Also called: Case Officer, Clandestine Service Officer
Recruits foreign sources who secretly provide information to the United States.
Operations officers serve overseas under cover, building relationships with people who have access to secrets, like foreign officials or scientists. They train in tradecraft, from spotting surveillance to secret communication. Much of the job is the patient art of earning trust.
Federal GS or agency pay scale; DC-area locality pay is higher.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's degree, U.S. citizenship, and a Top Secret security clearance (background check and often a polygraph). Foreign languages and overseas experience prized.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school, Military. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: International Relations, Foreign Languages, Political Science, Economics, History.
Growing slowly. Hiring varies with budgets; highly selective.
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps vet sources and plan; recruiting people in person under cover depends entirely on human trust.
Classes: A critical language (Arabic, Mandarin), AP World History, Psychology.
Official data: O*NET occupation 33-3021.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.