About Careertakes

👉 Important disclosure: Careertakes is a third-party recruiting platform supporting this hiring process. If selected, you will be employed directly by our client, Federal Law Enforcement — Border Security.

Applicants for this role may also receive access to additional matched opportunities through the Careertakes platform.

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Role overview

Confidential Client is hiring entry-level, full-time Border Patrol Agents (BPA) for a federal law enforcement career. This role is a staffed, career-track position with a grade-ladder (GL-5 → GL-7 and beyond). The position includes competitive base pay, federal benefits, and substantial recruitment and retention incentives (cumulatively up to $60,000 for eligible hires).

• Estimated salary range (GL-5 / GL-7): $51,632 – $92,912 per year (salary varies by grade and locality; source estimate for this listing: $82,684/year).
• Recruitment incentive: up to $20,000 (first $10,000 after successful Academy completion; remaining $10,000 for accepting prioritized locations).
• Retention incentives: up to $40,000 distributed over the first four years for eligible hires.

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What You’ll Do

As an entry-level Border Patrol Agent for Confidential Client, typical duties include:

• Detect, question, and inspect persons and property to determine citizenship, immigration status, and compliance with laws.
• Maintain surveillance and perform interdiction operations, including night operations (use of night-vision/infrared equipment).
• Interpret and follow physical evidence such as tracks and other signs of illegal entry.
• Conduct farm checks, building checks, traffic stops, city patrols, and transportation inspections.
• Patrol international boundaries and coastal waterways using a variety of assets (vehicles, horses, vessels, ATVs, motorcycles, etc.).
• After required training, make arrests and enforce federal laws and regulations.

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Qualifications

You may qualify at different grade levels depending on education and experience.

Minimum qualifications for GL-5 (entry-grade):

• One (1) year of general work experience demonstrating the ability to take charge, make sound decisions in stressful situations, learn rules/methods via training, and gather information through observation and questioning; OR
• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college/university; OR
• A combination of work experience and college-level education (evaluated from resume and transcripts).

Minimum qualifications for GL-7:

• One (1) year of specialized experience showing abilities such as firearms judgment, effective people skills in law enforcement contexts, rapid information analysis and decision-making, arrest authority, or related duties; OR
• A bachelor’s degree with superior academic achievement or one year of relevant graduate-level education; OR
• A combination of specialized experience and education (evaluated from resume and transcripts).

Other mandatory requirements (federal-only, job-related):

• U.S. citizenship.
• Primary U.S. residency for at least 3 of the last 5 years.
• Age requirement: candidates must be referred for selection before their 40th birthday per applicable federal law enforcement retirement provisions (exceptions may apply for certain prior federal law enforcement or Veterans’ Preference eligibilities).
• Ability to read and speak English; Spanish language proficiency is beneficial and language training is provided at the Academy.
• Applicants with prior law enforcement or military law enforcement experience may qualify at higher grades (GL-9/GS-11); submit relevant documentation for consideration.

Reasonable accommodations are available for applicants with disabilities during the application and hiring process.

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Compensation & Benefits

• Base salary (GL-5/GL-7): $51,632 – $92,912 per year (varies by grade and locality).
• Recruitment incentive: Up to $20,000 (paid in two parts as described above).
• Retention incentives: Potentially up to $40,000 over the first four years for eligible hires.
• Locality and law-enforcement pay adjustments may apply — a fully trained BPA can be eligible for up to an additional ~25% of base pay under applicable pay reform provisions.
• Federal benefits package including health and dental plans, generous annual and sick leave, and participation in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).
• Career-ladder promotions without reapplying once time-in-grade requirements are met (GL-5 → GL-7 → GL-9 → GS-11 → GS-12).

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Location, Travel & Mobility

• Duty assignments may include mission-critical locations along the Southwest Border and other sectors nationwide. Prioritized locations (for incentive eligibility) may be required at offer.
• Applicants will be asked to select preferred mission-sector locations, but final duty assignments are made based on operational needs at the time of offer.
• Relocation may be required and will affect locality pay and overall compensation.

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Selection & Training

• Selected candidates will be detailed to the Border Patrol Academy for approximately six (6) months of intensive training covering immigration and nationality law, enforcement operations, driver and firearms training, physical techniques, and language training as needed.
• Candidates will be evaluated based on submitted resume, supporting documents (e.g., transcripts), and the BPA Entrance Exam (and any required agency screening).
• Background checks and standard federal suitability screenings apply.

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Important legal & candidate notes

• This posting complies with applicable federal hiring standards. Where state-specific pay transparency laws apply (for example CA, CO, NY, WA, IL, etc.), the salary range above is provided.
• Confidential Client prohibits discrimination and will consider qualified applicants regardless of protected characteristics. Reasonable accommodations for disabilities are considered throughout the hiring process.

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Equal Opportunity & Hiring Transparency

Careertakes and our client are Equal Opportunity Employers committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We prohibit discrimination or harassment of any kind. To support a fair and efficient hiring process, AI tools may be used to assist with application review or resume screening. These tools do not replace human decision-making. Final hiring decisions are made by people.

If you have questions about how your data is used, please contact us directly.