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You won't get to work with Mark Harmon, star of the television show NCIS, but if you take a job at the real Naval Criminal Investigative Service, you could find yourself leading the real-world version of his on-screen life.
NCIS investigates Navy-related crimes, including cyber crimes, from 165 worldwide offices. Among the ranks of its 1,300 agents are IT forensic specialists, who work on cases involving terrorism, procurement fraud and crimes such as rape or robbery.
"Because we're a Web-based world, computers are involved in 95 percent of our investigations," says Heather Bain, NCIS division chief of human capital development. During searches, forensic cyber specialists shut down and transport the suspect's computers back to the office, where they then examine the computers for evidence. Cyber specialists also work in counterintelligence and counterterrorism, and conduct online child pornography stings.
NCIS has three missions: prevent terrorism, protect secrets and reduce crime. The service hires recent college graduates with technical degrees as special agents (as well as experienced IT specialists who've not yet reached their 37th birthday) at about $42,000 a year in base pay, plus a law enforcement availability pay premium of 25 percent for being on call 24/7. In addition to the special agent career path, there are a variety of computer specialist positions, none of which have an age limit. (The age limit is tied to a mandatory retirement age for many federal law-enforcement positions.)
'We're Investigators First'
Tech hires are trained exactly the same as criminal justice majors. "We want to groom a well-rounded agent who can do anything and everything we do," says Bain. "We're criminal investigators first. That's the basic foundation in all our investigations: We investigate crime."
Once agents have learned the basics, such as how to conduct an interview, process a crime scene and work with other agencies, they're typically sent to a large field office, perhaps Naval Base San Diego or Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. At this point, an IT specialist might go to work investigating intrusions into Navy networks or identifying and outsmarting hackers.
What about being called up to persistently dangerous locations - like Iraq? Can that happen? "Every quarter we send out a worldwide announcement for the next deployment," says Bain. "There are incentives to go to hard-to-fill vacancies overseas and for dangerous locations. For a combat zone, like Iraq, you go for 90, 120 or 180 days depending on the job. But, we've been really fortunate that we've filled all those with volunteers."
Moving Around - A Lot
"It's important to understand that we're mobile," she adds. "We don't stay in a fixed place for an entire career. Moving to a new location, after working in an office for three to six years, promotes professional and personal growth and gives you a new outlook on the job." And, she notes, if you want to be promoted, you have to be willing to move: "It's unrealistic to think you could get hired and retire from NCIS without doing a couple of moves."
NCIS employees are a tight-knit bunch, Bain observes. "If I'm in San Francisco and I move to Washington, D.C., they're going to pick me up at the airport, show me where to go and help me get oriented," she says. "If you're in Iraq and someone in your family has to go to the hospital, we'll be there for them."
Another benefit of the job: variety. "Working on fraud-related issues, it is possible or even likely that you'll get a confession on a forgery or a conviction on a contractor," according to Bain. "In the course of 12 years, you could also work undercover on a drug operation, get involved in counterterrorism or counterintelligence work, or find yourself doing cyber investigations."
Given the breadth of the NCIS mission, career opportunities abound. For example, while she initially resisted the posting, a stint working child assault cases ended up being Bain's most rewarding time at NCIS. "I put a lot of child molesters in jail for a long time - 30 or 40 years," she says. "Moving on from that to senior management and now to be a part of hiring agents and shaping the future of our agency is very rewarding."
Note: To work with NCIS, you must be a U.S. citizen and able to hold a top secret clearance.
Dona DeZube is a freelance writer based in Maryland.
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