How do I into intelligence work?
I'm a student, doing a masters in maths/computer science. I feel like I could be suited in an analyst position somewhere. How could I go about getting a job in the intelligence communty after graduation?
Britbong btw
pic unrelated
>>29567986
1. Be an exceptionally good student- they will contact you.
2. Have a special niche of expertise in you studies and your superiors/professors know about- they will contact you.
3. Connections.
4. Any relation to the military or whatever recruiting MoD bodies you got in the UK- they will contact you.
5. Work at any company that provides programming services for any of the MoD/Military bodies (many companies, especially niche ones are doing it) so that you can show them your product/skill and start talking to people to pull you in.
If you have to ask...
If you cannot find this information yourself, then maybe you are not cut out for intelligence work.
>>29567986
The fact you've posted on /k/ probably ruins ant chance of that.
Especially since you're from Britian.
>>29568054
This and don't be a fat piece of shit
>>29567986
>>29568054
6. Just send them a resume. You'd be surprised, but that's actually a legit way of applying. Look up their website for career opportunities or whatever, or if they don't have anything, just send them your resume as it is and they will make contact if they're interested.
>come to america
>enlist as 35F intel analyst in USARMY
>do intel work
omfg op its like your fucking 5 use your brain
>>29567986
Learn arabic, russian, Chinese or some other desirable language.
Having a military background with security clearance is a massive +.
Have committed no crimes. Ever.
Be knowledgeable in international events, geography, and happenings
CIA requires 3.5gpa now
Physical and mental fitness
>>29568391
> Learn Arabic, Russian, Chinese or some other desirable language.
1. Knowing the language isn't a requirement for an analyst. You don't get the raw source information. First, there is a guy that process it (basic translation, etc.) and then a man that sorts the info (what goes to to whom). It can't hurt, but it's not a requirement.
2. Addressing OP's specific case, he mentioned he's doing his masters in maths and computer sciences, so I believe the organization would like to utilize those skills if it comes to recruiting him. Unless shoving him the gathering part of things, he won't need of language skills.
> Have committed no crimes. Ever.
Depends on what kind and on specific line of work. Some places really wouldn't mind someone that understands the "criminal mind".
> Physical and mental fitness
Mental is important (especially sturdiness, because get ready to every now and then have 32 hours shift and get called back to office at 3am because some fuck thought his rank is too high for your pesky noises and launched a special operation even though you warned him that the force will get exposed), but physical not as much- he's not going into spook's assassination team. Or is that what the CIA wants from it's analysts?
>>29568483
Doughy puccibois don't mix well with actual operator types that tend to run shit. Not that most in intelligence are operators, I just don't want your fat, lazy ass getting paid with my tax dollars like the trailer trash you are inside.
>>29567986
Literally fucking apply.
They put job adverts and applications up on the websites of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ.
None of this secret squirrel 'knock-on-your-shoulder-in-the-pinnacle-club' bullshit anymore. Just like any other government job.
>>29568615
Oh, you mean it like that. Sure, being in good physical shape helps helps your social skills (which are important in this kind of work, even in inter-office politics) and is good for your work skills ("healthy mind in healthy body").
>>29568483
i always assumed that my past would bar me from any type of intel work, but this seems right. who would be better for undercover or interpersonal espionage tradecraft: a boyscout from the suburbs of middle america with zero contact with seedy groups/people, or a kid that hung around fucked up outcast fringe types and learned how to lie and blend in at a young age?
>>29568057
I can confirm this to be true. Pull your head out of your ass and look, most entry level jobs are posted online. Get one of those and excel. If you do you will be pulled deeper into the fold.
>>29568054
If you don't ask you won't get, so advising people to wait to be contacted for being the special-est snowflake is terrible advice, at least for the US and I would expect for the UK as well. Maybe if you had some credentials you could show, I might take this strategy more seriously; but it seems like normal misconceptions from what I have heard from other intel people.
>>29568391
>Learn arabic, russian, Chinese or some other desirable language.
While useful for collections people, it is less useful for analysts. Furthermore, very few positions are pure linguists so you really ought to bring something else to the table
see DIA FLPP page
>Having a military background with security clearance is a massive
Not necessarily. The Agency doesn't give preferential treatment to military. And many will take you through the security clearance process again.
>CIA requires 3.5gpa now
This is soft, and most applicable to the Directorate of Analysis
>Physical and mental fitness
What job are you trying to get this guy in. Mental health is good, but physical health is only a requirement for a few positions.
>>29568615
Who the fuck do you know in the IC?
>>29568655
Espionage and "undercover" are more delicate matters where either of those types would be applied to the right situation.
But generally speaking, it still would be the boy scout. In the words of the greatest American spook of all time, Michael Weston: "Sometimes guys who've never fired anything bigger than a cap gun turn out to have ice in their veins". Being good boy that stayed away from trouble and always friendly isn't necessarily a dork, and can just as easily lie, manipulate and do whatever it takes inside the work frame- while people with troubled past are already bit less trustworthy.
But again, unless you made some major crime like braking into a store, dealt with narcotics or killed someone- this won't necessarily be a disqualifying factor. Growing in a bad environment but getting out ok- it shows character and is appreciated. Hanging with thugs, but growing out of this stage while retaining "street skills" can be counted in your favor.
>>29568783
1. You're correct and I should've been more clear about it: don't wait for anybody. Waiting won't do you any good. What I said was meant to undertone of what "they" are looking for, but sitting around won't draw "them" to you.
2. Perhaps the US/UK system is different and I should've taken it into account. Our system is built around the concept of seeking out people. It even goes as far as going over every high-school-er in the country and marking all of them by potential.
>>29568852
I understand that, having talked with a gentleman (on the intel academia side of things) who worked in the UK. He did make reference to this UK attitude that good intel people are born, not made.
However, I doubt that's universal. And it was not clear to me how applicable this would be to your typical SME like a CS/Math guy.
>>29568852
>Growing in a bad environment but getting out ok- it shows character and is appreciated. Hanging with thugs, but growing out of this stage while retaining "street skills" can be counted in your favor.
this sounds right. used to deal and hang out with a lot of criminal types. that was a long time ago. lived in a ghetto, worked blue collar construction and mixed in with people from all walks of life, moved around a lot when younger. have a working knowledge of a lot of different topics. i can talk to you about sports, rap, drugs, 19th century agrarian economics, ww2, whatever, because i'm a closet nerd that reads about everything. i will win at trivial pursuit every time. and I'm a god at talking to strangers or picking up chicks or finding something out or interviewing for a job or mingling at a dinner party. or i could find you a dimebag in any town in north america.
i'd like to see a dudley do right boyscout do this
>>29568965
So why aren't you an FBI agent?
>>29569174
good question, probably because i didn't go to college or join the military
>>29568965
1. Many boy-scouts can do this, despite stigma. Often enough, boy-scouts will be intelligent people with good education. As such, they often intuitively posses the skills you have described or can acquire them rather quickly when tasked with doing so. If a man is a boy-scout in mind (which is the way you describe yourself in), but lacked the luxury of living in a good neighborhood and getting goodie-boy education- it's still valid. It's all just a question of where, how and what skills you acquire.
2. If you delivered true to reality info, you sound like the perfect archetype for a candidate, and I know that I would like to have an interview with someone like that. There is so much more to it, but your description does tick all the boxes you need to start.
>>29569439
i'm in the process of enlistment, 35series with the eventual goal of 35L (counterintelligence agent). i thought about just going reserves and getting a degree in intelligence studies, but reserves don't really offer the "application" of any skills learned, from what i understand.
but thanks for the encouragement. my father was a naval intelligence officer, and he seems to think i fucked up too much in life for MI, but my SF and Ranger buddies say there's plenty of room for fuck ups in the field, and they both have worked extensively with operatives and assets from various agencies.
we'll see how my sf86 and references go i guess
>>29569656
Counterintelligence? Ma man! Myself was in cyber counterintelligence before I got bored and moved to counter-humint.
Good luck man.
And I wouldn't worry about your fuckups. If you get asked, paint them as mistakes you learned from (don't deny them, it will look like avoiding responsibility) and it's in the past. If anyone tells you it's a problem, be confident when saying that's it's not and that you're willing to do what's necessary to prove it.
Your father has a point that it might (and just "might") make things a bit more difficult, but it most certainly won't block you (unless you killed someone, it's harder to recover from that). Showing great motivation and will to overcome this "mistakes" even when they tell you no (and they will say it at least once at some point) - it can turn things in your favor.
>>29567986
No idea how it works over there, but in America it's pretty easy for STEM majors to snag an internship in the intelligence community. If you want to travel, be sure to check out the foreign service (diplomatic corps) as well. Everyone uses interns and it's a good way to test the waters without fully committing.
>>29569793
awesome, i'm torn between all source (35Fox) or human (35Mike). on the one hand, fox sees a broader scope and has a fuller "view" of intelligence, but on the other hand, mikes have real hands on experience, and they get a language (which would help when i try and go lima).
since you did cyberintel, i'm sure you had zero problems switching to the civilian/ contractor side, i'm wondering if its the same with counterintel? especially if i work towards an intel or political degree? seems like a niche skillset that agencies would snatch up immediately. the SF guy i know says that 35 anything with an active TS would be something they recruit, not something you apply for. any tips?
and no, i've never murdered anyone, the only thing i've ever gotten caught for was trespassing and it was expunged 10 years ago
I feel as if you're too fucking stupid to know the answer to this question, you're too fucking stupid to hold an intelligence job.
>>29569959
1. The only thing that I know about the US and UK forces is that all they is they're radically different to ours.
2. The IDF service was a "mandatory 3 years & get out" deal for me, so my choices were based on personal interest and best application of my skills, and less about career. That's why I could afford my self quitting cyber and moving to Humint just because I wanted to get a bit more action near the end of my service, and I still could claim I dealt with cyber when looking for a job.
Considering the above, I don't feel confident enough to give you more in-depth advice than I already have.
What I will say, is about about the first segment about job-options:
Cyber-counterintel gets you a job as info-security in places such as banks and big companies. More general counterintel, with emphasis on political degree? Sounds like a civi intell career (private or governmental), or a security/connections/analyst bigshot in some multi-national company (which is above my level right now, so I don't want to misinform you).
> 35 anything with an active TS would be something they recruit, not something you apply
I'm not sure that I understand this phrase...
> trespassing and it was expunged 10 years ago
Now your dad just sounds like a paranoid. He was an officer, you say? Makes sense now.
And what is 'lima'?
>>29570175
my apologies, thought you were American!
> 35 anything with an active TS would be something they recruit, not something you apply
35 series is intelligence in the army. 35g is geospatial intel, 35n or s is signals intel, 35p is cryptolinguist, 35m is human intel, 35f is allsource intel. 35l (lima) is counterintelligence, also not entry level. i'm pretty sure you have to be an E4 or sergeant.
yes, my dad was a naval intel officer for 20 years, the boyscout type that i was talking about before. so yeah he's probably being a little paranoid
>>29570230
Yep, that's "radically different" different to our system. I got called to do some test that included computer knowledge (wanted to be in combat roles, but had health issues, so they talked to my teachers and decided I have intelligence potential) when I was still in high-school and passed all of them. When recruited, I was sent to intelligence school for a counter-intell course for half a year and that's it.
So I'm sure I'm not gonna attempt to give you advice. So as I said- good luck.
And tell your dad to lax out a bit. Say that "you if you don't try, than you fail for sure" and "who dears- wins". Officers love hearing this kind of stuff.
>>29568113
won't get a TS clearance unless they're a US citizen and renounce all others
>>29567986
hey its Roger posting from my thinkpad edge e530c
so first of all we saved your ass in WW2, WW1, win every olympic event except fake sports named after insects, were just 500% better then u, and dont get me started on the revolutionary war. people forget that. your welcome/nice job beating the french occassionally/way to have your whole car industry get taken over by germans=L7G8 losers. that would never happen in america
anyway intelligence is 1 of my specialties (pun intended) and i am happy to spoonfeed you some of the simpler things you need to know
>is masters in computer science good?
no. you know why they call it amasters? when ur age 1-13 they call u "master" _(your name)_. its a sillly system we inherited from a very gay (no offense) country, (yours) but it means your degree is "worthless". in any event the only people intelligence community hires is 1337 haxxors from america because we are kind of the center of that culture. (u have BBC we have MTV) i thought about this path myself but didnt because sometimes the company ur haxxing has a computer guy named the plague who calls secret service on you to cover up his fraud and hot hacker girls who look like angelina jolie are always wasting your time and im more into "boots on the ground" kinda stuff "hoorah!!!!"
>i feel like i could be suited (sic!) in an analyst position
my guess is that the british intelligence service basically just writes the spell checking software for the US who i assume does all the intelligence for the "little UN" aka "EU". thats gonna be a problem if u cant spell - otherwise what are you going to do try to add thesaurus to the british jobs? thanks but no thanks - we dont need to know about the new russian "flying bobby rotor-poodle" and other funny memes with stuff you call things. boaty mcboatface
>how do i get job
learn to be an american, or do something british people are actually good at, like soccer or monty python. no offense but u have no future or penis
>>29570408
i wish we had mandatory service here
>>29567986
>How do I into intelligence work?
You don't, apparently.
>>29567986
I wish I could give you some cool answer but sadly its simply a case of sending your CV to GCHQ. Alternatively you could go through the forces, a lot of the technical/comms/signals specialisations feed into it
>>29571925
here's the link https://www.gchq-careers.co.uk/index.html
OP here. Thanks guys, a lot of useful info.
Of course I know to apply online etc, the main question was what sort of things I could do to make myself more desirable, and more likely to get a job there.
In hindsight, asking on /k/ was retarded
>>29567986
Join one of the service int units. Army Int Corp is by far the biggest and with most specialties. Including cyber, covert humint. You start off as an all rounder then specialise. Mixture of tactical and strategic, collection to analysis.
Get outstanding grades snd social skills and apply to SIS/SS. As a case officer
Get outstanding grades and apply for a support position in SIS/SS/GCHQ.
Don't wait for them to come to you. You can apply on their websites these days.
Currently the Army Int corp is expanding. The rest of the int community has been getting bigger every year since 9/11.
If you have to ask on 4chan whilst doing no work of your own then you are not what they are looking for.
