What is the career path for a special agent?
While the following general description may represent a typical career track, promotions will affect individual careers and assignments. Secret Service special agents spend their first six to eight years on the job assigned to a field office. After their field experience, agents usually are transferred to a protective detail where they will stay for three to five years. Following their protective assignment, many agents return to the field, transfer to a headquarters office, a training office or other Washington, D.C.-based assignment. During their careers, agents also have the opportunity to work overseas in one of the agency’s international field offices. This typically requires foreign language training to ensure language proficiency when working alongside the agency’s foreign law enforcement counterparts.
