How much do special agents make?

Hey! We just posted interviews from the RenderATL conference in Atlanta, where we interviewed dozens of talented, diverse tech professionals. 

Here are three careers and their respective salaries: Can you match them correctly?

Keep reading for the answers!

How Much Do Secret Service Special Agents Make? 

Being a special agent in the Secret Service is a job everyone’s heard of…but few understand what they actually do or how much they earn. 

Are they bodyguards? Do they really do high-speed chases? And what do they get for risking their lives every day? 

We’ve got your answers. Read on to learn what these professionals do, what their qualifications are, and we’ll let you determine if their paycheck matches the risk. 

What does a special agent do? 

This isn’t your average job description: Duties include physically protecting high-level government members, investigating financial crimes, and helping improve protection policies. 

And it’s not your typical office, either. While some special agents are assigned to a field office or the Washington, DC, headquarters, others are out in the field doing surveillance duties or undercover protective missions. 

As for the hours? 

It’s usually 40–50 hours a week, but special agents often have to relocate to duty stations throughout the US and abroad on short notice and can be away from home for up to 30 days at a time. 

The qualifications to become a special agent  

Less than 1%: That’s the acceptance rate for aspiring special agents (for context, Harvard’s acceptance rate is 3.59%). 

To be considered for the job, candidates must be US citizens, 21–37 years old, have 20/20 vision, no visible tattoos, pass a hearing exam, and ace a grueling physical abilities test. 

The education requirements, however, vary depending on the position. An entry-level special agent—a GL-07 step 1—requires a Bachelor’s degree with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Meanwhile, the highest level, a GS-13 Step 10, demands a Ph.D or similar experience. 

So with these qualifications in mind, how much do special agents make? 

The pay details

Drumroll please… 🥁

The starting salary of an entry-level special agent is $49,508. Meanwhile, a GS-13 step 10 has an earning potential of over $117,000. 

But the Secret Service does offer other monetary benefits on top of the pay. They include: 

1. Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP) which adds 25% compensation on top of the base salary (plus locality pay). 

2. Tuition reimbursement for qualifying student loans up to $60,000. 

3. A one-time recruitment bonus (25% of basic annual pay) for anyone who can speak fluently in a foreign language. 

We’re a little underwhelmed by these salaries considering the potential danger involved (assassination attempts and helicopter crashes, just to name a few). 

But we’d be curious to know: What do you think? 

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Considering just how much responsibility cybersecurity professionals have, we wondered:

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We’ve got your answer. Get the salaries of three cybersecurity experts below (you might be surprised to know how much they’re actually making).

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Thanks for being here! ICYMI: A man in Spain made headlines after skipping work for six years (while earning his €37,000 salary as a building supervisor). He was finally caught when his company nominated him for an award. 

The penalty? A €27,000 fine. 🙃

See you next week!