Researching Changing Career Field to Govt.

[SA Friday]

Wow... Thanks for all the replies so far. Let me try to cover a lot of them.

.....

Well here is the pisser.... mildly embarressing too but its just part of the course my life has taken.

I have no college degree, some college but life took an odd turn and didn't finish.

Now to the slightly better points. :-)
I am 26
I have worked at current company for 7.5 years in the corp envmt. Everything from Technical email response, CSC command center, Project manager for Software engineering dept.
Good Corp intrapersonal skills etc.
I have a tiny bit of well rounded things, some petty some not:
Hunters Ed/NRA basic pistol, CCW, grew up with guns
Amatuer radio license
Motorcycle Safety Foundation /MOST Certifications (Motorcycle instructor on the weekends)
Long ago in H.S. and college I completed all 4 semesters of the CISCO CCNA courses and passed. I however never went and tested to get the CISCO Cert that would have expired after 2 years anyway.

I plan to get CPR/First aid and PMP Certs in the next couple months as they are required for my two jobs.

....

As for USAJobs.gov..... Thanks, I've been looking there but again, if you don't know what types of positions exist that would fit the type of satisfaction I am looking for, its hard to search. But yes I was looking under Homeland and justice and such.

I had already ruled FBI due to req to relocate and Education. I think CIA has these reqs as well. But Whatever I do go for, I understand at best, it will be entry level.

Not sure what info I have left off or what questions I haven't replied but lets start with that.

Thanks again everyone, I really do appreciate this. Again I understand I am shooting long shots but that is why I am researching and gathering as much intel as I can before applying for anythign so I can present my best.

Everything I underlined will benefit you. Everything in bold is irrelevent. The technical services aspect of LE is huge right now and degrees in computer sciences get looked at hard. Cyber crime is new and growing. The LE agencies are playing catch up in some aspects. The top of the heap in this area right now is AFOSI. The FBI and CIA came to us to figure cyber aspects out in their investigations a lot. A BS in computer security would get your foot in the door.

You will have to be willing to move. No getting around that and I forgot to post that before. The LE positions in the front range are limited and highly saught after in every agency. I worked as a Fed at both Buckley and Peterson and had contact with almost every Fed agency on the front range. Trust me here, the positions in every office are HIGHLY fought over.

[KFinn]

Everything I put in itallics will benefit you. Everything in bold is irrelevent.

When you quote someone it looks like it makes the entire quote in italics. I got the bold part as that did work. So did you really mean that every single thing not bolded is important?

[SA Friday]

When you quote someone it looks like it makes the entire quote in italics. I got the bold part as that did work. So did you really mean that every single thing not bolded is important?

Oops, fixed.

[KFinn]

Ahh, that looks better. Thanks.

[KFinn]

Also it is good to hear some others out there, have once or are having the same thoughts as I.

[Irving]

Also it is good to hear some others out there, have once or are having the same thoughts as I.

I've got a BA in Economics and printed off the FBI physical requirements list off their website to train with. When I applied with Jeffco I did 55 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, and ran the 1.5 mile in 10 minutes. I was also practicing the 300 meter sprint and I think got my lowest time to 49 seconds. I never applied to the FBI because I didn't really feel like I had anything to offer them and had a general lack of confidence. I went ahead and assumed that I was not what they are looking for and opted not to waste their time.

I'm in a similar mind set as you, in that I want to serve my country (and not for some boyhood fantasy of ultimate glory and choking enemy soldiers with my bare hands either), but I have a budding family that is too fragile to handle my deployment, or a move out of town. In fact, last week, I nearly started an identical thread, only geared more towards reserves. Again, good luck.

[SA Friday]

You are young enough. Get a degree completed and apply. Considering your background, I would recommend computer security systems (or something similar). The cyber crimes sections of many Fed LE dept's are small and growing. Cyber crimes crosses every aspect of LE. I never left a computer behind from a search regardless of the crime, and regularly grabbed one of the geek squad before heading out on a search. There was always evidence in that magical box.

[Ranger353]

I've got a BA in Economics and printed off the FBI physical requirements list off their website to train with. When I applied with Jeffco I did 55 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, and ran the 1.5 mile in 10 minutes. I was also practicing the 300 meter sprint and I think got my lowest time to 49 seconds. I never applied to the FBI because I didn't really feel like I had anything to offer them and had a general lack of confidence. I went ahead and assumed that I was not what they are looking for and opted not to waste their time.

I'm in a similar mind set as you, in that I want to serve my country (and not for some boyhood fantasy of ultimate glory and choking enemy soldiers with my bare hands either), but I have a budding family that is too fragile to handle my deployment, or a move out of town. In fact, last week, I nearly started an identical thread, only geared more towards reserves. Again, good luck.

You should have applied, they probably would have taken you.

As for the military and families, back in 1983 I was newly married and was concerned about an upcoming deployment. In fact I think I saw my wife a total of 3 months combined that year. But, she coped and we got through it. Looking back now, I think the homecomings were worth it.