Obviously it will depend on the particular job within the CIA. There are Special Agents, Clandestine Service Officers, and a multitude of different positions. Anything involving the spooks is going to require a bachelors degree, a clean record, and the ability to pass a rigorous background check. I am pretty sure the CIA uses an SSBI but I am not 100%. Some positions such as the SAD, or Human intelligence gathering may require past military service, however this is something you can look at on the CIA link posted below. Good Luck.
Becoming an Engineer is a lot easier than getting into the Agency if you're a civilian with just a 4 year degree and no prior military / government experience and security clearance.
The CIA is just like any other government agency when it comes to hiring, though they heavily recruit from the military and other government agencies/programs that are already working with the CIA, before recruiting from the civilian community. This is because those type of people already have active clearances, and it's much easier for them to transition into the Agency (and cheaper if a contractor has paid for it) if they already hold a TS/SCI clearance level or above. Military hiring preferences (by law, the government must hire veterans before civilians) also help if you've got a 10 or 15 point preference. The CIA also still shows up at Job Fairs here in the D.C. area occasionally, usually after the beginning of the fiscal year in the Fall. Those are mostly geared toward college grads with applicable degrees in areas the Agency requires.
The biggest thing that usually disqualifies people is the polygraph and Background Investigation process. Like the FBI, all potential CIA applicants are required to take/pass a polygraph, though the FBI's is much stricter. That's after several weeding-out processes of interviews.
For field operators/case officers, the one question they will ask you is if you're willing and able to befriend someone, use personal information about them to get as much information as possible out of them, and betray them if necessary. Few people can make that moral hurdle, but it's a necessary part of being a field agent. That's also why they heavily recruit from military SpecOps units.
If you get to that point, then they'll set you up for a polygraph.
Even if you pass the polygraph, you're still required to pass the lengthy and detailed Background Investigation, which can last from 1-2 years if you're not prior military or have never held a clearance before. The CIA, FBI, and NSA all have their own different BI's, separate from each other and DoD, so even if you've been through one, you still have to go through the other agencies' polygraph and BI system. If you're lucky enough to get through all that, it's still a 1 year probationary period after your hired.
For analysts and case officers, you need a 4 year degree in an area of use to the Agency - Linguistics, Political Science, International Relations, Science (CS, Electronics, etc), experience/degrees relating to key foreign countries, or the equivalent in education and skills - but that usually means military experience.
Most hardware/software/R&D is contracted out to Universities and government contractors, so if you're looking to get into the Agency as an Engineer, that's the best avenue to start. The same clearance/BI rules apply though, and you won't get to work on any classified work until you pass. But there's more opportunities at contractors and research schools than there are just with the Agency itself.
Of course, as I said in the beginning, they're just like any government agency - you first still have to fill out a government employment application form.
Comments
you DONT approach them, THEY approach you!!
its much simpler to try out for fbi
Obviously it will depend on the particular job within the CIA. There are Special Agents, Clandestine Service Officers, and a multitude of different positions. Anything involving the spooks is going to require a bachelors degree, a clean record, and the ability to pass a rigorous background check. I am pretty sure the CIA uses an SSBI but I am not 100%. Some positions such as the SAD, or Human intelligence gathering may require past military service, however this is something you can look at on the CIA link posted below. Good Luck.
Becoming an Engineer is a lot easier than getting into the Agency if you're a civilian with just a 4 year degree and no prior military / government experience and security clearance.
The CIA is just like any other government agency when it comes to hiring, though they heavily recruit from the military and other government agencies/programs that are already working with the CIA, before recruiting from the civilian community. This is because those type of people already have active clearances, and it's much easier for them to transition into the Agency (and cheaper if a contractor has paid for it) if they already hold a TS/SCI clearance level or above. Military hiring preferences (by law, the government must hire veterans before civilians) also help if you've got a 10 or 15 point preference. The CIA also still shows up at Job Fairs here in the D.C. area occasionally, usually after the beginning of the fiscal year in the Fall. Those are mostly geared toward college grads with applicable degrees in areas the Agency requires.
The biggest thing that usually disqualifies people is the polygraph and Background Investigation process. Like the FBI, all potential CIA applicants are required to take/pass a polygraph, though the FBI's is much stricter. That's after several weeding-out processes of interviews.
For field operators/case officers, the one question they will ask you is if you're willing and able to befriend someone, use personal information about them to get as much information as possible out of them, and betray them if necessary. Few people can make that moral hurdle, but it's a necessary part of being a field agent. That's also why they heavily recruit from military SpecOps units.
If you get to that point, then they'll set you up for a polygraph.
Even if you pass the polygraph, you're still required to pass the lengthy and detailed Background Investigation, which can last from 1-2 years if you're not prior military or have never held a clearance before. The CIA, FBI, and NSA all have their own different BI's, separate from each other and DoD, so even if you've been through one, you still have to go through the other agencies' polygraph and BI system. If you're lucky enough to get through all that, it's still a 1 year probationary period after your hired.
For analysts and case officers, you need a 4 year degree in an area of use to the Agency - Linguistics, Political Science, International Relations, Science (CS, Electronics, etc), experience/degrees relating to key foreign countries, or the equivalent in education and skills - but that usually means military experience.
Most hardware/software/R&D is contracted out to Universities and government contractors, so if you're looking to get into the Agency as an Engineer, that's the best avenue to start. The same clearance/BI rules apply though, and you won't get to work on any classified work until you pass. But there's more opportunities at contractors and research schools than there are just with the Agency itself.
Of course, as I said in the beginning, they're just like any government agency - you first still have to fill out a government employment application form.