 |
|
|
|
|
|
Border Patrol Career Requirements
Border Patrol: Do You Have What It Takes?
Border Patrol Agents help protect over 8,000 miles of land and water boundaries. Since 9/11, they've focused more on detection, apprehension, and deterring terrorists along with their original mission of stopping the illegal entry of aliens and contraband into the U.S.
Border Patrol Agents maintain surveillance, follow up on leads, respond to electronic sensors and aircraft sightings, and interpret and follow tracks and other physical evidence.
What Training Does a Border Patrol Agent Need?
You need to pass an entrance examination that includes logical reasoning, an assessment of past experience, and Spanish or an Artificial Language Test (ALT) that predicts how well you can learn Spanish. You don't have to speak Spanish to get hired as an agent, but you must learn it at the Border Patrol Academy and pass several Spanish tests to stay on active duty.
You then undergo a structured interview to assess your decision making, emotional maturity, interpersonal skills, and sensitivity to others' needs.
Next, to ensure you have the appropriate physical skills, you must pass both a medical exam and a fitness test that includes doing 20 push-ups in 60 seconds, 25 sit-ups in 60 seconds, and a 5-minute cardiovascular step test. You must perform each one correctly in order to pass.
Additional requirements include:- U.S. citizenship or residency of at least 3 years
- No conviction of domestic violence
- Valid driver's license
- Being under 40-years-old
- Passing a drug screening test
Finally, be prepared to undergo intense academic and physical training once hired, but you do receive full pay and benefits while completing that training.
The following colleges offer programs that can help you become qualified for a Border Patrol career:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
