Average Salary: $76,730

Expected Lifetime Earnings: $3,203,324

Customs and immigration inspectors make an average salary of about $76,000 (source), but that's hardly set in stone. Depending on how much education and previous experience you have, you may be eligible for a higher ranking...and a bigger slice of the pie.

With enough experience (and at least a PhD or three years of graduate school), you can make upwards of $95,000. There are also opportunities to apply for the lucrative and highly competitive Senior Executive Service Levels.

Now, we know what you're thinking: cha-ching. But it gets better. Those numbers we just crunched don't account for pay raises and overtime. Due to the Law Enforcement Availability Pay, you will earn an extra twenty-five percent of your base salary when you have to clock in for those random unscheduled hours (source). As a customs and immigration inspector, you'll be doing a lot of overtime. That means lots of extra cash (and, to be frank, a severe uptick in coffee consumption).

 

You may not be able to vacation often, but at least you'll be able to retire in style. (Source)

In addition to the base salary, you'll also get paid extra depending on where you work.

But wait, there's more: If you give twenty years of service, you'll be eligible to retire at age fifty, thanks to the Civil Service Retirement System. And if you put in twenty-five years of work, you can retire at any age you want. So, hurry up and get working—maybe you can retire in a beach house in Malibu by age forty-five.

•  Back
• More