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MasterpieceLive9604 t1_iylbeoi wrote

Maybe hire some then? Just spit balling here.

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Alert_Confusion t1_iylgrg1 wrote

CBP has a lot of trouble with staffing, partially due to the fact that ~70% of applications fail the polygraph exam during the background investigation.

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MasterpieceLive9604 t1_iylgx1k wrote

Are they asking about history of smoking weed on those exams or what? Seems high! They can't all be criminals applying for jobs, right? Seems like a problem with the questions maybe...?

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Alert_Confusion t1_iylhe8c wrote

Polygraphs are nothing but pseudoscience. The results are largely open to the interpretation of the examiner. I personally know guys who failed CBP’s polygraph after being accused of lying about whether or not they’ve engaged in terrorism against the United States.

I’m not against using polygraphs as part of a background investigation; but I feel like it’s only use should be as an interview tactic. Results should have no bearing on employment as long as the applicant hasn’t admitted anything disqualifying.

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MasterpieceLive9604 t1_iylhib6 wrote

If you're getting a 70 percent failure rate, it does strongly imply there's a problem with the screening process not the applicant pool. Hope they get rid of it as you say and focus on other screening tools.

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Alert_Confusion t1_iylhw54 wrote

In my opinion it could be a number of different factors. Maybe there is a flaw in their screening process, or maybe that 70% is just because of the sheer amount of applicants per year.

CBP is the largest law enforcement agency in the nation; they likely receive tens of thousands of applications per year, and that could definitely lead to a higher number of disqualified applicants.

Sample size makes a huge impact when talking about percentages.

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asdaaaaaaaa t1_iylkbgd wrote

Likewise, I've known people with incredibly vulnerabilities/issues that managed to pass them. Even if you are a bad person for the job or have heavy disqualifiers, if you're confident and have no anxiety over the test, you still pass. Obviously it's a bit more in-depth than that, but as you said, it doesn't measure honesty, it measures anxiety and other sympathetic reactions that are impossible to tell by themselves if it's honesty or something else.

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burningcpuwastaken t1_iymby1e wrote

A coworker of mine was fired for falsifying data and was hired by the Tucson police department's criminal lab a month later.

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Data-Hungry t1_iylfp92 wrote

They received law enforcement status in 2008. Which mandates retirement at 20 years and so all the officers who started 2008 and before will leave all at once. He's they do hire constantly but the predicted wave will be hard to overcome considering it's a huge just just to maintain the current turn over

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Atomichawk t1_iyo2yyz wrote

How come there’s a 20 year limit and law enforcement officers and why did these guys just get that status in 2008?

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Data-Hungry t1_iyo5gbb wrote

Major retention problems back in the day they were non LEO and at one point only maybe gs9. Around 2008-2009 became GS12 and Leo. After creation of DHS and riding 9/11 coat tails GW Bush got them the LEO status.. Rumors of gs13 have been swirling for years..

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Atomichawk t1_iyo7zjc wrote

Ahh that makes more sense, I was missing that connection to the GS pay scale

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Professional-Can1385 t1_iylciwe wrote

I wonder if the pay is good; I would like a different job.

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jackanape7 t1_iylemui wrote

For gov jobs it's usually not the pay that's the draw. It's the job security, benefits, and pension. Some are tough to get into, but once you're in, you're in.

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asdaaaaaaaa t1_iylkfwp wrote

> It's the job security, benefits, and pension.

Don't count out connections/advancement. Getting your foot in the door even with a "dumb" job like security in a government position can be enough to have people consider you for something when they never would have before. As you said, it's rarely pay directly, but everything combined isn't a bad deal, especially when you consider government jobs are very hard to get completely fired from as well.

Some of the benefits can be pretty nuts too. Depending on organization, you can get paid $1,000 more per year, per language, provided you can pass a proficiency test. Doesn't matter if you use it or need it for your job ever again, they literally will (would?) pay you simply for "knowing" another language. Again, not amazing, but if you put in some work and play it smart, government work isn't terrible. Now, you want to talk the politics of government jobs, that's sometimes a very good reason to avoid it, although not like private companies don't have issues with that as well.

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fvb955cd t1_iymo6gm wrote

I used to interact a with a lot of customs officers and the big two exit options seemed to be

  1. A more prestigious, or desk law enforcement job, like FBI or HSI agent, IG investigator, or like intelligence analyst roles in the government

  2. Get into the trade side of things, and then get either a federal office job doing that kind of work, or go to the private sector for a shipping or logistics company to do that kind of work

That said, there did seem to be an attitude that the trade side was fairly clogged up with old officers, and that a new officer was looking at 5-10 years of passport stamping before that path opened.

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Data-Hungry t1_iyo6inb wrote

The language needs to be used something like 15% of your time to receive 5% pay boost. It also needs to be a language of usefullness, such as terrorist related languages.

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Professional-Can1385 t1_iymifom wrote

For sure! Gov jobs have other benefits, though not all have pensions these days. My brother and his wife have fed gov jobs, but the equivalent of a 401k not pension. However, the job security and pay make their jobs worth it. Bonus: they are both doing what they like. My job is the exact opposite hahaha!

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Data-Hungry t1_iyo668w wrote

Fed jobs receive a pension AND 401k and social security. Pension is around 25-45k a year depending on your high 3 pay years and what GS level. Add it to your 401k and SS and sitting pretty good though

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Data-Hungry t1_iylfjr7 wrote

Yes it's good. 130-150k a year with overtime and night diff plus pension..

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ScientistNo906 t1_iyn88ef wrote

Pay is very good, the work is not difficult, they don't receive the constant abuse that the police face, and the benefits are better than most. Many will stay, which should allow them to spread the hiring over time.

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fsr1967 t1_iylukl0 wrote

They wouldn't be up for retirement in 2028 if Obama hadn't hired them in 2008. Thanks, Obama! /s

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Data-Hungry t1_iyo5u4f wrote

Bush is the one who gave them LEO 😂 bush also created DHS

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Stenthal t1_iyo9mtq wrote

Because Bush was President in 2008. Obama was elected in 2008, and inaugurated in 2009.

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tedcruzrileycurry t1_iylp0du wrote

They should just let everything in like all of these stopping drugs at the border is just causing the price to skyrocket like just let everything in who cares let’s go LFG

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