Attracted by promises of excitement, service to country - and pay as high as $80,000 in just three years - scores of people showed up today to hear a pitch from U.S. Border Patrol recruiters in Sacramento.
"We are currently waging a war on terror. And now, more than ever, this border must be guarded," a narrator said during a video presentation agents showed during a six-hour job fair at the DoubleTree Hotel in Sacramento. More than 150 people dropped by to hear the pitch and ask questions. Afterward, they were invited to sit down at computers and take an online test required to start the application process.
"I come from a mortgage background, you know, suit and tie," said Andre Sublett, 26, explaining his interest. He said he's physically fit -- used to be a Boy Scout and likes the outdoors -- and has some knowledge of rudimentary Spanish from high school and community college. Business is slow, he said, and he's looking for a career change.
Customs and Border Protection, part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is recruiting across the nation, trying to add 6,000 new agents by the end of 2008. The agency has already added 3,800 agents since President Bush's directive in 2006 to increase hiring.
Applicants have to be between 18 and 39, U.S. citizens with at least three years residency inside U.S. territory - unless they served in the military - and they must have at least one year of experience at any kind of job or multiple jobs. Candidates must pass drug, fitness and written tests and speak Spanish fluently or be able to learn "task-based" Spanish during courses at the Border Patrol Academy that focus on interviewing detainees and giving commands.
If a successful applicant has a bachelor's degree, he or she can start at a higher salary. But a beginning Border Patrol agent starts at $36,658 a year plus multiple options for premium and overtime pay that can increase annual pay by about $10,000 the first year. By the second year, an agent can earn more than $52,000. All new field agents start at a station along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Call The Bee's Susan Ferriss, (916) 321-1267.
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