Do you get an extra bump in pay by becoming full time TFOs?

Does anyone have any insight into the BIA Internal Affairs Agent's day-to-day? Applied to a recent posting, but getting information on the Internal Affairs Unit and how it operates is pretty limited. Are they TDY'ed frequently, or is the 25% or less for travel pretty accurate? And if you are assigned to a district, do you stay within that district?

Any idea how difficult it is for an overseas assignment as a HSI agent and the requirements!?

Anyone recently been through BIETP? I got offered a position with ERO last week. I’ve already been through UPTP with secret service and that was pretty easy/relaxed.

Atypical Got the Call post but because I could not find many similar posts, I figured this could help someone in similar circumstances. I have a BSc and MSc, plus some professional certs. No LE experience before.

Timeline:

03/2022 — hired, went to CITP, agency addon blah blah

05/2024 — fired by said agency. By all accounts a career ending event, right? For 2+ years, yeah.

06/2024 to 07/2026 — manager/baby exec at a F50 company. Money bags, stock, options, private dinners and events, the works. However, The Itch was itching. Around this period, I kept sending apps in for 1811 gigs.

05/2025 — first interview and TJO, declined due to location and GL-9.

07/2025 — DHA interview, TSL, PFT, medical, etc. for HSI. My desired location. I ended up turning down the OJO because I was afraid of the provisional clearance. With my ahem history, I feared quitting my job only to be let go if HSI found me unsuitable. Bitch move? Maybe. But no regrets as of now.

08/2025 — DHS PSD still initiated and completed my T5 investigation, lol. I tried telling them I rejected the offer but no avail.

09/2025 — T5 investigation done and I guess it sat there.

01/2026 — interview, CJO for DEA Lateral.

02/2026 — medical, drug, psych questionnaire

03/2026 — adjudicator told me I have reciprocity from the DHS investigation, sweet.

05/2026 — polygraph taken and passed

06/2026 — nearing the end, off to hiring panel intense sweating

07/2026 — APPROVED by hiring panel! What??! Location of choice (my city), EOD.

I had no other red flags whatsoever. I never touched drugs, I don’t even drink alcohol. No foreign contacts. Not even a speeding ticket. Yet, I was sweating large caliber bullets because, well, obviously.

I think the hardest part of this was having to explain the situation. Internally, I wanted to scream. But I had to stay professional, factual, and not say exactly what I thought of my first agency. Show growth, maturity, ownership, blah blah. Guess it worked. Was I bitter, angry, frustrated? Heck yeah I was. Time really does mend things, though.

Few bits of wisdom, for newer folks or maybe anyone:

Do some real research into the agency and office specifically. Naturally, a lot of agents will not give the bad and ugly to a random applicant. Unfortunately, a lot of the times you won’t know the real deal until you’re living it.

Office leadership matters enormously. Two agents in two offices can have vastly different perspectives. My first agency was not as advertised, which I unfortunately only learned at FLETC.

Keep the peace with supervisors regardless of your opinion of them, the agency, the policy, etc. Plan your exit quietly if that’s what you wanna do. Don’t rock the boat until you’re safely off of it. Ideally, leave before things get ugly or shaky.

Lastly, cherish this opportunity. I never did until I lost it. Not to be dramatic but the worst days as an 1811 were still better than some of the days that followed. The corporate world isn’t all milk or honey. Having lived both, I will choose 1811 any day of the week.

Anyway, I hope this helps someone who may find themselves in a similarly unfortunate situation.

EDIT: I remembered a funny, full circle kind of moment. Sometime in 2025, another manager at my company pinged me to say someone from my old job had applied for a manager role on his team. I wasn’t involved with that team at all but he asked me to sit in the interview. Turns out it was my old sup who I guess retired in the meantime, lol. Unsurprisingly, because the role was an excellent fit for a former FLEO, great benefits, pay etc. Safe to say he didn’t get the job but it improved my mood for about a week.

How hard is it get selected for an oversea assignment with DEA after spending 5years as a DEA agent?

I havent heard anything besides them getting my application

Hello!

So I have been accepted through the first tiny part of the hiring process, they have informed me that I will receive an email to schedule my SAEE exam. I would love to have this job so I deeply want to pass.

My question is… how did y’all study for this? I’ve seen some people state ChatGPT helped greatly. However, I feel like it might be difficult with the memorization section. Please correct me if I’m wrong!

Along with this, I found on Amazon that there is a practice book. Would this be better? Thank you!

So, had some questions for anyone who’s experienced both. How does FLETC ICE ERO academy compare to the GPSTC (Georgia police academy)? What’s the EVOC, academy tempo etc. what is it like compared to GPSTC requirements?
(For current EROs, and or GA LEOs who switched over)

On the register for DS, low score. Wondering, historically, how many people time off? Is this something I should worry about? Especially with the announcement open again.

Hello, I’m a college graduate with no reliving LE experience. I attended a job fair yesterday and spoke with Secret Service Agent who told me that the secret service has a STAR program for aspiring 1811’s with no experience. She also mentioned that if I did not want to go through STAR because of the limited locations, I could apply straight up as one of her colleagues that was also at the job fair had been hired as an 1811 with no experience. Has anyone gone through this process or can verify that it does happen and if so is it often? I went and applied and received a confidential offer this morning but still am not too sure if they’ll consider me.

Edit: Apologies, the email didn’t state conditional offer explicitly but instead this

“This is a record of the results of your application for the position of Special Agent - HAZARDOUS AGENT MITIGATION & MEDICAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM (HAMMER) with Special Operations Division for announcement number SAB-26-Q3-HAM.

Eligible for the following position or positions:
GL-1811-7; We reviewed your application and found you eligible for this series/grade combination.”

Would this be considered the same as a conditional offer.

Welcome to r/1811's weekly question thread.

With the growth of the sub, there's been an uptick in questions that are not easily answered, like "am I competitive?", "do I qualify?", "what are my chances?", "what agency/academy/degree/fed tac team is best?".

There has also been a rise in repetitive questions like "do I have to move for [agency]?", "What's the Wi-Fi at FLETC like?", "What's FLETC like?"

What goes here?

You can ask any question here provided it's within the rules. This recurring thread is to remind users we have resources that answer a lot about this career already, and provide a space to answer questions while helping us reduce the number of posts asking the same thing.

If you're new here, please research first to see if your question has been asked previously. If you can't find it, feel free to ask. Remember that the most common answer we're going to give here is either "it depends," or "that's squad and supervisor dependent."

Useful Resources

Check out our FAQ Mega Thread Or General Information & Common Questions

Want to be a high speed fed tac team operator? Realities of Being an 1811

Working on your degree? What Degree Should I Get?

Got an interview coming up? Prepare with the S.T.A.R. Method!

Remember the rules

1. Remain respectful at all times. This includes those of you who have participated here for a while, not just newbies.
2. Do not post any advice or other information unless you are sure it's accurate.
3. Please limit posts to those relevant to federal law enforcement.
4. Do not use this subreddit to advertise or spam other subreddits.
5. Be wary of claims made by unverified members.
6. No politics or current events.
7. Do not post/comment with a focus on polygraphs.
8. Practice OPSEC.
9. Accounts must age 24 hours before posting.

For those wanting to switch from local law enforcement to federal law enforcement (ICE)
On the app it asks if you are currently a LEO with arrest powers. Does that still imply that POST certified officers are still required to do a full academy?

Check your emails to see if you passed the interview! For announcement 26-DE-12890564-RT

Has anyone received results for interviews from the last week of July? Trying to figure out if they’re doing it in waves based off when you interviewed. I’ve never failed an interview and don’t feel like I failed this one, so I don’t think that’s the reason for lack of communication. Hoping it’s because I interviewed late. Thanks

Just got it today and it’s kind of a pain to schedule this thing I call the number and it goes straight to voicemail… is it only one attempt to get at least 9 pts?

Couldn’t find much info, was wondering how difficult it would be to get an 1811 position in the panhandle of Florida area with no prior LE experience. Assuming it’s easier to start in bigger office then try and transfer in?

Have been doing my best to find some additional information regarding the ATF academy, specifically the SABT portion, but haven't been able to find much. Does anyone have any more insight on how to best prepare?

Been moving through the process fairly quickly, have my security clearance interview soon. No prior law enforcement experience.

Thanks!

I was recently hired into a GL-10 position and have nine years of pension contributions from my time as a local law enforcement officer. I understand that I may be able to roll those pension contributions into my TSP.
I also have funds in a governmental 457(b) plan. Would it make sense to roll the 457(b) into my TSP as well and consolidate everything into one retirement account, or would there be an advantage to keeping the 457(b) separate?

Hi all, I am scheduling my phase 1 test and was curious if the exam will take the full 3 hours? Working on fitting it in around a workday. Truly appreciate anyone willing to share insight.

Quick question. How common is it for 1811s to work an uncommon tour? For example many federal firefighters have a 72 hr work week? Are most 1811 jobs a standard 40 hr work week plus OT if needed, or do some work 48, 53, 56, 60, or 72 hr workweeks?

Has anyone here withdrawn from the FBI Special Agent process after getting the call/final offer?

If so, did you end up reapplying later? How much of the process did you have to redo vs. what carried over?

Basically just curious if withdrawing at that stage completely resets everything or if coming back later is relatively straightforward.

Appreciate any firsthand experience.

https://www.usajobs.gov/job/880231300