# Secret Service Vs. Civil Service Town



## hockeyguy (Jul 26, 2005)

Say hypothetically you had offers from both the Secret Service Uniformed Division in DC and a small town Massachusetts PD covered by civil service. If your end goal was to become a special agent with the secret service in a few years, which way would you go to get the three years experience they look for? Thanks.


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## hockeyguy (Jul 26, 2005)

I think my hesitation comes from the stories ive heard about how boring the job is (standing posts all day long) and that its in DC whereas the PD job is back home. Im just trying to figure out if my chances of moving over to the special agent side are better if I start in UD and worth dealing with being in DC and working a less exciting job than being a cop in a town in mass.


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## Guest (Apr 30, 2008)

If your ultimate goal is to be a Secret Service Agent, then I'd go with the UD of the Secret Service. Just bear in mind that the three jobs (SSA, UD, and town PD) are nothing alike.


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## Anonymous (Jan 1, 1970)

I would like to be an agent myself and have considered the path of UD officer to get there. After much thought and advice from others, I chose to become a municipal officer first. I did this after talking to several Secret Service Agents.

The agent in charge of recruiting for Atlanta told me that while some UD officers become Agents, it is not a particularly common occurrence. The Agents I have spoken with had various jobs before becoming agents: one was a uniformed customs officer, one (originally from Massachusetts) was a police officer in metro Atlanta, and one was a corrections officer and then an agent for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

One agent told me that if he were in charge of the Secret Service, he would make municipal police experience mandatory, as he (and many other agents) feel it is the best preparation for the job.

Ultimately, do what is best for you. While the pay for the UD is decent, DC is expensive. You would certainly not be hurting yourself by taking either job, but getting some investigative experience in a municipal department (not available in the UD) would certainly be positive on the job application for Secret Service Agent. You're a lucky guy to have offers on the table from a civil service agency and the Secret Service.


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## Lost (Dec 19, 2006)

UD is a great opportunity, however you need to WANT UD. The training can be rigorous, the duties mundane and miserable (standing stationary post in an ice storm), and the job not what you expected. It is a job that demands commitment from you, or your performance will show.

The FED is a diverse group. Talk to any supervisors or HR folks and they will tell you the same thing- there is no secret passage in the door. Their goal is to have a workforce that is diverse in its past experiences, so that the organization has different experiences to draw upon.

Do what you want _now,_ and choose the career that will make you the best candidate. A great cop will be hired long before the worst UD. When you enjoy going to work everyday, you naturally have a leg up. Live your life clean and forget about the FED- send out the apps every day, be ready for the call just in case, but make decisions on the cards your dealt. Of equal importance, don't go to work everyday with the intention of leaving for the Service. Set your sights on Detective, or Sergeant. Take on added responsibilities, start initiatives, and TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ANY TRAINING THAT COMES YOUR WAY!

By the way, the same goes for college degrees. Don't get an accounting degree if you hate math, it won't get you into the FBI. Your grades will suffer, and when the FBI doesn't call right away, you will only be an accountant. Study what you love, to do what you love- this makes the best applicant.


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## MPD703 (Sep 25, 2004)

A few things to keep in mind about Secret Service - most of the work now is protection so the hours are long and mostly boring. If you want to move up you will have to work the White House detail at some point. If you don't you can stay in the field but you will still get pulled to wrok protection. From the guys I have talked to the travel can be a killer and if you want to work criminal cases it can be frustrating.

The UD guys have some great training but most of the job is just high level security. Unless you get on a special unit you spend you days standing post or doing some limited patrol around the White House and a few other locations in DC.

I was a municipal cop before I went fed. The experience you get as a cop is great. I know a few guys who started UD and it is hard to make the leap from UD to a Special Agent position and most of the guys I know did not want to move to a Special Agent position in Secret Service because it would just be more of the same. I know one guy who was a SA and left for a municipal job.


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## celticsfan (Dec 18, 2007)

I'd also advise getting out of Mass. if you are interested in police work--way too many people vying for few jobs. The DC job has that plus. I know there is work in VA that is very good, for example, for muni. cops.


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## PBC FL Cop (Oct 22, 2003)

hockeyguy said:


> I think my hesitation comes from the stories ive heard about how boring the job is (standing posts all day long) and that its in DC whereas the PD job is back home.


The Special Agent position really isn't all that exciting either. A traditional police/sheriff position will ultimately offer a more diverse career than with the Secret Service.


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## copcreamer (Dec 3, 2004)

Take the Civil Service route. I left UD after four years and made it back to Mass, others were not so lucky. UD - Utterly Disappointing


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## Chief Wiggins (Oct 16, 2006)

I can't add to much more other than one SA who put it very bluntly, the UD guys are like enlisted personnel, the SA are like officers. I did a SW with a couple agents a few months ago, one of the guys I recognized from a neighboring town. He told me it was harder to get on in Mass than with the USSS. I find that hard to believe.

I have worked with a couple of USSS agents, they are a very squared away bunch. With that being they do get frustrated when it comes to investigations, especially during a Presidential campaign year. Many get pulled to work a security detail even in the middle of their investigations. 

Although they will not admit it they are extremely image conscious, I know of two agents, both squared away, but short in the looks department. Both have said they are rountinely assigned to less sought after details. In the past the agents would receive OT compensation for detail assignments, from what I hear that is no more. If you are into computers they are one of the lead agencies when it comes to computer forensics, ICE,IRS in that order being the others. However, many agents get frustrated when they are trained before doing their mandatory Pres/VP detail. So they are trained in computer forensics and three years later they get transferred to DC for 1/2years, losing all of their training.

Finally, a friend of mine transferred from ATF to ICE, he said in his class approximately nine USSS agents also transferred to ICE.

I understand I am primarily speaking negatively of the agency. However, I just wanted to give you information that has been passed on to me from the agents themselves.


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## tacpup82 (Dec 7, 2007)

Secret service all the way... its federal, and the UD actually offers more job opportunites than the actual agents do. They have the snipers, dogs, and all the specialized units of the Secret service, not to mention the ones I met in DC were a stellar group of individuals.



Chief Wiggins said:


> I can't add to much more other than one SA who put it very bluntly, the UD guys are like enlisted personnel, the SA are like officers. I did a SW with a couple agents a few months ago, one of the guys I recognized from a neighboring town. He told me it was harder to get on in Mass than with the USSS. I find that hard to believe.
> 
> I have worked with a couple of USSS agents, they are a very squared away bunch. With that being they do get frustrated when it comes to investigations, especially during a Presidential campaign year. Many get pulled to work a security detail even in the middle of their investigations.
> 
> ...


This is all true, but I have to admit that enllisted members have more fun, and more career opportunities!


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