Border Patrol Salary

It is one thing to sit in the secure confines of your home, and comment on how sloppy the law and order system of your country is. It is a totally different ball game when you are actually there, guarding the borders of your country, as a part of the armed forces. It is not as easy as it seems, to give up your life and it needs a lot of tenacity. Those who are in the armed forces lead a very unpredictable life. For instance, border patrol officers have no clue in case of national catastrophe as to whether they would be able to stay alive or not. Or even if they do, will they be in the best of the condition. All this cannot be compensated in terms of the salary. The duty most of them do for their country is simply priceless. Nevertheless, for those who want to join or are curious about border patrol salary, this one's for them.

Border Patrol Job Description

The salaries of border patrol agents depends largely on their experience and rank. These officers guard along international borders. As per official statistical records, these officers guard more than 8,000 miles of the USA's land and water boundaries. Like all law-enforcement personnel these agents have to be responsible and have to act quickly. Adroitness in proficient usage and carrying of firearms is required. Border patrol jobs typically involve working forty hours a week, in rotating shifts, not to forget overtime.

Salary Scale for Border Patrol

The border patrol officers or agents are federal employees and as a consequence, they get the due benefits of that. The border patrol salary in the U.S. is largely dependent upon what level the officer is on, in the General Service (GS) salary scale. The officers start off with GL-5 and then progress to GL-7 and GL-9 respectively.

Level 1
GL-5 is the basic level where the border patrol agents enter the border patrol service. That entry will obviously depend on the academic qualification and the law enforcement background they have. First to enter GL-5, a candidate needs reasonable work experience in interviewing, claims adjusting, journalism or security job and before that, a bachelor's degree. Overall, a good mix of education and experience is essential. After all this, at GL-5 level, the amount officers get per annum is around $36,658.

Level 2
The next level, which is higher than GL-5 is GL-7. Just as the GL-7 is paid more, the officers coming under GL-7 have to shoulder more responsibilities as well. The salary for GL-7 officers is somewhere in the range of $41,729, per annum. They have to fulfill all G-5 requirements and in addition to that, they need to be capable in making arrests. Further, they have to display discretionary and sound judgment in usage of firearms. They have to be courteous, tactful and effective in matters of law-enforcement. Apart from all this, they have to quickly analyze information and act according to laws, court decisions and law-enforcement directives. Developing a good network with informants is another crucial task of GL-7 border patrol officers.

Level 3
At the topmost rung is the GL-9. With an annual salary of $46,542 or thereabouts, these officers have to fulfill requirements for GL-7 and apart from the activities similar to the GL-7, these officers have to -

• Develop cases, conduct interviews or interrogations and make apprehensions and arrests.
• Be ready with cases and reports and give appearance as a professional witness in court.
• Have sound judgment in usage of firearms.
• Conduct training or qualification drills regarding appropriate care and use of firearms.
• Be able to handle individuals in their detention, control or interrogation properly.

Along with all this, these officers have to dabble into intelligence reports as well and many other related things, like illegal immigration. Last but not the least, there is a great chance to earn a good amount with overtime. According to some official sources, these officers can get anything in the range of 10% to 25% of their salary for doing overtime.

That is how the border patrol salary has been fixed. I sign off here!