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mechanical engineer vs cia agent

what is the best job in making the best money and other job opportunities and just have a better time making a future for being a mechanical engineer and or being a cia agent.

money mechanical-engineering success mechanical-engineer federal-government cia special-agent
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Mike’s Answer

Those are two VERY different career fields! One of the things you have to think about is do want to be home every night or do you want to do extensive travel.

If you want to work in the Intel Community (IC), there are a ton of options. Make sure you get a degree in something that interests you. It will help you get into the IC as most positions require a degree, but if you decide intel is not for you, you still have your degree to fall back on to find another career.

Mike recommends the following next steps:

Get a degree in a field of study that interests you.
Research agencies such as CIA NSA, DIA, etc.
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Mark’s Answer

This is an interesting question as these are two possibly very different career paths to consider. As for the financial aspect, since I have only been a mechanical engineer my entire career, I can only relate to this. I assume there are added financial gains working as a CIA agent in which you likely spend much or most of your time away, traveling often. I would guess you would be compensated much better as a CIA agent because you sacrifice living at home for a career of extensive travel along with likely long hours.
Mechanical engineers make a very livable wage. Depending on where you work, experience, and what part of the country, I would expect compensation to range anywhere from the upper 5 digits to lower $100k range.

I am not sure what turnover is like in a career as a CIA agent. In the beginning living out of a suitcase with possibly long hours may be fine but there may come a time when you may wish to focus on other aspects of life--possibly marriage, family, etc. which could be difficult to juggle with a career like that. A mechanical engineering position would probably be more stable for that type of a lifestyle.

I forgot to mention that there may be other careers within the CIA which exercise a mechanical engineering background so it might be worth checking into those options.

I hope this response was helpful.
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John’s Answer

There are a lot of factors to consider. If you enjoy designing and troubleshooting systems then engineering would be an enjoyable occupation. But, you also have to consider the industry that you are working in. Working for a defense contractor is different from industrial robotics or medical devices.

Working for a government intelligence agency is a very broad statement. not everyone is a field agent. You could also be in an office researching for cyber security or in a lab testing for chemical agents. I once knew someone who was a forensic accountant for the FBI.
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Art’s Answer

Have you considered a military career? If you join after you graduate from high school you may get set in the direction you are most interested in. The difference between a CIA agent and a Mechanical engineer are huge. In the military you may be exposed to travel, intelligence gathering & analysis, economics, cyber security, mechanical systems, aeronautics, automotive, that may touch base with either of your options, along with a lot of other fields and occupations. In the mean time try to take a lot of stem and language classes that might help you in either career.
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