Secret Service Agents

Career summary

There are two departments of the Secret Service:

Special agents

Special agents focus on protective and investigative tasks. They protect the current and former Presidents and Vice Presidents, their families, visiting foreign heads of governments, and others as designated by law. Special agents investigate threats against the President or Vice President.

Special agents also investigate fraud, counterfeiting, computer crimes, false identity, identity theft, and telemarketing fraud.

Uniformed division

The Uniformed Division is a specialized police force that protects the White House, the vice president's residence, and foreign diplomatic missions in the Washington DC area. Officers work on foot, bicycle, vehicular, and motorcycle patrols.

The Uniformed Division has units with specialized tasks:

• Canine Explosives Detection unit responds to bomb threats
• Countersniper unit defends against long-range threats
• Emergency Response Team protects the white house grounds
• Magnetometers Support operates metal detectors at all secure locations

Related careers

This career is part of the Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security cluster of careers.

Related careers include:

• Border Patrol Agents
• Detectives and Investigators
• Police Patrol Officers
• Sheriffs
• Transportation Security Screeners

Education and training

Educational programs

The programs of study listed below will help you prepare for the occupation or career cluster you are exploring.

Programs of study to consider

• Criminology
• Cyber-computer Forensics and Counterterrorism
• Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation
• Homeland Security
• Law Enforcement and Police Science

Training

To work as a secret service special agent, you typically need to:

• be a US citizen;
• be between the ages of 21 and 37;
• have either a four-year college degree or three years of experience in law enforcement;
• pass a medical exam, including vision, hearing, and cardiovascular;
• have excellent eye-sight, no worse than 20/60 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20 in each eye;
• pass a drug screening;
• pass a report writing test;
• pass an extensive background investigation;
• pass a polygraph examination;
• pass an in-depth interview and entrance exam;
• possess a current valid driver's license; and
• obtain top secret clearance.

The requirements for the Uniformed Division are similar; however, it is not necessary to have a college degree. Uniformed division officers must pass the Police Officer Selection Test (POST).

Education after high school

In order to become a secret service special agent, you need to have a four-year college degree, or three years of experience in law enforcement or criminal investigative fields. Make sure to take classes in pre-law, criminal justice, law enforcement, police science, and criminology while working towards your degree.

On-the-job training

After being hired, special agents spend three months training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia. This is called the Criminal Investigator Training Program, and provides a general foundation in criminal law and investigative techniques.

If you've made it this far, you spend the next 17 weeks training in Laurel, Maryland. This Special Agent Training Course focuses on specific Secret Service policies and procedures. You are trained about different types of financial criminal investigation, emergency medicine, marksmanship, and physical protection techniques.

Secret service agents continue to receive training throughout their careers. This might be firearms requalification or emergency medicine refresher courses.

Uniformed division officers also go through training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. This lasts 12 weeks. After that, they spend another 13 weeks in a specialized training at a training center outside of Washington, DC. Training includes firearms, police procedures, physical fitness, criminal law, first aid, laws of arrest, and much more.

Helpful high school courses

In high school, take classes that prepare you for college. A college preparatory curriculum  may be different from your state's graduation requirements .

You should also consider taking some advanced courses in high school. This includes Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses if they are available in your school. If you do well in these courses, you may receive college credit for them. Advanced courses can also strengthen your college application.

Helpful electives to take in high school that prepare you for this career include:

• Computer Science
• Contemporary US Issues
• Economics
• Foreign Language
• US Government
• US History
• World History

The courses listed above are meant to help you create your high school plan. If you have not already done so, talk to a school counselor or parent about the courses you are considering taking.

You should also check with a teacher or counselor to see if work-based learning opportunities are available in your school and community. These might include field trips, job shadowing, internships, and actual work experience. The goal of these activities is to help you connect your school experiences with real-life work.

Join some groups, try some hobbies, or volunteer with an organization that interests you. By participating in activities you can have fun, make new friends, and learn about yourself. Maybe one of them will help direct you to a future career. Here are examples of activities and groups  that may be available in your high school or community.

Things to know

• The process of having a thorough background check takes about six to nine months. This includes police records, employment history, school transcripts, neighborhood references, and more.
• The Secret Service has several programs for high school or college students who are interested in working with them. The Secret Service Student Temporary Education Employment Program (STEP) provides employment opportunities to students who are in high school or post-secondary education. The Student Volunteer Service Program is an internship to encourage students to explore career options in the Secret Service.
• During the first six to eight years on the job, special agents are assigned to a field office. After this, they usually spend three to five years doing protective work. Agents might return to the field or work overseas. Throughout their careers, they may be required to travel frequently. They must be willing to relocate anywhere within the US and abroad.
• Although much of the investigation work is done on a computer, agents also speak face-to-face with victims, witnesses, and suspects.
• Uniformed division officers sometimes have dogs to help them. These are always Belgian Malinois from Holland. They stay with the officers 24 hours a day and become part of the family. Each dog and its handler must complete 20 weeks of training. The pair must retrain for eight hours each week for the rest of their career.

Other resources

Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences 

United States Secret Service 
Office of Government & Public Affairs
245 Murray Lane
Washington, DC 20223
202.406.5708

References

Career cluster

• Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security

Career path

• Conventional (Business Operations)

DOT occupation

• Special Agent (375.167-042) 

Holland occupational cluster

• Conventional/Enterprising/Realistic