What is the difference between special agents and Uniformed Division officers and, what are the qualifications for those positions?
Secret Service special agent’s duties include both investigation and protection. Special agents investigate financial crimes such as: counterfeiting of currency; false identification; credit and debit card fraud; computer fraud; forgery or theft of U.S. Government checks, bonds or other securities; telecommunications fraud; and certain other crimes affecting federally-insured financial institutions. The protective responsibilities of special agents include protection for the President, Vice President and their families; former Presidents and their spouses; children of former Presidents until age 16; visiting heads of state or government; major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates and their spouses; and other individuals at the direction of the President. To qualify for the special agent position, an applicant must be a U.S. citizen and be less than 37 years of age when appointed. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. However, degree
• What is the career path for a special agent? While the following general description may represent a typical career track, promotions will affect individual careers and assignments. Secret Service special agents spend their first six to eight years on the job assigned to a field office. After their field experience, agents usually are transferred to a protective detail where they will stay for three to five years. Following their protective assignment, many agents return to the field, transfer to a headquarters office, a training office or other Washington, D.C.-based assignment. During their careers, agents also have the opportunity to work overseas in one of the agency’s international field offices. This typically requires foreign language training to ensure language proficiency when working alongside the agency’s foreign law enforcement counterparts. • Do I need a college degree to work with the Secret Service? Each position has different entry level qualifications and/or educatio
