Others are known for their competitive kickball teams. Through his career in several European, African and Asian countries, M acquired many international contacts and was able easily to obtain information that was of interest to intelligence services. The Insights team generates long-form journalism and is working with academics from different backgrounds who have been engaged in projects to tackle societal and scientific challenges. CIA clandestine service officers are paid according to federal civil service wage scales. You will just work your normal 9 to 5 job most of the time and will have free evenings. Joining the secret service is not just necessarily a young man's game. In between that, there is a lot of mundane routine work, setting up agents, pottering round and going to meetings that don't come to anything. You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. But I can recruit a scientist who is already there. That does grind people down over time. How Much Money Does a Lieutenant Make in the Marine Corps? Agencies exist solely to serve their clients. $63,000 per year on average, most insurance agents make between $48,000 and $83,000 per year. For decades in fact, CIA field agents have operated unseen and unknown in parts of the world antagonistic to the U.S. Vital to U.S. security interests, field work carried out by CIA field agents can also be dangerous. This information can help you make a fairly well-informed decision about applying to the FBI. The requirements for special agents are considerably more stringent. As well as a frequent commentator on espionage, Ferguson is currently helping to promote the hit US TV series The Blacklist, starring James Spader as a master criminal turned FBI informer. You can avoid physical work. In fact, good insurance agents will have many different promotion opportunities and you may also get into a leading role in your company rather soon. If you believe the pros of working for the FBI outweigh the cons and you'd like to apply for employment, know that the application process is one of the most rigorous in the nation. Belfast BT2 7ES M was supplied with a number of fake passports to carry out his undercover work. Changes in the needs of the government can result in agents being transferred, and not always to a desirable location. The CIA was instructing M in techniques the Americans used to recruit KGB intelligence officers who might know about penetrations inside the US intelligence community. In turn, those people will often not be able to pay their bills once they retire and may even end up homeless since they may no longer be able to pay their rent. If you go to the secret service website, which is the starting point for anybody thinking of joining, you will see they ask for proven experience in another field. However, everything comes with a price. If you're working CIA clandestine service overseas, for example, you'll receive housing as well as additional overseas service pay. The classic example of a loss of availability to a malicious actor is a denial-of-service attack. The meeting with Wolf lasted about an hour. It is also clear, however, that traumatic memories from that period continue to be a considerable burden to him. Moreover, sleeping problems are quite common for people who have to work late at night. All candidates must have a security clearance, which requires a background check that combs through your educational, criminal, credit and employment history. For instance, your boss may tell you that you have to sell a number x of insurance products. Their meetings always took place behind the Iron Curtain and the two East Germans showed their appreciation for Ms work on numerous occasions. One of my personal favorites is the management tool Asana. Due to the nature of the work, and the general high-stress that goes with being in law enforcement, FBI agents may experience stress-related health issues such as depression, anxiety, heart problems, digestive problems, chronic pain, sleep difficulties and poor nutrition. What other pros and cons do you see? However, there may be non-salary benefits. He told us: It was early spring and pretty cold. This story is part of Conversation Insights You may be able to start your own realtor business. They told him he was in the Untersuchungshaftanstalt (pre-trial detention center) Berlin-Hohenschnhausen, a notorious site during the cold war under the control of the Ministry of State Security (Stasi). As a young man during the Nazi period, Wolf had lived in exile in Russia, where this is a common habit. Depending on your job, agencies are known to be lenient when it comes to dress code. Stick with me since I will show you all the pros and cons of being an insurance agent so that you can better decide whether you still want to work in this field or if you want to go for other career options instead. With these new resources, M managed to trace the full names of what he believes to be his handlers, Wolfgang Koch and Heinz Ntzelmann. There are still some issues with a career in the insurance sector which I want to show you in the following chapter. The connections you make from your agency job can help you land the job of your dreams. He wants to find out, in particular, why his East German handlers, whom he had managed to deceive so successfully for so many years, suddenly seemed to turn against him in the mid-1980s. Feel superior to others. While you may take this for granted, there are still many people out there who are not able to enjoy the luxury of working indoors. After completing his secondary education in the Netherlands, he spent a year at a high school in the US which proved to be a formative experience. He told us: The BVD abandoned me completely after all those years that I had risked my life This document came to play a role in his dealings with the Dutch service after his spying career had ended. M clearly enjoyed the role he played behind the scenes during the cold war and the excitement that came with it a common phenomenon in the intelligence world. Disadvantages of being an Insurance Agent Stress and pressure to sell. Sales methods - an agent might not sell your product or service in the way that you would like. In addition, we applied to the AIVD for access to Ms file, but our request was refused several times. M gave us a truly unique insight into the secret workings of three different intelligence agencies. #2. But if you are eager enough to handle all the cons of being a creative in an advertising agency, it might be the perfect place for you. Not only can this be quite interesting, but it also gives you the opportunity to really develop your people skills and to get to know how the human psyche really works. $53,000 per year on average, most travel agents make between $45,000 and $68,000 per year. As an insurance agent, you can avoid all those issues and this can greatly improve your overall quality of life. So a good operational officer will have six or seven, possibly more, covers and there are specialist departments within those intelligence services whose job it is to maintain those covers. Creative agencies are not for everybody. The Pay Scale of a Veterans Service Officer. You passed the test, you are now one of us!. Intelligence collector 3. If this trend continues, you may suffer from pretty poor job prospects and may become unemployed soon. The trouble with. This lack of cooperation on the part of the AIVD intensified Ms feelings of bitterness. Learning the tricks of selling ideas, managing clients and developing strong concepts from established agency creatives, can help to take your work to the next level. Thus, if you want to make really good money, you should become a doctor or lawyer instead. Without a doubt, it was also his bitter feelings that made him eager to share his fascinating life story with us. The buzz is taking part in a world that nobody else knows about often you are aware of things happening behind world events that other people don't know and possibly will never know. The Federal Bureau of Investigation: New Agent Training. A lot of agencies tend to overwork their creatives. Now advances in technology mean maintaining people's covers has become a specialist area and it is a much more sophisticated operation. I told him I was thinking of the police or the army. I did the same when I started working in consulting after finishing my Masters degree in Economics. Many jobs in the FBI require mandatory travel. Increased ability to get high and fuck around through all . However, if you are a rather extroverted personality with strong selling skills, chances are that you will find your dream job as an insurance agent since you can combine your passion for selling with your outgoing character and this combination will often lead to significant success in this field. When a problem arises, implementing a solution to that problem often takes time. Kiplinger: Should You Work for Uncle Sam? One advantage of working as an insurance agent is that you can make pretty good money if you know what you are doing and if you are willing to work hard. Is It Easy for a Woman to Become an FBI Agent? Decreased blog hits because no one knows what youre talking about. A typical art director in advertising agency works long hours. Years later, when M got access to his BVD file, he found that at the time of his marriage, the service decided M would not be given a special present as he had been declaring too many expenses. They taunted him constantly, saying things like You betrayed Marxism-Leninism and You are a CIA agent. The number of CIA assets lost in China rivaled those lost in the Soviet Union and Russia as a result of the betrayals by CIA officer Aldrich Ames and FBI agent Robert Hanssen, who were arrested in . Andreas Vogel / Alamy Stock Photo. While some agents possess certain skills and experiences that might not seem relatable to tactical situations, like being a certified public accountant or having law experience, all agents are armed and trained for tactical combat. When I joined a long time ago, we were encouraged not even to tell your partner. You have the potential to earn good money as an insurance agent. The Hohenschnhausen Memorial in Berlin, a former Stasi prison. I received medals from them, whereas the BVD never gave me a medal or another sign of recognition, not even a ballpoint. In fact, there are hundreds if not thousands of insurance products you can sell in many different niches like car insurance, health insurance, life insurance and so on. Yet M said he felt strangely reassured because these accusations were not specific they were meant to provoke him. Moreover, lifting those heavy things on a regular basis can also greatly hurt your back and may lead to serious physical health issues in the long run. A lot of being a spy is terribly mundane. The corridors were lit. You have potential for great advancement. No gunshots, no bomb explosion, no Stasi dungeon. They rob you, as it were, of your identity and take away every shred of humanity. Mentally, he recited the mantra: Keep denying, do not give in. After seeing the evidence he provided to us, we believe his account of working against the Stasi is credible. FBI positions are divided into two categories: special agents and professional staff. Listen to Eleni Braat and Ben de Jong talk about Ms life in an episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast. Our professionals play critical roles in preempting threats and furthering national security objectivesfrom working against terrorism and cyber-attacks to preventing the spread of biological weapons and more. Many hardworking advertising professionals often feel underpaid compared to the long hours they work. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and Japanese from the University of Hawaii, as well as a Master of Arts in forensic psychology. No customer will be like the other and youre learning each and every day. In turn, your clients will be much better able to plan for their future since you have removed significant insecurity from their lives. Increased ability to get high and fuck around through all of college vs. having to study to maintain average GPA. Also make sure to check out the following articles: Advantages and disadvantages of working as a politician, Advantages and disadvantages of working as an air traffic controller, Advantages and disadvantages of working as a painter, https://www.statista.com/statistics/194232/number-of-us-insurance-brokers-and-service-employees/, https://www.statista.com/statistics/422878/annual-median-salary-financial-insurance-real-estate-united-kingdom-uk/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_insurance_agent. Another upside to becoming an insurance agent is that you will also be able to work indoors. Every creative is familiar with the nagging worries about a potential creative block. Clearly, M felt a strong ideological commitment to the west and had no moral qualms about betraying the Stasi. In later years, he would ask himself these questions repeatedly. Advantages of Being an Insurance Agent. Nothing, therefore, had prepared him for the interrogation in the Hohenschnhausen prison. Yet, you will still spend most of your workday in a rather artificial office environment while foresters and many other people are able to work in a more interactive manner outdoors. Creative agencies can be some of the best employers. As you can see from the previous discussion, there are many advantages and disadvantages to working as an insurance agent. After they have taken you in, they examine you. Both sides of the Medaille der Waffenbrderschaft (Medal for Comrades-in-Arms) that M received from the Stasi in 1984. This puts a lot of pressure on a creative. As an employee, the client needs to be your number one concern as well. Of course, if the operation goes tits up, the person who is going to suffer is the agent, not me. 2010 The Thought & Expression Company, LLC. As an insurance agent, you can avoid those issues, at least if you are financially responsible and dont waste your money on things you actually dont need instead of investing it in senseful investment projects. His former CIA handler (who M managed to get back in touch with in recent years) advised him in an email: Let it go, man, let it go. But this was clearly to no avail. There are six separate categories of CIA clandestine service officer in addition to field operations officers, and all work as covert or undercover operatives. Be on such a high intellectual plane that you forget to bathe, brush your teeth, wash your clothes, etc. FBI agent 6. At another meeting with Wolfgang and Heinz in the East, I received all kinds of special treats because I had gotten married six months earlier [in 1970]. Good work-life balance. You can avoid working at nighttime. By then, he had already become familiarised with the practice of espionage, including its basic techniques, during his military service. Over a period of more than 20 years, from the late 1960s until the end of the cold war, the HVA considered M their agent and he gave the East Germans information much of it acquired through the multinational he worked for. These are the words of double agent M, who operated for the Dutch security service and the CIA against the East German Stasi for 22 years. Another advantage of being an insurance agent is that you also dont have to work at nighttime. However, I will not take any responsibility for incorrect information and will not be liable for any negative consequences that might occur due to the reliance on this information. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has its roots in World War II's Office of Strategic Services, according to National Archives. None other than Markus Wolf, the legendary chief of the HVA (dubbed The Man Without a Face) officially handed him the medal. He holds a master's degree in management and a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies. Collection management officer Stars on the CIA memorial wall are unnamed, though, and the accompanying "Book of Honor" doesn't list some officers. Ms Dutch handlers correctly interpreted this approach as a recruiting attempt by the Stasi, and encouraged him to respond favourably. Being a real estate agent is a great deal for many investorsbut not everyone. Feeling discouraged? (Source: PayScale). There is never enough time. His captors intimidated him by pouring cold water over him from a bucket until the afternoon. In 2016, Ms emotional problems became acute, and he spent a night in an hospital emergency ward. Consequently, if the message spreads that you sell dodgy insurance policies, you may no longer be able to work in this field and may have to go for another career path instead, even though your intention might have been good. Utrecht University provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK. 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