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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Position overview

Confidential Client is hiring full-time, entry-level Border Patrol Agents (BPA) at GL-5 / GL-7 grade levels. This is a career federal law enforcement role focused on border security, surveillance, interdiction, and community safety. The role offers paid academy training, federal benefits, a career-ladder promotion path, and recruitment/retention incentives (up to $60,000 depending on qualification and assignment).

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Compensation & benefits

• Annual base salary (newly appointed BPA): GL-5 / GL-7 range $51,632 – $92,912 per year.
• Recruitment incentive: up to $20,000 (first $10,000 after academy; additional $10,000 for accepting certain prioritized locations).
• Retention incentive: may qualify for up to $40,000 distributed over the first four years.
• Federal benefits: health, dental, generous leave, Thrift Savings Plan (retirement), and other federal employee benefits.
• Opportunity for locality pay increases (BPA pay reform may add up to ~25% in some locations).

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What you’ll do

As a Border Patrol Agent, you will join an operational law enforcement team focused on protecting the nation’s borders and deterring illicit activity. Typical duties include:

• Detecting, questioning, and inspecting persons and belongings to determine immigration and customs status.
• Conducting surveillance (including covert and night operations using infrared equipment).
• Tracking and interpreting signs of illegal entry and contraband movement.
• Performing farm checks, building checks, traffic checks, city patrols, and transportation inspections.
• Patrolling international boundaries and waterways using vehicles, horses, vessels, ATVs, motorcycles, and other government assets.
• Making arrests and using law enforcement procedures consistent with training and policy.

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Qualifications

You may qualify for appointment at GL-5, GL-7 (or higher if you have prior qualifying experience). Typical pathways:

• GL-5 (entry-level):

  • One year of general work experience demonstrating decision-making under stress, learning on-the-job or in-classroom, and information-gathering via questioning and observation; OR
  • A bachelor’s degree (any field); OR
  • A combination of education and experience (evaluated via resume/transcripts).

• GL-7:

  • One year of specialized experience showing skills such as making sound firearms judgments, effective public interaction in law enforcement matters, rapid analysis and decision-making leading to arrests or enforcement actions; OR
  • A bachelor’s degree with superior academic achievement (GPA/honors/class standing) OR one year graduate-level study in a related field (criminal justice, homeland security, forensic studies, etc.); OR
  • A combination of required experience and education.

• Prior law enforcement or military police experience may qualify you for higher grade consideration (GL-9, GS-11). Official evaluation will rely on submitted resume, transcripts, and supporting documents.

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Other requirements & training

• U.S. citizenship required.
• Must have primary U.S. residency for at least 3 of the last 5 years.
• Age requirement: candidates must generally be referred before their 40th birthday per applicable federal law; certain exceptions apply for prior federal civilian law enforcement service or Veterans’ Preference eligibles.
• Formal training: hired candidates attend the U.S. Border Patrol Academy (Artesia, NM) for approximately six months of intensive instruction (immigration and nationality law, tactics, driver/firearms training, physical techniques, and Spanish language training).
• Spanish language ability is helpful; training is provided to build proficiency.
• Willingness to relocate and accept duty assignments based on operational needs; relocation may be required.
• Successful completion of required screening, background checks, and the BPA entrance exam is required.

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Duty locations & assignment notes

• Duty assignments may include Southwest Border sectors and other mission-critical locations across multiple sectors.
• Assignments are determined based on operational needs and may not match initial preferences; prioritized locations may affect incentive eligibility.
• Example sectors include (but are not limited to): Big Bend, Buffalo, Del Rio, El Paso, El Centro, Grand Forks, Havre, Houlton, Laredo, Rio Grande Valley, San Diego, Spokane, Swanton, Tucson, Yuma.

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Why join

• Meaningful, long-term federal law enforcement career with clear advancement ladder.
• Paid, comprehensive training and development.
• Competitive federal compensation, health and retirement benefits, and substantial recruitment/retention incentives in many cases.
• Work alongside a mission-driven team protecting communities and national security.

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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.