<p>Another bit of clarification here, I’m not just going to put all my eggs in one basket here. While the CIA is pretty high on the list of careers I want to do, my main purpose of getting these degrees is to keep my options open. I don’t care if I’m going to get an AD role in the Army. My main point of joining was to give an individual contribution to my country. That being said seeing how I have been told this could get me a job with the CIA I want to at least say I tried it out so I can say I did it instead of lamenting in the future what could have been.</p>
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<p>norfol… there’s an important distinction here that I want to make since you mentioned that you will have “analytic skills”. The age limit is for core collectors. Those people work in the field. They are “people people”, if you will. They are NOT analysts. Analysts (99% of them) sit at desks in the US and use their computers. There is no upper age limit for analysts.</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply soccerguy.
I am not very enthusiastic about office work or analysis all day, every day. I think that analytic skills are always a must have in this kind of profession. Maybe I should clarify what I am actually looking for. When I began my bachelor(s) I imagined myself in either business consultancy or diplomacy (although research would be an option, too)- both competitive jobs with changing work-conditions and assignments. They also involve an equal amount of people-skills as well as analytic/technical skills. I heard of HUMINT in the army. Area Intelligence Specialist or something along these lines seems very attractive to me. I want a challenging job that allows me to learn more and improve myself. The CIA is a very new idea for me- I learned only recently that it is open for immigrants (I thought only Americans of at least the 2nd generation are accepted. No idea where I had this information from).</p>
<p>To make it short: I am more interested in the tactical/field aspect of intelligence. I can’t see myself as either an office-slave nor a revolver-hero and although I’m a bit more on the geek-side than on the jock-side of the scale, I’d say I am a person who likes communication.</p>
<p>I wonder which work experience would be considered “relevant” for the CIA outside of the military (that doesn’t offer officer jobs for non-citizens).</p>
<p>@norfol. If you know what the CIA considers to be “rare” languages they’ll wave the age limit.</p>
<p>^^^Just have to say that I love your screen name, one of my favorite Beatles songs.</p>
<p>what is relevant depends on what skills you learn. Skills can be applied to a wide variety of professions, and keep in mind when you first get hired in any job, you will be trained in the specifics. The CIA puts people where they are able to and where they think they will be valuable. You can google “non official cover” if you want to read about that area.</p>
<p>Most of the military HUMINT is done via the defense attache offices that are in US Embassies around the world. CIA is a large organization. The collectors (and paramilitary guys) in the field are the ones that have books written about them and inspire the James Bond stuff… but there is really not very many of them. I read in a book that in the 90s, the CIA was only training 15-20 field operatives a year. Obviously the training numbers are something that would be classified, but it’s probably safe to say there was a heavy increase after 9/11. That said, even with a 100% or 200% increase, they still aren’t training that many.</p>
<p>If you want to combine the engineering and business, the Intelligence Community has tons of really cool programs (satellites, drones, IT infrastructure, etc) that you could work on either on the engineering side or the management side.</p>
<p>There is also the National Center for Medical Intelligence, which is part of DIA. Figured I should mention this since you mentioned med school.</p>
<p>You wouldn’t mind a job in SAD?</p>
<p>It’s probably more difficult to get into SAD than it is to be a starter in the NFL. These guys recruit only the best of the top tier SF guys. You haven’t even hit ROTC yet, I can’t believe SAD would even be on your horizon. Once you get in the dirt and muck ALOT of people change their minds about SF. I would have a rough plan sketched in your head without any real expectations. You have WAY too many difficult schools and obstacles to pass first. The Army is certainly a good avenue into the CIA, but these jobs are very difficult to get. Focus on passing ROTC, getting your commission, passing Infantry/Intel school, and then performing at a very high level for years. From there you’ll have a much more realistic approach to getting into the CIA.</p>
<p>Soccer guy, don’t forget there’s an extensive network of HUMINT operators in Afghanistan, as there was in Iraq. I know the Marine Corps has a very interesting career field along those lines for NCOs.</p>
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<p>great point. My understanding of those types is that they work on tactical issues in their immediate operating area. It is very different than doing intel from a big building in/near DC or from a attache office, but immensely important to daily operations.</p>
<p>Alright so basically I need to focus on my education and ROTC and make plans after that.</p>