Last month, we shared the story of former CIA employee Brian Goral. Goral started his 15-year career in the CIA that took him to 30 different countries by way of a CIA internship. This month, we featured the story of Dr. Deborah Frincke, who gave us an insider look at the NSA’s Central Security Service. Well, re-read those posts. If those stories turn you on, it’s time to make it happen.
It’s time to get inside the SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility). An NSA internship is the door. And the NSA just opened it. Like CIA internships, NSA internships are excellent opportunities to introduce yourself to the Agency, to gain a more intimate understanding of the Agency and what it offers, and begin making a positive impression among those who someday may depend on you. Even if your cleared path takes you in another direction, with an NSA internship you begin building—or adding to—an enviable cleared resume.
WELCOME TO THE S&CI WORLD
S&CI—Security and Counterintelligence: those are the kinds of missions you’ll work or support in Job 107611. You may get valuable experience in security investigations and clearance adjudications. Or you may work antiterrorism, force protection, or counterintelligence. Wherever you end up inside the wire, you’ll “work directly under the guidance of veteran security professionals responsible for protecting NSA personnel, facilities, and operations worldwide . . . .” Read: networking. Read: future references.
Undoubtedly, you’ll make an impression, and when it comes time for the NSA to hire permanent agents—or even if you later choose to apply to a different cleared job—you’re going to have a big, big advantage over peers who have never breathed the rarified air inside the Fort Meade, Maryland, facility. And unlike many other internships in and around D.C. in which you do the work and foot the bill, internships with the NSA and the Department of Defense are real jobs with real pay and real benefits.
GOT WHAT IT TAKES?
Getting in probably isn’t too easy. The competition is likely formidable. But if you’ve applied yourself during your first years in college and it’s paid off in grade points—and if you’re eligible for a security clearance—then you’ve set yourself up for early success.
The NSA’s looking for college students between their sophomore and senior years who have a 3.0 GPA, or higher. You have an edge if you’re majoring in one of several fields in the liberal arts—communications, political science, criminal justice, computer science, and more. If you live too far away to reasonably commute (more than 75 miles from Ft. Meade), then the NSA will pay for your travel and even put you up in government-funded housing. Who else does that?
And if you’re a Veteran, then you have another important advantage: Veterans Preference in the hiring process.
GET TO WORK
The deadline is October 31st. For first-time applicants for government jobs, you’ll find that the application process is about like the process for any government job. You use their resume format (don’t waste time on a fancy-looking one-page resume: you couldn’t upload one if you wanted to), and they make very clear exactly what they want to see, so there’s no guessing. But it takes time, and you’ll want some professional you trust to give your packet a few looks before you submit, so you need to get to work right now.
Good luck.
