<h2>There are also plenty of civilian intel jobs. ~ Homer28</h2>
<p>As an experienced professional, I disagree.</p>
<p>I suppose this depends on your defintion on “plenty”, but intel jobs are not “plentiful”, not when compared to most other careers.</p>
<p>For example an Accountant is a job that has plenty of jobs, as they can be found nearly everywhere and every company.</p>
<p>Intel is completely different. It’s a very narrow career path with very few possible employers, mostly federal government agencies and the military. Out of the entire federal soup of agencies, only a handful employ intel analysts, and the number of intel analysts will vary from agency to agency.</p>
<p>So to show what I’m saying. There might be 10,000 organizations that hire accountants, but only 50 that hire intel analysts. See what I’m saying? I’m not saying they don’t exist, I’m saying they aren’t plentiful. </p>
<p>There are private intel positions available at federal contractors but those are for cleared professionals from the government or military, so we won’t factor them into our scenario (can’t have C unless you have A or B first) .</p>
<p>Due to budget issues, agencies are hiring less and less intel analysts, and when they do, they are not hiring at GS 5-7 (entry level), they are hiring at GS 9 (non-entry level). So it is becoming increasingly more difficult to get an analyst position. </p>
<p>I pay close attention to job postings for intel positions and it’s pretty dead right now. I think within the last year only one agency hired entry level intel analysts, that’s it.</p>
<p>No, military isn’t required, BUT it sure puts you at a competitive advantage. Also, if a person wants to work as an intel analyst, the military is the obvious best choice, as they guarantee you the job, training and experience.</p>