You will also be able to build a strong network as an insurance agent. Realtors may be able to make good off-market deals. Little Public Recognition CIA clandestine service. He became a double agent: by successfully pretending to be a Stasi agent, M would acquire valuable information on the personalities of his Stasi handlers for the Dutch service. Their behaviour was rough, to say the least. Additionally, an FBI agent's family may be placed in harm's way if a criminal or terrorist decides to target the agent personally. Opportunities are almost endless in this regard and this means that you will be free to specialize in the field you are interested in most. Keep insisting that as a foreigner you devoted yourself to the good cause, to socialism. The trouble with any operation is that there is a great deal of preparation and research that has to go into it. In his debriefings with the CIA, M had given elaborate descriptions of the personalities of both mentioning Wolfgangs brown eyes as a striking physical attribute. It stated that from then on the BVD would no longer bear any responsibility for him. Copyright 2023 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Media, All Rights Reserved. CIA operations officers belong to the agency's clandestine service, which the CIA bills as "the ultimate international career." CIA operations officers must also be able to obtain security clearances. Depending on the type of insurance you sell, you can always find customers who are in need of the insurance products you have to offer. nibusinessinfo.co.uk Rather poor since you may have to sell products you dont believe in. The idea is that you get as many reasonably intelligent and varied men and women into the job as possible. The trouble with. Clearly, M felt a strong ideological commitment to the west and had no moral qualms about betraying the Stasi. Insurance companies may also set pretty ambitious goals for you which you have to meet. Because of their undercover nature, CIA clandestine service officers receive little public recognition for their sometimes heroic service. Tony Guerra served more than 20 years in the U.S. Navy. Normally what happens in the services is that the risks are run by the agents the people you, as an officer, recruit. Now that weve covered the downsides, we can start talking about the various advantageous of working at a creative agency. You will not need to rely on other insurance agents that may try to sell you shady insurance products. Chances are that you will get much more responsibility soon and this will often also translate into a higher salary. Ms Dutch handlers correctly interpreted this approach as a recruiting attempt by the Stasi, and encouraged him to respond favourably. Sueddeutsche Zeitung Photo / Alamy Stock Photo, in an episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, Committee Member - MNF Research Advisory Committee, PhD Scholarship - Uncle Isaac Brown Indigenous Scholarship, Associate Lecturer, Creative Writing and Literature. While you might take this for granted, it is actually a luxury since many other people have to work during those times. When a problem arises, implementing a solution to that problem often takes time. I thought even if I move on from this, it's got to be a once in a lifetime opportunity and it will be interesting to find out what the job is really about. Listen to Eleni Braat and Ben de Jong talk about Ms life in an episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast. Harry Ferguson is a former MI6 intelligence officer and was an undercover agent for the National Investigation Service (NIS). Agencies exist solely to serve their clients. Here's a list of 10 jobs that are similar to CIA agents: 1. While you may take this for granted, there are still many people out there who are not able to enjoy the luxury of working indoors. If you believe the pros of working for the FBI outweigh the cons and you'd like to apply for employment, know that the application process is one of the most rigorous in the nation. Sure, not all insurance agents will make decent money and some of them may even struggle to pay their bills. Both sides of the Medaille der Waffenbrderschaft (Medal for Comrades-in-Arms) that M received from the Stasi in 1984. While some insurance companies require a college degree, others only require a high school diploma. Of course, if the operation goes tits up, the person who is going to suffer is the agent, not me. In 2005, he starred with Mike Baker of the, MI6advert seeks to ditch 'mythical' James Bond image, MI6returns to 'tapping up' in effort to recruit black and Asian officers, What you really need to join MI6: emotional intelligence and a high IQ, 'The real Q is a woman': boss of MI6 makes pitch for female recruits, James Bond is both a blessing and curse, says spy chief - video, James Bond would not get job with real MI6, says spy chief, None of MI6 and MI5's senior officials are from BAME backgrounds, MI6to recruit hundreds more staff in response to digital technology, Six tips on how to make a successful career change, Military career change: my journey from Afghanistan to the City. I did the same when I started working in consulting after finishing my Masters degree in Economics. Now advances in technology mean maintaining people's covers has become a specialist area and it is a much more sophisticated operation. M has fond memories of the time he spent with his two Stasi companions, who addressed him with the informal du [you] in German: They were good at giving presents. They taunted him constantly, saying things like You betrayed Marxism-Leninism and You are a CIA agent. Years later, when M got access to his BVD file, he found that at the time of his marriage, the service decided M would not be given a special present as he had been declaring too many expenses. M gave us a truly unique insight into the secret workings of three different intelligence agencies. For example, if I wanted to find out about Iranian nuclear production tomorrow I couldn't wander into a facility in that country, no matter how good my cover was. Looking at a gruesome crime scene, knowing that you pulled the trigger to kill a criminal, seeing pictures of horrific things that enable you to try and piece together an those things can weigh on you and cause incredible amounts of stress. Their meetings always took place behind the Iron Curtain and the two East Germans showed their appreciation for Ms work on numerous occasions. Feel superior to others. A new book written by . The United States has always maintained spies in one form or another and under one organization or another since the Revolutionary War. If you make mistakes, you may even get sued in the worst case. He feels the BVD did the same when they handed him over to the CIA in 1981, renouncing any further responsibility towards him. This treatment is still ongoing. Can invent something cool, have a legacy. Depending on your job, agencies are known to be lenient when it comes to dress code. As the largest employer of American citizens, the federal government has become synonymous with bureaucracy. Due to the mass number of projects, account managers need to communicate the needs of the client to the creative. Creative agencies allow you the luxury to bounce ideas off colleagues. While it can be lonely, you arent always in danger and a lot of the work is mundane former intelligence officer, Harry Ferguson, on a career in the secret service. As an insurance agent, you will also be able to work for many different insurance companies and can also sell many different products. I had interesting contacts. But his attempts to contact them were unsuccessful. A lot of agencies tend to overwork their creatives. Might get to have a cool job like doctor/astronaut/CIA agent. Agents working for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, for example, make $151,000 annually. However, in 1981, they handed him over to the CIA because his spying activities had become too international for the national orbit of the Dutch security service. Creativeswith a couple of years of experiencecan expect to earn up to $100,000. At an agency you might get the feeling like youre just a number. He asked for their assistance in getting treatment from an agency with experience in treating the emotional burdens of a long-time double agent. To get more content and advice like this direct to your inbox, sign up for our weekly update and careers ebook. I was in my final year at Oxford University when my tutor came to me one day and said: "What are you thinking of doing with your career?" Associate professor of international history, Utrecht University. Or was it just a way for the East Germans to test his mental resilience, to check if they could count on him in a stressful situation? Photograph: Alamy, arry Ferguson is a former MI6 intelligence officer and was an undercover agent for the National Investigation Service (NIS). Specialized skills officer 7. He also spent seven years as an airline operations manager. If this trend continues, you may suffer from pretty poor job prospects and may become unemployed soon. It transpired that the humiliating interrogation was in fact a mock arrest led by Stasi handlers to test his mettle. FBI agent 6. There are certain situations in which people also tend to be more forthcoming with information. Paradoxically, M bonded most with these two handlers that he was deceiving. This lack of cooperation on the part of the AIVD intensified Ms feelings of bitterness. To sleep in and to start late is possible in most agencies. You have the potential to earn good money as an insurance agent. One of the wedding gifts the Stasi gave him was an exquisite Bohemian crystal vase. Ms motive in sharing his story stems from his desire to learn more about certain episodes from his spying career. One of the first hazards to consider when contemplating an FBI career is the inherent danger of the work you may do. Andreas Vogel / Alamy Stock Photo. As an insurance agent, you may also be able to work from home. They told him he was in the Untersuchungshaftanstalt (pre-trial detention center) Berlin-Hohenschnhausen, a notorious site during the cold war under the control of the Ministry of State Security (Stasi). One of the most used tools to collaborate and organize projects is Trello. The Federal Bureau of Investigation: Frequently Asked Questions. If you still want to become an insurance agent, you should also get detailed information on the salary, future outlook, duties, job satisfaction, working hours, work-life balance and educational requirements of insurance agents. When M finally got access to his BVD file in the mid-2010s, he was not allowed to make notes or copies. What other pros and cons do you see? You have to find the resilience to get through those periods. Specializing in secret field operations against the enemy the OSS gifted its heir, the CIA, with an ability to covertly place agents within many hostile nations. There is never enough time. After obtaining a degree in engineering, he fulfilled his military service with the Dutch army and began his career at the large multinational. In some cases, using an agent can be a cost-effective way to test a new market. He also gathered information on the type of short-wave radio receivers, communication devices and codes the East Germans used, as well as the kind of intelligence they wanted him to acquire in the many different countries where he was stationed for his job. Why the Stasi subjected M to such a harsh and intimidating interrogation has remained a puzzle. At an agency, all of that is taken care of for you. This is quite sad and I just want to give people a more objective picture of how a fulfilling career could look like. Feeling discouraged? Compared to being a freelancer you have benefits like a steady income, paid holidays and an adequate retirement plan. We see the varying degrees of gratitude and recognition that the Dutch security service, the CIA and the Stasi showed for Ms work, from personal attention and verbal expressions of gratitude to material gifts. As a creative you probably have a perfect project that you love to work on. Potential approaches of KGB officers were preceded by psychological assessments that could estimate their willingness to collaborate. When you start off as a young recruit, you think, 'Fine, that suits me.' Account managers try to sell as many campaigns as they can. Especially big insurance companies are more eager to employ people who hold a degree and if you want to maximize your chances to get a job in this field, you may have to spend many years in college and also have to spend lots of money on tuition and other expenses related to college education. If you are producing an easily recognisable product or service for a local market then there may be little point in appointing an agent. Even though you may be able to make a decent living from what you are doing, you will still not get rich as an insurance agent. You passed the test, you are now one of us!. As a smart creative in an advertising agency, your opportunities are endless. You are left entirely to your own devices. M was forced to undergo a degrading and extremely painful cavity inspection, before being taken still naked to an interrogation room. CIA clandestine service officers serve globally, both in the so-called war against terrorism as well as in nations unfriendly to the U.S. There is no "spy type" that secret service recruiters look for. Passionate about communications and client relations. Creative Agencies balance a plethora of projects simultaneously. In such a case, you as an insurance agent can greatly help them out and explain what insurance will be most beneficial for them so that they can avoid getting into trouble sooner or later. 3. The dangers an FBI agent faces on the job may be a constant source of anxiety for a spouse or partner, children and family. This story is part of Conversation Insights Actor Roger Moore, who played secret agent James Bond in the '70s and '80s, holds a martini. A typical art director in advertising agency works long hours. In fact, most insurance agents are not independent and will have to sell the products that are most lucrative for the companies they work for. Another benefit of working as an insurance agent is that you will also be able to work with many different clients. Increased ability to get high and fuck around through all of college vs. having to study to maintain average GPA. An FBI agent may be shot at, and encounter other life-threatening situations. In fact, good insurance products are crucial so that people are covered in case of emergency. If a target is in a very stressful or frightening position, for instance, the first person they talk to who shows them kindness and compassion is in a great position to glean information. New special agents must also undergo a 20-week training course at the FBI academy. The Hohenschnhausen Memorial in Berlin, a former Stasi prison. Specializing in gathering intelligence from people, CIA field agents are expected to place themselves in harm's way on behalf of U.S. interests. At another meeting with Wolfgang and Heinz in the East, I received all kinds of special treats because I had gotten married six months earlier [in 1970]. 2010 The Thought & Expression Company, LLC. Being a real estate agent is a great deal for many investorsbut not everyone. Customers - they might sell to unsuitable customers who might undermine the . M worked for the Dutch service for many years and subsequently for the CIA. Eat, Drink And Be Wary: Ex-CIA Officer Reveals How Eateries Are Key To Spycraft. What are the disadvantages of joining both the military and the intelligence services at the same time? For instance, trains cannot just stop operating just because it is Saturday or Sunday. He was working for a Dutch multinational that we have agreed not to name. Consequently, if the message spreads that you sell dodgy insurance policies, you may no longer be able to work in this field and may have to go for another career path instead, even though your intention might have been good. Especially on days where you will not have client meetings, there will often not be the need to commute to the office. A lot of being a spy is terribly mundane. But I can recruit a scientist who is already there. As an insurance agent, you can rather work in a cozy office where you will even have air conditioning or heating to make your time at work as convenient as possible. Whether its playing games on the Wii, drinking beer from the tap, or getting a little too creative at after work parties, creatives know how to have fun. Real estate agents can work indoors. Others are known for their competitive kickball teams. He loves to dig into behavioral economics to uncover the irrationality in our daily behavior. These are the words of double agent M, who operated for the Dutch security service and the CIA against the East German Stasi for 22 years. M was supplied with a number of fake passports to carry out his undercover work. And then suddenly, all this ended, and I was sitting at home. Most creatives are allowed the liberty to wear what they want. In this article we at Filestage are going to discuss the pros and cons of working as a creative at an advertising agency. The Federal Bureau of Investigation: New Agent Training. Yet, the majority of insurance agents will have a rather relaxed life and becoming an insurance agent will therefore also be great for you in case leisure is pretty important to you. The end of the friendship with his East German handlers and the insecurity and threat that it generated, in Ms words, had a considerable impact on his wellbeing. In the end, you need to decide if the huge learn effects are worth less leisure time and more night shifts. As a creative in an advertising agency, you are expected to come up with great ideas on a regular base. Series one of US crime thriller The Blacklist is available on Blu-ray and DVD now. As a creative in an advertising agency, you are expected to come up with great ideas on a regular base. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), police officers and detectives have one of the highest rates of on-the-job injury and illness. M could easily make such trips behind the Iron Curtain without raising suspicions. 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