Posted: 9/27/2006 5:12:05 AM EDT
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US Border Patrol will be recruiting at my college campus on the tenth. What a noble profession! A friend and I are looking into it. Anyone here that can tell me about the day in, day out life of US border patrol? Thanks to all! 
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Honor First I just took and passed my entrance exam last week. It looks like a great job. |
Great, I can't wait to wind up getting into a CSA vs. USA arguement on teh fucking border with you  Seriously, though, congratulations. |
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Hope that your Spanish is good, because what you hear on the Border is not the spanish they teach you at Artesia, or what they taught us in Charleston or FLETC. Run alot. PEB is under 13 mikes for a mile and a half. O Course in 2:20, 200 meters in under 40 seconds. Good luck, you are gonna need it. And lots of studying. So much so it'll make you sick. |
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Brush up on your Spanish! Brush up on your Spanish! Brush up on your Spanish! Get the point? When I was at FLETC I spoke with a lot of BP recruits and they all unilaterally agreed that the toughest part, and the part they lost the most recruits in, is the Spanish language training. Even native speakers had a real tough time with it. From what I've been told they cram a ton of Spanish in you in a very short period of time. Spanish: It's where it's at! Learn it. Live it. Love it. My advice is for you to get your hands on the Spanish Rosetta Stone DVDs <cough> bittorrent<cough>  and start studying....ETA: I know we have some BP Bubbas on Arfcom, and they should be along any minute now with advice.... |
Not for long. Supposedly starting in january '07 it will go down to 51 days if you can test out of Spanish. Looks like GW wants quantity not quality down on the border. Get in shape NOW and stay in shape, it's easy to get injured since they PT you to the ground and if you're huero, study Spanish since it's the #1 reason us white boys fail at the academy. Keep in mind that you most likely will be sent to a POS town where the locals hate you and the schools suck. If you're single and want to make LOTS of $$, it's perfect. Lots to do in BP but keep in mind it is one of the most politically correct government agencies and they don't always stand behind you. Also only 30% of those who apply to BP actually make it past their 10 month exam. |
Lots? I looked at the starting salary and it appeard to be around 30k. More than twice what I'm making at a grocery store but still not a whole lot... is the overtime really that great down there? And that is just a damn shame. Any sign of it toughening up a bit, ever? Or will BP remain for the most part a hollow threat? It seems like it may take a few tries, but just about everyone who wants to cross the border can, eventually. Or am I off on that? |
There is a new Border Patrol station in my town. Okay it is a port on Lake Ontario, but those guys do NOTHING all day, but drive up and down main street, mainly getting coffee and lunch, I think. I had a client with a bad check charge just about have a cornary when two trucks with border patrol agents showed up with the local cop who came to arrest him on a forgery charge. They are so bored they follow along as back up on bs arrests.They did swoop into action like the Justice League when the local cops figured out two guys at the chinese restaurant were illegal.  Extremely nice and professional guys from the very limited contact I had with them.
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Someone posted the Honorfirst site, definately check that out. There is no regular day for a BPA, you will encounter different shit every day. However, check out the "Border Patrol Stories" section of the online forum in the Honorfirst site to hear about some of the things you can expect. Pay is good. I came in at the lowest grade, GS-5 and pulled in just under 60K my first year out of the academy. I think on paper, the pay grade for a LE GS-5 is about 35K, but that is pretty misleading. Two months after you get out of the academy and pass your first post-academy test, your pay grade goes up. You also get an xtra 25% tacked on for AUO, Administrative Uncontrollable Overtime. Then there are the Holiday and night diffs, Sunday pay, overtime if it's available and you want to work it, etc. Your work week will be 50 hours a week though, without REAL overtime. Weapons training at the Academy is top notch, lots of folks qual above 342 at the end, even those who have never handled a firearm. Aside from shooting paper, you will shoot steal, simunitions, and some other fun stuff. There is even some stuff mixed in with the driving training. You will do a little CQB, and other real world scenerios. Us hueros seem to have a hard time with the Spanish, one of the biggest killers. However, there was only one guy I saw that failed Spanish who REALLY tried to pass the program. The others just didn't want it bad enough. Myself, I spent 3-4 hours a night on Spanish study and pretty much all day Saturday and Sunday. You will have a Spanish lab and the Instructors will make time if you ask for remedials, we had several. It is a very regimented program. You will be marching everywhere while at the Academy, except to your first class of the day and after lunch. Lunch is yours to do whatever you want. You can skip mess if you want and hang out in your room, which might not be a bad idea since PT is generally right after lunch or breakfeast, especially for the newer classes. Inspections will be held at the beginning of every week to make sure your brass and boots are gleaming and your uniforms are pressed. Not to say this won't be the case every day, it will. PT will be trying, and if you haven't taken time to prepare before showing up, will be hell. Think about 40 minutes of getting smoked in the matroom then a brisk run afterwards. You probably won't run more than 7-8 miles, but you will get there quick. I think our first 5 mile run was only about 2 weeks after starting the PT program. Some instructors put more emphasis into the matroom, some into the running. Expect them to take you out of your comfort zone. All that said, with your prior experiences, you shouldn't have too much trouble with the environment. The most important thing is to pick your classmates up when they need it and keep the pack going. There are other things, Law, FLETC, Driving, so on, but you shouldn't have any issues as long as you put some study in. As far as after the Academy, well you know what they say "Forget everything you learned, this is how it is."  Well, everything except the Spanish I guess. Good luck and congradulations on your new career choice. |
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I'm at FLETC (GA) right now and met a couple advanced class BP guys. They speak highly of the Agency and have many years in. In my class (ICE) we have one guy who failed the spanish by 2 points. He said that and the PT were the big things. Be ready for paperwork in the hiring process, it is lengthy. Oh and have patience, it took me almost a year to get on with ICE and I hear that is quick for a fed agency. Good luck! |
| I have run into 10-12 xborder patrol agents in the last year working around NOLA, and all were great guys. That being said, None of them had good things to say about the B.P. Descriptions ranged from glorified bus drivers and fingerprint techs, to being ordered NOT to patrol the know crossing points, and being written up for "abandoning their posts" when they did it anyway. Take the training, and then come work contracts. See ya when you get here. Oho yeah, they were all waiting on an opening with ICE, or FPS, where the pay was as good, but the politics were lower key. |
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Well I talked to them, sounds good, but at the moment I didn't make most of their education requirements. I think I'm going to finish my bachelors first, similar to the route that TD308 took. Once I get out of college I should be able to make a better choice as to what I want to do. I've heard about the PC bullshit that they go through, one more thing that I'll take into consideration. Who knows, 2-3 years from now we may just be welcoming them with open arms  Thanks for all the information!
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