I want to work for the CIA, what courses do I need to take in college to have a career as a CIA Agent?
The CIA, like other federal agencies, requires certain educational milestones to be completed before one can even be considered for a position. But are there any specific degree tracks and classes that you should take?
Well, according to the Central Intelligence Agency:
CIA employees represent a wide variety of disciplines from an even broader mix of academic backgrounds and experience. Therefore, we don’t recommend one academic track over another in general.
I really feel that you shouldn’t worry too much about which courses or degree program you choose, but that rather you go along with a well known adage: keep your grades up. The CIA would like their potential job candidates to have a GPA of 3.0 or above, and fluency in another language is highly desirable.
Above all, understand that your choices and behaviors now are a reflection of your personal integrity, character and patriotism.
That’s not my personal quote, but rather it’s the CIA’s way of saying we want patriotic Americans with enough common sense to pass the scrutinizing background check and other hiring criteria.
Oh, and by the way, Hollywood’s image of the CIA Agent position is now under the umbrella of the CIA National Clandestine Service (NCS) with position titles like: Core Collector, Operations Officer, and Collection Management Officer. Not too “sexy,” so I guess the movie industry won’t be changing it’s CIA Agent and CIA Operative persona, but the Central Intelligence Agency surely did away with it.
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