Federal LE with an Accounting Degree?

[Matt O]

I just noticed this thread and, even though it's a couple months old, I hope SIRTainly doesn't mind if I add some follow up questions given that the finance and accounting angle is relevant to my situation. I have always been interested in law enforcement as a calling and career option. I currently have family working as analysts or active duty law enforcement in the federal sector.

At present I work as a financial manager at a large private east coast university and am currently in my third and final year and a half (Dec 2017 grad) of an MBA program, double concentrating in finance and accounting. Due to my interest in LE, I was actually actively applying for several local PD's after I returned to the states, but received a job offer to start in higher education before I was too far into the LE application process and, being that I wanted to get grad school over with (as well as graduate sans debt), I went with that route. My current plan has been to continue working in higher ed and while that career track is a lock, as mentioned above, I am still drawn to the mission of LE.

In addition, I spent just shy of seven years living and working in China and speak, read and write the language, though my reading and writing have obviously suffered due to not being in that environment. My spoken capabilities are still up to par, however, as that is all we speak at home. My wife, who teaches (and tests) Mandarin professionally for State, unofficially assesses my oral capabilities at an ILR 3 or 3+.

As some potential negatives, I do not currently intend to pursue CPA certification (hence why I chose an MBA over the Masters of Accounting) and just turned 36 this past July, which likely makes certain career tracks, such as at the FBI, perhaps unobtainable. I thought I'd just put this out there and dip my toe in the pool to see if there are any opportunities worth considering or learning more about. I realize it may be that the moment for this decision has already passed and if so I shall continue merrily forward on my current trajectory.

[vcdgrips]

Edge of my Lane,

Assuming no prior military or fed govt service, you are really on the clock as you have to be younger than 37 at the time of the appointment for an 1811 series special agent. If you are interested you need to talk with someone yesterday. For some other govt agencies, State, CIA etc. maybe not the age issue.

[Matt O]

Edge of my Lane,

Assuming no prior military or fed govt service, you are really on the clock as you have to be younger than 37 at the time of the appointment for an 1811 series special agent. If you are interested you need to talk with someone yesterday. for some other govt agences State, CIA etc. maybe not the age issue.

Correct, no prior military or fed govt service. Right, based on my age, I don't see the special agent route as a terribly realistic option at this point. I'm just curious what other opportunities there may be, if any.

[L-2]

I suspect an FBI or other Federal LE job is unobtainable, if the agencies' cutoff is 37 years old at time of "appointment". The application, testing, and background process just takes too long if you're already 36 years old. There may be other Federal LE jobs/careers without the age limitation, but someone else will know better what those are.

I was a CPA and was about your age when I decided to go into LE. I went for a local agency which had no age limits, but you do have to consider various health aspects as one gets older, such as hearing and eyesight. If you want to consider a local agency, apply now. There's no decision until an agency makes a job offer, anyway.

[TGS]

Matt,

Fed is going to be pretty tough even if the stars aligned due to your extensive foreign connections...and to China, specifically. if you don't already have a TS that an agency would accept (many will make you redo it), your TS could easily take a year on its own.

If you had any foreign ambitions, both DSS and USAID OIG had vacancy announcements in the last year which means it's unlikely they'll open up again soon enough for it to be a realistic option.


If you want federal, your best bet is to get a job as a forensic accountant.

Is your wife a PSC or direct hire State employee? Having two federal retirements wouldn't be a bad thing.

[Matt O]

Matt,

Fed is going to be pretty tough even if the stars aligned due to your extensive foreign connections...and to China, specifically. if you don't already have a TS that an agency would accept (many will make you redo it), your TS could easily take a year on its own.

If you had any foreign ambitions, both DSS and USAID OIG had vacancy announcements in the last year which means it's unlikely they'll open up again soon enough for it to be a realistic option.


If you want federal, your best bet is to get a job as a forensic accountant.

Is your wife a PSC or direct hire State employee? Having two federal retirements wouldn't be a bad thing.

Yeah, I can't say I'm entirely surprised that my time overseas would present issues. When I first moved back and was seeking gainful employment, I applied as a contract FBI linguist and got binned immediately because I had not been in the US for the preceding 3 years.

I'm definitely looking to stay domestic due to familial obligations. My wife is a PSC, so no federal retirement on that side. I'm also leaning pretty far away from the CPA option, so it seems the Fed is probably not a realistic route.

Ah well - thanks anyway for the replies. Always good to know what is and isn't out there.

[Le Français]

One option to consider might be a state-level investigator position, sometimes within the AG's office, which often involves the investigation of financial crimes.

States vary as to the specifics, but some of these positions have many similarities to certain federal careers (enforcement of the state tax code, investigating welfare fraud, etc.)

[psalms144.1]

Correct, no prior military or fed govt service. Right, based on my age, I don't see the special agent route as a terribly realistic option at this point. I'm just curious what other opportunities there may be, if any.

Matt - I was hired on at my first Federal Agency within four months of my application date, so nothing is impossible. You're unlikely to get onto one of the "big name" federal agencies in 12 months or less, but there are literally dozens and dozens of agencies (mostly OIGs who LOVE accountanting folks) hiring off and on, so don't write off 1811 altogether. Also, you don't have to be an 1811 before your 37th birthday to "make age," you just have to be in a Primary Law Enforcement position before 37 to get credit for Law Enforcement Retirement. There are a couple of options to "stop the clock" including CBP, uniformed USSS, etc.

If you want to go Federal and work your skill set with an investigative angle, there are also agencies that hire 1801 and 1810 investigators to due specialty investigations, many of which are finance intensive.

Lastly, there is also the Defense Contract Audit Agency, which hires auditors to support on-going Military Criminal Investigative Organizations on complex financial crimes cases. I LOVE these guys, they're literally worth their weight in gold on a cost-mischarging or other audit heavy fraud investigation. These guys are not LE, so, AFAIK, there is no entry age restrictions.

[HCM]

Matt - I was hired on at my first Federal Agency within four months of my application date, so nothing is impossible. You're unlikely to get onto one of the "big name" federal agencies in 12 months or less, but there are literally dozens and dozens of agencies (mostly OIGs who LOVE accountanting folks) hiring off and on, so don't write off 1811 altogether. Also, you don't have to be an 1811 before your 37th birthday to "make age," you just have to be in a Primary Law Enforcement position before 37 to get credit for Law Enforcement Retirement. There are a couple of options to "stop the clock" including CBP, uniformed USSS, etc.

If you want to go Federal and work your skill set with an investigative angle, there are also agencies that hire 1801 and 1810 investigators to due specialty investigations, many of which are finance intensive.

Lastly, there is also the Defense Contract Audit Agency, which hires auditors to support on-going Military Criminal Investigative Organizations on complex financial crimes cases. I LOVE these guys, they're literally worth their weight in gold on a cost-mischarging or other audit heavy fraud investigation. These guys are not LE, so, AFAIK, there is no entry age restrictions.

Uniform USSS requires a clearance and is not necessarily a quick hire. Neither is CBP. my understanding is due to corruption issues on the southern land border the days of CBP hiring people and sending them to the academy before their full background is complete are over.

In fact, CBP and USBP are having issues getting anyone on board - they adopted a polygraph requirement and hired a contractor with a bunch of inexperienced / incompetent polygraphers - the failure rate was at 95%. It was so bad there was an OIG investigation and there is supposed to be a congressional hearing. Apparently when OIG brought in outside polygraphers to re- test some of the candidates who failed, a majority of the "failures" actually passed.

[TGS]

I'm also leaning pretty far away from the CPA option, so it seems the Fed is probably not a realistic route.

I didn't realize that part.

US Capitol Police has a vacancy. If I were you, I'd put in for it. Most uniformed positions don't require a TS, not sure about USCP but I believe they send a lot of people to training with conditional background investigations.

USCP has their hands into everything, so it'd be a good option for you. The patrol stuff is mostly force protection, but you can move into a tactical team, investigations, protective intelligence, protection, bike teams, K9, and I think even EOD and hazmat.

At the very least it will stop the clock, most likely keep you local for family, and give you an excellent springboard to restart a new career.