Contrary to conventional military jobs, this job is a desktop job and involves little physical action, although some jobs consist of physical activities as well. This job is concerned with gathering information and interpreting that information. The purpose of an intelligence agent is to protect the citizens from covert attacks. This is a highly valued job and requires people with great experience and analytical skills. Of late, with the recent terrorist activities, intelligence analysts have gained a lot of importance and are now an integral part of any military organization.
As espionage, you need to keep a track of various suspicious organizations around the world. You should be aware of such organizations, their location, what are they up to, who are the members of such organizations, who is running it, who is financing it, and all such details. You even need to keep track of rival country's army movements and interpret sudden changes in their army movements. It is your job to keep your country alert from any future attacks or else the nation will be caught napping. You also have to take care of the country's sensitive data. There is an immense responsibility on your shoulders because if this information comes in hands of an unauthorized user, it might spell havoc for the nation or the organization you are working for.
First, decide in what niche you want to work. Intelligence analysts are required for the Army, Navy, and Air Force and all of them have different requirements. To become espionage, it is essential to pass a test called the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). Your scores in this test will determine if you are eligible for this kind of job. To earn yourself a suitable job, you need to approach a Military Entrance Processing center. There are various such centers located across the United States. Depending on the requirements, you will be given a job. Once you get selected, the next step is to take proper training. This is provided by the military organization. After successful completion of training, you are eligible to work in the intelligence army.
To get a military intelligence job, you need to have a good command on subjects like math and physics. You must have expertise in computers and all of their languages. You might also be required to devise a new computer language for a secure method of data transfer. You need to be well versed with subjects related to cryptography. This is of paramount importance because it is imperative that the information that you send is not intercepted by someone else. Having analytical skills to interpret the activities of other nations or organizations is a must. If you know more than 1 language, it can be helpful. At the same time, you have to be responsible enough to understand the importance of your job. There is absolutely no room for error for intelligence analysts- one mistake and the consequences can be dreadful. Also, most agents hired by the army are supposed to be secret espionages. So you must be prepared to live a dual life and hide the information even from your near and dear ones.
You might be slow to start off with but salary can increase by leaps and bounds if you are doing a good job. In general, agents draw a salary of around $50,000 annually. Experienced officers even draw a salary as high as $90,000 annually.
At the initial stages, you can be asked to do some field work like keeping an eye on some organization's activities, taking pictures, eaves dropping, and so on. More experienced and accomplished analysts are given the responsibility to maintaining the security of sensitive data or keeping a close watch on terrorist outfits or interpreting the activities of hostile nations and so on.
A military intelligence job can be highly satisfying job if you like gathering information and doing your part in contributing to your nation.
