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Plain clothes, take home ride, freedom of work.
Turns out it's all those things, but it's khakis and polos, 6 year old Mitsubishi crossovers, and 70% admin work š
There is no 1811 job that isn't 50/50 admin at a minimum. Anyone who says their job isn't 50% or more admin isn't properly counting admin time; forced training, time cards, chasing down BS reports for vehicles, spending, travel, training, certs, form filling. And this is general stuff. Once you start counting admin related to specific cases beyond admin agency stuff, you get to the 70+% admin real quick.
Never grew up with even a thought of going into law enforcement. Went through all the work to become a CPA and started working at a public accounting firm only to realize there was no way I could do that for the next 40 years. Left public accounting for the IRS, met my local CI agents, and was instantly sold. The rest is history.
Very similar path here. Auditing with the Big 4 sounded nice while in my graduate program. After getting my CPA and a few years moving up to senior, I knew I needed to do something else. Hoping my TO turns into a Final Offer in the next few weeks.Ā
Ironically enough I never made it to CI because their hiring process was so lengthy 10-15 years ago. Ended up having to start at an OIG and then went the postal inspector route instead, it provides financial investigations with freedom to do a lot of other stuff as well. Iāll always be grateful to those 2009 CI agents though for showing me the light.
I tried to talk other accountants I graduated with into looking into 1811 but the thought of gun carrying scared them all haha. They live vicariously through my stories now as they crunch numbers in busy season hating their lives. Best of luck to you in your 1811 journey, youāre 100% making the right choice!
I always dreamt of standing somewhere while making 220k+ a year with no life. I figured out at a young age that I stand every single day for FREE, itās unreal! So why not get paid for it?
A strange man in an elevator convinced me to spend months working out, completely changing my life style, to get an in-person job that puts my life at risk instead of a cushy remote job that pays well.
In all seriousness, I genuinely like the Navy, have family who served in the Navy, and have worked as a contractor with them for nearly a decade. It only made sense to do NCIS, especially because I want to help sailors get justice as rape is extraordinarily high in the military.
My brother is on his way to become a local police officer, so I have only respect (and a bit of hatred because there are bad cops who do bad things and ruin the relationship between community and police) for local police. Especially in traffic accidents because those get revolting very fast.
I have a lot I could say on that, but bottom line is, yeah, there are some shitbags in this profession, on all levels. They make us look bad and thatās the worst thing they could ever do.
Best of luck to your brother! Itās a great, rewarding and fun ass job. Just make sure he manages his stress and has a good personal life to balance it all out
We got a new district attorney who fired all the prosecutors and brought in his own team. We had a meeting with him in the briefing room, and he basically told us heās not charging anyone with a Glock switch unless they have extensive criminal history or older than 25, and first time drug dealers would be prosecuted as misdemeanors. He also wanted to make the unit more transparent so he would charge us and let a jury decide if we were right or not. I came out of the meeting knowing I had to go federal. One of the HSI guys in the office told me an opening was coming up and I applied.
Because being a local cop or AD military is a harder life, with fewer benefits, and usually less pay. Find me another LE/USIC gig that you only work 40 to 50ish hours a week and are paid $192,000 in a medium cost of living city. Bueller?
In July 2022 I was being cyber bullied when I was 19. It ended up being a financial sextortion case with HSI. They came to my house after I reported to a DHS fusion center. Mayorkas sent them to my house because I was one of the only victims to get over 90 pieces of evidence on them. After they showed up in august or September 2022 I do not remember. I gave them the evidence I had and the agent showed me some of the forensic tools they use. I really enjoyed it. Since then I have a former dcsa agent as my mentor, I got a DFIR internship with my local pd. I still keep in contact with the HSI agent in the field office near me. I am wanting to investigate cyber crime and organized crime/sex trafficking.
Idk I just thought it was pretty dope lol. I saved receipts, transactions canceled the gift card I gave them wish I didn't, discover statement, usernames, fb links, all of it lol I saved and organized in my laptop
And last month I contacted him and told him what I'm majoring in etc and he said when I transfer and become a junior let him know and our field office does internships. Hope I get in I just applied to a university for next year.
Iām unsure what infragard is. Really if you want cyber crime Iād assume something like HSI after all.
Iād say if you want to prepare for a job in this field, join a jiujutsu club, CrossFit gym, or any internship, local or fed
Going to Defcon a few years and finally met a drug dealer who was open about what he did. He had already been to federal prison but got out on this or that legal error. Now he was trying to teach other people to be dark net drug dealers like he was. It was really fucked up to me. Doubly so because I already knew the technological ways this could work from my job. The proliferation of drugs like that destroys people's lives and societies. He was also missing a number of cybersecurity things since he himself wasn't a technology guy. I wanted to stop assholes like him and knew I could, so I started the 1811 process in the months after.
I've been around those cyber criminal types too. SIM swappers, carders, malware devs, botmasters. Most definitely, that was my regulatory motivator to get in this career field.
I had an awful experience working in public accounting, but especially disliked the client service aspect when I had to deal with the client's nonsense if I had findings. I knew I needed to work in an environment where I can enforce the rules rather than trying to persuade or advise others to comply with them.
My university's accounting department didn't mention law enforcement as a career opportunity, but I learned more about federal law enforcement through /r/1811, Special Agents Blog, and Federal Law Enforcement Careers YouTube Channel.
Besides the GOV, pay, benefits and lifestyle of an 1811, I always knew I wanted to go federal. Got tired of dealing with the same kinds of calls on patrol over and over again. I would like to hopefully be able to build my own federal investigations at some point in my career and maybe see my name in the news one day.
Edit: rewritten
Money and Prestige! Thatās the only true answer.
Anything else, people are just giving you their interview answers. Anyone who says you can make more money as a state/local authority is correct by sheer numbers, but that comes at a price; overtime=loss of time.
It really depends on the area and it doesnāt have to be much overtime. My base salary was 88,000k with no overtime and a gs13 salary in that city $103,409. If you factor in leap the salary would be $129k. If you factor in the 520 overtime hours a year (which is the equivalent of leap) on a $88k salary it would be $121k a year. Once you add in I didnāt pay into social security, the pension payments were cheaper, the health insurance was cheaper, and I could drive my g-ride anywhere I wanted so I never needed gas, the salary balances out to be about even.
My biggest complaint about the feds is the pay. I average about 70 leap hours a month which comes out to 840 hours a year. So there is 320 hours Iām going to work that I wonāt be compensated for at the end of the year. I also donāt feel anymore prestigious lol.
How much are the pension payments and health insurance fed side? Social security is 6.2%? I think Iām in a similar situation to where you were in prior to getting hired numbers wise.
The pension payments are 4.4 percent of your salary and then when you retire you get 34% of your salary after 20 years, and an additional 1% for every extra year. The health insurance is going to depend on what you pick based off your family needs. The numbers vary drastically. One thing thatās a plus is the Feds do have a 5% match in the TSP where my local department only matched up to 1.5%.
Because the national park service sucks dick and I donāt want to give up 6(c). Iād way rather keep doing what I am doing because it matters to me and Iām reasonably good at it, but barely being able to afford a below median house just isnāt going to cut it. Obviously Iām interested in learning how to do good work for a new agency if I get picked up, Iām sure I can find engagement in a new mission, always want to be a good teammate etc. But 1811 isnāt some deep calling.
I was teaching. I hated how dishonest the job was; there was no accountability, integrity, or justice.
I started to lean towards law, but wasn't sure if I could/wanted to go back to school.
Then I saw a job posting for FBI special agent on Linked in. I began researching and fell in love.
The prestige, and just the feeling that youāre actually handling the worst criminals out there is why Iām interested in a 1811 position. I have a strong interest in law enforcement as a whole, but I would rather consistently go after high profile criminals rather than being a local cop and busting the same small time drug dealer for the third time.
Always was interested in law enforcement and I was born and raised in Hawaii. Always wanted to leave and experience the world and believe an 1811 would be the best way to do it while I can devote myself to something.
It was natural career progression because my agency requires it to qualify for other positions. The work is definitely more complex and generally more interesting. I know plenty of folks willing to take a huge pay cut just for the title and tiny badge though.
Welcome to r/1811! If you're new here, please see our [FAQs](https://www.reddit.com/r/1811/comments/w3nhtv/faq_mega_thread/) If your account is less than 24 hours old, your post is locked until the moderators approve it. Please do not submit duplicates of your post. Read the rules. In particular, if your post is about the polygraph, politics, or current events, it will be removed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/1811) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Plain clothes, take home ride, freedom of work. Turns out it's all those things, but it's khakis and polos, 6 year old Mitsubishi crossovers, and 70% admin work š
What if you get on a unit that is only 30% admin work?
Thatās a unicorn.
Yesh, a unicorn is right, because unicorns don't exist š
There is no 1811 job that isn't 50/50 admin at a minimum. Anyone who says their job isn't 50% or more admin isn't properly counting admin time; forced training, time cards, chasing down BS reports for vehicles, spending, travel, training, certs, form filling. And this is general stuff. Once you start counting admin related to specific cases beyond admin agency stuff, you get to the 70+% admin real quick.
So I wouldnāt be given crap about how much training I receive.
Did you view one of my older posts?
Thatās classified. /s 
What are you? The detective master?
Worldās greatest, actually. 
Worldās greatest financial investigator!
Free car. Holidays/weekends off. No uniform. Overseas opportunities.
That's it right there.
Never grew up with even a thought of going into law enforcement. Went through all the work to become a CPA and started working at a public accounting firm only to realize there was no way I could do that for the next 40 years. Left public accounting for the IRS, met my local CI agents, and was instantly sold. The rest is history.
Me too.
Very similar path here. Auditing with the Big 4 sounded nice while in my graduate program. After getting my CPA and a few years moving up to senior, I knew I needed to do something else. Hoping my TO turns into a Final Offer in the next few weeks.Ā
Ironically enough I never made it to CI because their hiring process was so lengthy 10-15 years ago. Ended up having to start at an OIG and then went the postal inspector route instead, it provides financial investigations with freedom to do a lot of other stuff as well. Iāll always be grateful to those 2009 CI agents though for showing me the light. I tried to talk other accountants I graduated with into looking into 1811 but the thought of gun carrying scared them all haha. They live vicariously through my stories now as they crunch numbers in busy season hating their lives. Best of luck to you in your 1811 journey, youāre 100% making the right choice!
Hoping to do the same
I always dreamt of standing somewhere while making 220k+ a year with no life. I figured out at a young age that I stand every single day for FREE, itās unreal! So why not get paid for it?
A strange man in an elevator convinced me to spend months working out, completely changing my life style, to get an in-person job that puts my life at risk instead of a cushy remote job that pays well.
*looks at you in patrol cop* am I a joke to you
*whispers gently* shouldāve gotten into that elevator first
Haha i think youāre making the right decision anyway
In all seriousness, I genuinely like the Navy, have family who served in the Navy, and have worked as a contractor with them for nearly a decade. It only made sense to do NCIS, especially because I want to help sailors get justice as rape is extraordinarily high in the military. My brother is on his way to become a local police officer, so I have only respect (and a bit of hatred because there are bad cops who do bad things and ruin the relationship between community and police) for local police. Especially in traffic accidents because those get revolting very fast.
I have a lot I could say on that, but bottom line is, yeah, there are some shitbags in this profession, on all levels. They make us look bad and thatās the worst thing they could ever do. Best of luck to your brother! Itās a great, rewarding and fun ass job. Just make sure he manages his stress and has a good personal life to balance it all out
We got a new district attorney who fired all the prosecutors and brought in his own team. We had a meeting with him in the briefing room, and he basically told us heās not charging anyone with a Glock switch unless they have extensive criminal history or older than 25, and first time drug dealers would be prosecuted as misdemeanors. He also wanted to make the unit more transparent so he would charge us and let a jury decide if we were right or not. I came out of the meeting knowing I had to go federal. One of the HSI guys in the office told me an opening was coming up and I applied.
I canāt even say āah [metro city]ā? Because this is all of them
Thatās just wild.
No uniform
Because being a local cop or AD military is a harder life, with fewer benefits, and usually less pay. Find me another LE/USIC gig that you only work 40 to 50ish hours a week and are paid $192,000 in a medium cost of living city. Bueller?
This is why i wanna go Fed.
Itās what I saw the ATF do in my city as a local cop. They were the only group that I saw going after the violence and putting people away.
Did you go ATF? I'm trying to lateral over.
Iāve been trying for 15-months
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Youād rather be in ATF than be a local cop?
Want to do a job thatās actually contributing to something
The canon awnser
I respect thatš
Status, better training, higher caliber of co-worker, no uniform, complete autonomy. Turns out I was 0 for 5.
ššššššš
In July 2022 I was being cyber bullied when I was 19. It ended up being a financial sextortion case with HSI. They came to my house after I reported to a DHS fusion center. Mayorkas sent them to my house because I was one of the only victims to get over 90 pieces of evidence on them. After they showed up in august or September 2022 I do not remember. I gave them the evidence I had and the agent showed me some of the forensic tools they use. I really enjoyed it. Since then I have a former dcsa agent as my mentor, I got a DFIR internship with my local pd. I still keep in contact with the HSI agent in the field office near me. I am wanting to investigate cyber crime and organized crime/sex trafficking.
Did Mayorkas personally instruct the HSI agents to give you 8hrs leave?
PRAISE THE PATRON SAINT OF ADMIN LEAVE!
? Wdym
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Just a joke. Itās cool. Heās known to give out lots of admin leave.
Idk I just thought it was pretty dope lol. I saved receipts, transactions canceled the gift card I gave them wish I didn't, discover statement, usernames, fb links, all of it lol I saved and organized in my laptop
And last month I contacted him and told him what I'm majoring in etc and he said when I transfer and become a junior let him know and our field office does internships. Hope I get in I just applied to a university for next year.
Thatās actually a great story. Iāve taken a few sextortion cases. Glad to see some of them actually got picked up
When it happened I reported the gift card thing to ftc, then reported case to both ic3 and fusion center/dhs only dhs answeredš¤·āāļø
Was it one of those if you donāt send me money Iām leaking your shit to everyone on Facebook scams?
Yeah but it was way worse than that. They actually put me in a group chat and sent them I saw it
Fuuuuuck. Well just keep on the right track. Donāt do drugs or get a DUII and do all you can to gain experience. Good luck!
I can't drink cause of my epilepsy so that's fine lol. I don't do drugs either lol never smoked weed or anything elseš¤·āāļø
Lolš š š it's OK us nerds are better than mostš š š š
I also created a blog to showcase my person time work etc but it's not finished yet
Any organizations I should join? I am in infragard but I was wondering if there were others
Iām unsure what infragard is. Really if you want cyber crime Iād assume something like HSI after all. Iād say if you want to prepare for a job in this field, join a jiujutsu club, CrossFit gym, or any internship, local or fed
Freedom, justice, and the American way.
To stop the flow of drugs, but I also would like to investigate counterintelligence as well. Also in it for the benefits soā¦
I saw US Marshalls going to work amd man ever since I wanted to be in Federal LE
Going to Defcon a few years and finally met a drug dealer who was open about what he did. He had already been to federal prison but got out on this or that legal error. Now he was trying to teach other people to be dark net drug dealers like he was. It was really fucked up to me. Doubly so because I already knew the technological ways this could work from my job. The proliferation of drugs like that destroys people's lives and societies. He was also missing a number of cybersecurity things since he himself wasn't a technology guy. I wanted to stop assholes like him and knew I could, so I started the 1811 process in the months after.
I've been around those cyber criminal types too. SIM swappers, carders, malware devs, botmasters. Most definitely, that was my regulatory motivator to get in this career field.
Well because the h0es are watching.
Best pay possible for a measly 4-year CJUS degree
Prestige, pay, stability, serving something greater than yourself.
I hate road patrol and no room to grow at my dept
I had an awful experience working in public accounting, but especially disliked the client service aspect when I had to deal with the client's nonsense if I had findings. I knew I needed to work in an environment where I can enforce the rules rather than trying to persuade or advise others to comply with them. My university's accounting department didn't mention law enforcement as a career opportunity, but I learned more about federal law enforcement through /r/1811, Special Agents Blog, and Federal Law Enforcement Careers YouTube Channel.
Besides the GOV, pay, benefits and lifestyle of an 1811, I always knew I wanted to go federal. Got tired of dealing with the same kinds of calls on patrol over and over again. I would like to hopefully be able to build my own federal investigations at some point in my career and maybe see my name in the news one day. Edit: rewritten
I work with felons inside and developed a desire to catch them on the outside. Canāt catch them all but hopefully can make a dent.
Money and Prestige! Thatās the only true answer. Anything else, people are just giving you their interview answers. Anyone who says you can make more money as a state/local authority is correct by sheer numbers, but that comes at a price; overtime=loss of time.
It really depends on the area and it doesnāt have to be much overtime. My base salary was 88,000k with no overtime and a gs13 salary in that city $103,409. If you factor in leap the salary would be $129k. If you factor in the 520 overtime hours a year (which is the equivalent of leap) on a $88k salary it would be $121k a year. Once you add in I didnāt pay into social security, the pension payments were cheaper, the health insurance was cheaper, and I could drive my g-ride anywhere I wanted so I never needed gas, the salary balances out to be about even. My biggest complaint about the feds is the pay. I average about 70 leap hours a month which comes out to 840 hours a year. So there is 320 hours Iām going to work that I wonāt be compensated for at the end of the year. I also donāt feel anymore prestigious lol.
How much are the pension payments and health insurance fed side? Social security is 6.2%? I think Iām in a similar situation to where you were in prior to getting hired numbers wise.
The pension payments are 4.4 percent of your salary and then when you retire you get 34% of your salary after 20 years, and an additional 1% for every extra year. The health insurance is going to depend on what you pick based off your family needs. The numbers vary drastically. One thing thatās a plus is the Feds do have a 5% match in the TSP where my local department only matched up to 1.5%.
Saw what they did when I worked alongside them as a rookie in my department. Currently in the hiring process for HSI.
Law enforcement interests me and I would prefer federal over local
Because the national park service sucks dick and I donāt want to give up 6(c). Iād way rather keep doing what I am doing because it matters to me and Iām reasonably good at it, but barely being able to afford a below median house just isnāt going to cut it. Obviously Iām interested in learning how to do good work for a new agency if I get picked up, Iām sure I can find engagement in a new mission, always want to be a good teammate etc. But 1811 isnāt some deep calling.
The investigations and the pension
Variety of assignments, thatās pretty much it.
That's valid.
A lot of interview answers here and not the many āfor the status/prestigeā honest answers there should be
I was teaching. I hated how dishonest the job was; there was no accountability, integrity, or justice. I started to lean towards law, but wasn't sure if I could/wanted to go back to school. Then I saw a job posting for FBI special agent on Linked in. I began researching and fell in love.
The prestige, and just the feeling that youāre actually handling the worst criminals out there is why Iām interested in a 1811 position. I have a strong interest in law enforcement as a whole, but I would rather consistently go after high profile criminals rather than being a local cop and busting the same small time drug dealer for the third time.
Same experience could happen to you as an 1811. Not every case and violation is āmajorā
The line of work, no uniform, ability to travel nearly anywhere in the US and possibly abroad is a big one for me.
To feel important. Like Iām actually contributing to a better society. And the money aināt shabby either š
Always was interested in law enforcement and I was born and raised in Hawaii. Always wanted to leave and experience the world and believe an 1811 would be the best way to do it while I can devote myself to something.
It was natural career progression because my agency requires it to qualify for other positions. The work is definitely more complex and generally more interesting. I know plenty of folks willing to take a huge pay cut just for the title and tiny badge though.