Which job should I take?
TLDR : Do I take a job with my local agency that gives me (in my opinion) more relevant experience as an actual investigator/ analyst or take the federal position as a glorified dispatcher to get my foot in the door and network?
Ultimate goal is to work in the 0132 series on counter-Terrorism/cartels
Hey everyone hoping people in the field can shed some light and give me advice on this situation. I was offered a job with my local agency as a Real Time Crime Analyst. I would get my FAA remote pilot license in this position and create reports for command staff when not responding to active incidents or helping detectives with their investigations. So it gives me a good amount of check marks by name should I perform and exceed all expectations in this position.
Now, I was also offered a job as a law enforcement systems specialist with ICE, which after talking to people I’ve found out is just running data inquires to verify status and criminal history on individuals agents make contact with or ask me to run. However, this job would expose me to software/systems and databases that are used in the federal government. It would also give me a secret clearance, get my federal clock time started, and allow me to apply for jobs that are only open to federal employees in the future.
If I were to take the local position I obviously would only be there a year or two bc salaries get capped out around then in municipalities. Just not a ton of room for growth locally IMO. With that being said, would I be a competitive candidate if I applied to GS positions at (hopefully) the GS-9 level after taking the RTIC analyst job?