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Customs Agent
Job Description
A United States Customs Agent is an exciting field that affords employees the ability to work for the US Treasury Department. As an Agent, your primary responsibilities will include but are not limited to enforcing the government’s import/export laws at airports by examining the aircraft itself, ships, cars that are being transported, various shipments, personal luggage, and even people for what is considered contraband or illegal items. These agents also perform other investigative procedures for customs fraud, narcotics smuggling, money laundering, and essentially maintaining the Arms Export Control Act. As a Customs Agent, you have the ability to make arrests in connection with any search and seizure that produces contraband.
Needless to say, you will receive on the job training to equip you to handle such job duties. However, if you are an individual who is interested in becoming a Customs Agent because you want a career that will allow you to assist the United States government in this capacity, it is important that you first know that you have to earn a four-year degree. One of the more common degrees individuals who are interested in becoming a customs agent have is a degree in criminal justice. An education in criminal justice will demonstrate to your future employer that you have a solid background when it comes to a basic knowledge and understanding of various laws and applications of those laws. If you have a degree in another field that may not necessarily preclude you from meeting the job prerequisites, especially if you have some experience to go along with an education.
However, it is very important that you review all of the qualifications to become a Customs Agent before you apply. This information can be found at the website for the US Department of Homeland Security, Customs, and Border Protection.
Training and Salary
In order to be eligible to become a United States Customs Agent, aside from the education portion, you must be a US citizen, and be at least 21 years old. As a candidate, you will go through a testing portion that will test your physicality and your mental competency, in the form of a written test. You will also have to undergo a background and drug screening. If you hired as an agent, training consists of fourteen weeks at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, GA. All newly hired agents, will have either a GS-5 or GS-7 designation. The GS-5 level typically earns a salary between $28,000 and $37,000 a year and a GS-7 can earn up to $45,648.
This is where the education component is critical because in order to get the entry-level GS-5 designation you MUST hold a bachelor’s degree. If you are interested in a higher wage and want to qualify as a GS-7, you must hold at least one additional year of post-graduate studies. Although you receive additional training in smuggling, fraud, surveillance, and money laundering the US government wants to know that you have obtained a formal education because this demonstrates that you possess certain valuable skills. If you want to work as a customs agent, start your schooling today!
