Former CIA Director of Intelligence, William Hedgcock Webster, hails from St. Louis, Missouri. He represents a success story for Missourians who wish to become CIA agents. Webster rose from serving as a U.S. attorney and a judge of the Eighth Circuit to becoming the CIA’s 14th Director of Central Intelligence.
Webster graduated with an undergraduate degree from Amherst College and a law degree from Washington University in St. Louis. He then served as a Navy lieutenant in World War II. Upon returning home, he became a U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri in 1960, and a judge in Missouri in 1970.
President Jimmy Carter appointed Webster Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1978, and President Ronald Reagan later appointed him as the CIA’s Director of Central Intelligence in 1987. He served in this position until his retirement in 1991.
Requirements for Joining the CIA National Clandestine Service in Missouri
The CIA’s National Clandestine Service in Missouri offers individuals interested in a Core Collector career two entry-level positions:
- The Professional Trainee Program (PT): For candidates that have a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree and do not have any previous work experience. Eligible candidates are in the 21-25 age range.
- The Clandestine Service Program (CST): For candidates with a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree, as well as appropriate work experience. Eligible candidates are in the 26-35 age range, with 35 being the maximum age for eligibility.
Work experience and age requirements are the two main differences between each position. Additional requirements are as follows:
Education requirements:
- GPA of 3.0 or higher
- Bachelor’s degree or higher
Preferred fields of study include:
- Biological or chemical engineering
- Economics
- Finance
- International business or relations
- Nuclear or physical science
Required occupational skills:
- Ability to think quickly
- Strong writing and reading skills
- Ability to work as part of a team or independently
- Interest in international affairs
- Solid interpersonal and communication skills
Candidates for the Core Collector career in New Hampshire should be proficient in a second language, with preference given to individuals speaking one of the following:
- Arabic
- Chinese
- Dari
- Indonesian
- Korean
- Kurdish
- Pashto
- Persian
- Russian
- Somali
- Turkish
- Urdu
Additional requirements include prior residency in a foreign country, previous foreign travel, knowledge of foreign countries and affairs and cross-cultural sensitivity.
Candidates must complete two personal interviews, as well as go through an extensive medical and psychological examination, polygraph interview and background check. Eligible candidates should also be free from any illegal drug usage in the 12 months prior to applying for the Core Collector position in Missouri.
Qualifying for CIA Special Agent Jobs in Missouri
Basic Requirements – Qualifications that everyone who applies for a CIA agent job in Missouri must meet include:
- Possess U.S. citizenship
- Be no younger than 18 years old
- Have not used drugs in the past year and pass a drug screening test
- Pass a medical examination
- Pass a psychological examination
- Pass a background investigation
- Pass a lie detector test
- Agree not to discuss a CIA job with family and friends
Education and Experience Qualifications – The education required for an entry-level CIA job in Missouri is a bachelor degree. Although this degree may be within any field, the following fields and qualifications will give applicants an edge:
- Criminal justice
- Criminology
- Sociology
- Psychology
- Forensic psychology
- Homeland Security
Experience required for entry-level CIA special agent investigator jobs in Missouri is three years in criminal investigation, military or law enforcement. This type of experience may be partially gained in an internship experience while an applicant is still in school.
Training – If a new CIA agent in Missouri has not done so already, he or she must first complete the Criminal Investigator Training Program (CITP) in Georgia. This training provides the fundamentals of law enforcement and criminal investigation, and takes 56 days to complete.