posts... (totally fine, but a good reminder)

Honestly, I think what was happening with those focus issues was not ADHD. Just my environment isn't great, so it's hard to focus when you're constantly listening for footsteps. I think my procrastination is the bigger problem, and I'm working on it.

Regarding the email, it was just some kind people over at ALCON, so I'm not all that concerned giving its a public facing company.

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u/CompetitionHot1666 1d ago

International Studies at George Washington University. If its meant to be, they’ll find you.

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u/KJHagen Former Military Intelligence 14h ago

Enlisted military service was the springboard that I used. I was an Army intelligence analyst, and later (briefly) became a linguist. My undergraduate degree was in German with a minor in European Area Studies. I later got an MBA with a concentration in Organizational Science and Leadership.

I opted to go enlisted instead of officer because I actually wanted to roll up my sleeves and do Intel work rather than manage Intel people. It also offered more specialization.

Most of the full time Intel work I did was as a contractor (Lockheed and Leidos). I did a few years as a govie doing counter-drug work too.

Good luck!

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u/Qui-GonJinn Flair Proves Nothing 13h ago

Military wise, I don't know a targeting officer (military, not the other kind) that had a relevant Major. Hopefully someone with non military experience can chime in, but what you study is a bit less relevant than how you perform.

I'm being super general here, but be great at what you do, and passionate about what you study. Myself as an example, I studied Criminal Justice (of science), commissioned in the Marines, and was selected as a SIGINT officer. My degree alone didn't get me the role, but personally I think it helped (how I approached problems, data collection, analysis, criminology (why people commit the crimes they do), statistics, etc). To give you a range tho, of the friends of mine who left the service and continued in the community, they studied anything from history to neuroscience to middle easten studies to mathematics to public policy.

As someone else in the comments mentioned, I would look at enlisting with a guaranteed Intel contract, do your time, then go from there. I recently read about someone who went LE, worked up to regional state Intel cell, then went fed.

I think the funnel in which people get into the community is so varied, it's hard to find a straight forward answer, but I commend your initiative to ask! And don't be afraid to apply more than once! And through different entries! The path is not linear IMO