Secret Service Special Agents

A Secret Service special agent is assigned to a field office or the Washington, D.C., headquarters. Agents on investigative assignments may spend much time doing research with the office as base, or they may be out in the field, doing undercover or surveillance work. Protective and investigative assignments can keep a special agent away from home for long periods of time, depending on the situation. Preparations for the president's visits to cities in the United States generally take no more than a week. However, a large event attracting foreign dignitaries, such as International Monetary Fund/World Bank meetings in various cities, can take months to plan. Special agents at field offices assigned to investigate crimes are called out regularly to serve temporary protective missions. During presidential campaign years, agents typically serve three-week protective assignments, work three weeks back at their field offices, and then start the process over again. Special agents always work at least 40 hours a week and often work a minimum of 50 hours each week.

Since special agents must travel for their jobs, interested applicants should be flexible and willing to be away from home for periods up to 30 days and sometimes longer. According to the Secret Service, they also must be willing to "work long hours in undesirable conditions on short notice, relocate to duty stations throughout the U.S. and abroad as organizational needs dictate, and work undercover assignments as requested."

One of the drawbacks of being a special agent is the potential danger involved. A special agent was shot in the stomach in 1981 during an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. Other agents have been killed on the job in helicopter accidents, surveillance assignments, and protective operations, to name a few. For most agents, however, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.