Customs and Immigration Inspector Career
Customs and Immigration Inspector Career
The Real Poop
You ever wish that you could be Gandalf and fight off evil demons with your superior wizarding abilities? Well, that job doesn't exactly exist yet, but we've got the next best thing...kinda-sorta. As a customs and immigration inspector, you won't get a pointy hat and a glowing staff, but you will get to guard U.S. borders against evils like illegal drugs. And unlike being Gandalf, it pays.The average salary for a customs and immigration inspector is about $76,730 per year (source).
A customs and immigration inspector is responsible for making sure that the people and things that are coming into or going out of the United States are, well, legal. Customs and immigration inspectors work at airports, borders, sea ports, train stations...basically anywhere that people and things can enter or leave the U.S.
As an inspector, your job is to be constantly vigilant. You may be inspecting luggage, bags, cars, or boats (depending on where you work) to make sure no one's bringing in any illegal contraband. You'll also have to check out the people—not in a "How you doin'?" way, but in a "Is this your real passport or did you steal it?" way.
If it turns out that the passport is stolen or fake, you'll be responsible for making arrests and detaining illegal immigrants. And after that, you'll be helping to decide whether they're to be deported or not. You'll also be in charge of accepting or denying visa applications.
That's a lot of responsibility for one person—so obviously, the feds aren't going to let just anyone sign up. Although you don't have to go to college, your pay scale is directly affected by how much education you have, and we totally recommend going to college anyway. A degree in criminal justice or law enforcement will give you an edge in this field, as will work experience in a criminal justice field.
Alongside education and/or experience, you'll need to undergo basic training. Yep, just like the military. Call it a customs and immigration crash course, where you'll learn all the tricks of the trade: from the laws that you're responsible for upholding, to how to scope out a deceitful and possibly dangerous passenger, to hand-to-hand combat for if and when you have to be responsible for arresting someone.
As a federal employee, customs and immigration inspectors make a decent amount of dough—about $76,730 per year, on average (source). The higher-paying positions are very competitive, but they make serious bank—over $100,000 in some cases. We see a second home in Florida in your future.
Unfortunately, as a customs and immigration inspector, you won't get to enjoy that second home very much. You're going to be too busy doing a very demanding job.
Your time will be spent on your feet and on high alert for the whole darn day. You'll do so much overtime that you'll have no idea what a nine-to-five job is. Your weekends and days off can vanish in the blink of an eye if there's an emergency or someone calls in sick and you have to stay in good shape and undergo basic training. And you can't get too attached to where you live, because you could be relocated to Outer Nowheresville with very little warning.
This job requires bucketloads of stamina, and if you don't have that...maybe you'd like to check out what it's like to be a librarian? (No, we're not throwing shade. Librarians are cool.)
It takes a tough soul to become a customs and immigration inspector. You're basically responsible for making sure no potential terrorists or illegal goods get into this country—which is a lot of pressure. Top that with long hours and the potential physical danger that comes with the job, and you've got a career that definitely isn't for the faint of heart.
Don't let us scare you though. Despite all of the harsh stuff that comes with this job, there's also a bright side. Having the power to decide who can come in the country means that you're part of the immigration process. You get to help people start a new (and hopefully better) life. You'll often be the first person with whom people traveling into this country interact, and you'll have the ability to make the process a lot easier. If you feel like it, that is.