IRS Special Agent Career
IRS Special Agent Career
The Real Poop
Taxes: the great conundrum of our time. They fall under the classic can't live with 'em, can't not pay 'em school of thought. People across the country go to work every day to put food on the table and a roof over their heads, and for many, every cent counts.
However, these same people need roads to get to work, schools for their children, and a whole country-load of services that make life possible. Therefore, we have the 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reads "Yay taxes."
We also have people who collect taxes, and they work at the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS. The IRS is responsible for a massive laundry list of money-related programs and services, including the enforcement of tax laws. Inside the IRS, special agents known as "special agents" work in the Criminal Investigation Division.
These special agents track and analyze financial data in order to fight terrorism, unearth crimes like embezzlement and money laundering, and discover money that is being used to fund drug cartels and organized crime.
So how much is this work worth to Uncle Sam? To be honest, quite a bit. The average salary for the IRS special agent is around $90,000; you probably won't even start out lower than $50,000. There are added programs and benefits that can push you into a six-figure career for a long time. And that job is yours until you retire—or you cheat on your taxes. Believe us, they really don't like that.
The IRS special agent is both an accountant and a law enforcement agent—which is why they're so special. Sometimes they're known as "forensic accountants," because they investigate financial data like electronic transactions and bank statements to find inconsistencies, and ideally unravel illegal goings-on using the power of mathematics (source). They're the only law enforcement agents in the country who are actually allowed to investigate tax law violations.
If this all sounds like an easy cash grab to you, you're not really paying attention. You're going to be fighting money crimes on behalf of the people of the United States, and the people need to see results. That means long hours, tons of field work, a mountain of paper work, and a boat-load of training. People who will be able to hack this job are incredibly analytical, detail-oriented, and not afraid of numbers.
Being an IRS special agent is an intense career that will take a lot of time, dedication, and brainpower. In exchange, you can live a productive and comfortable life. There are a lot of names people like to throw at the IRS; you might call it "a great place to work."