Whether you work for the FBI or CIA, just be aware that the application process is extremely long. From the time you submit an application and when you start working can take a year.
Assuming you apply and are considered for the position, you will undergo an invasive background investigation. They will want multiple non-relative/family references who can vouch for your character, they will interview your neighbors, they will want a list of all of your acquaintances who are foreigners(This includes everyone you know on facebook or linkedin).
The SF-86 is the form you must fill out and any omissions, no matter how slight or unintentional, is enough to disqualify you from the application process (which you may have waited a year for). I encourage you to view the SF-86 to see what you are getting yourself into.
Assuming you go through with this and you complete the background check process, you will then be then flown out to DC for an interview and then flown back home. Assuming you pass the interview, you will then need to fly again back to DC for an extensive three day test. During the three days, you will undergo a drug(blood/urine test), meet your coworkers/take a tour of the facilities, and then the dreaded polygraph test.
The polygraph is truly miserable. In order to get a measure of your blood pressure, they tighten the cuffs on your arms as tight as possible. Candidates have reported that their hands have gone blue from how tight it was and losing circulation to their arm. The polygraph examiner will then accuse you constantly of lying. Even very slight reactions to the questions can be noticed and the polygraph alone is enough to disqualify you as a candidate after the year of waiting and all the time you have wasted to get to that point. The examiners truly believe in what they are administering and will never consider that the graph may be a ‘false positive.'
After all that, you might have finally joined the ranks of the FBI or CIA. You receive low pay, live in one of the highest cost of living areas in the country(Washington DC).
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