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CBP is hiring UAS pilots

Having scanned the Customs and Border Protection posting: Seem like awfully steep requirements for a drone pilot (1500 total hrs, Commercial rating, etc).

Best of luck to those who qualify and decide to apply.

-Paragon
Cincinnati, OH
 
so those rumours aren't true?

I thought they just hired kids that got high scores on Xbox - call of duty!:rolleyes:

good to see they are using well -qualified folks to drive the drones...but man, what a stack of qualifications! I wonder who really will end up in the drivers seat?
anyone know a guy who knows a guy that can tell us what it's really like? ( ......probably resembles piloting an RV-3 in the fog with one eye closed !?)
 
kudos to CBP team

I hire folks on occasion, and getting the requirements right is tough work; as a taxpayer, I'm happy to see CBP did this well.

Flight Eval is interesting:

"The assessments will be conducted in Oklahoma City, OK, and will take approximately 1 full day beginning at 8:00 am. An additional day may be necessary due to weather and/or maintenance issues. Selectees will be responsible for all expenses associated with transport to and from the NATC facility and the hangar, as well as lodging in Oklahoma City and all other personal expenses incurred.

Oral Evaluation: This evaluation will test your pilot knowledge based on published regulations.

Flight Check: You will be required to demonstrate your flight proficiency in a CBP aircraft with a flight instructor. You will be evaluated based on Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Commercial Pilot standards.

Structured Interview: You must be able to answer scenario based interview questions to demonstrate your possession of core competencies, which include Judgment/Decision Making, Teamwork/Interpersonal Skills, Flexibility, Integrity and Oral Communication."




as to earlier comments:

age
("Referred for selection prior to your 37th birthday (waiver for veterans")

duties- as Bill put it, there's more than flying:
"?Operate Unmanned Aerial Systems performing law enforcement missions
?Performing interdiction duties that include intelligence gathering, detecting, intercepting, tracking, apprehending, testifying and acting as liaison with other Federal, State, local, tribal and foreign law enforcement agencies
?Developing strategies to track aircraft, vessels and people to accomplish an effective and successful interdiction
?Gathering and sharing intelligence information on illegal activities or potential acts of terrorism with internal customers, the general aviation and marine communities and other law enforcement agencies
?Testifying under oath before a grand jury, federal court proceedings and/or other legal proceedings..."
 
Adding to this, you will be a sworn federal law enforcement agent 1st, a pilot 2nd. Your job will be federal law enforcement. You just use an aircraft instead of a police car to do your duties.

:cool:
 
I'm not surprised at all by these requirements. After all, they're not hiring pilots to fly quad-copters or other RC models. We're talking RQ-1 Predators (Cessna- sized) and Q-9 Reapers (A-10 sized). These shoot instrument approaches for just about every landing, and rely on instrument navigation almost exclusively.

Folks, there's real money to be earned here. These are good challenging jobs.
 
Age Discrimination?

I was very interested until I saw I was disqualified for being older than 37. Flying a UAV must be pretty rigorous and I guess at my advanced age of 52 I would be better suited to fly actual people around while actually in the plane. Sorry for being snarky but I just don't get it.
 
OK, I do agree with you questioning the age piece, SuperDave. 37 seems like such an odd limit.

Remember that first and foremost these are law enforcement jobs. Since typically, for pension and large up front training costs reasons, they hope you'll work for 20 years. But they really don't want 60+ year olds running after young guys.
There used to be (is it still true?) that there was a similar maximum age for air traffic controller applicants, for similar reasons.
Question: As a veteran, am I exempt from this? At age 67??? -:)

I noticed that what they really want are applicants with both fixed and rotary wing licenses. That will limit the applicant pool.
 
These jobs are considered 6(c) law enforcement positions and have a mandatory retirement age of 57. To get in your 20 to be retirement eligible you need to be hired by age 37. Unfortunately you don't have the option of waiving the retirement benefits.

Also, I may be mistaken but this announcement isn't just for the UAV pilots but helo and fixed wing also. It's not uncommon for these pilots to land and make arrests on the ground.

I know we have a few CBP pilots on VAF. Maybe they will chime in.
 
These jobs are considered 6(c) law enforcement positions and have a mandatory retirement age of 57. To get in your 20 to be retirement eligible you need to be hired by age 37. Unfortunately you don't have the option of waiving the retirement benefits.

Also, I may be mistaken but this announcement isn't just for the UAV pilots but helo and fixed wing also. It's not uncommon for these pilots to land and make arrests on the ground.

I know we have a few CBP pilots on VAF. Maybe they will chime in.
Having been in Customs Aviation Operations and recently retired from CBP this announcement is for Pilots to primarily fly UAV's but will fly other aircraft as well depending on qualifications and mission needs.

As was said before, you will be a sworn Federal Law Enforcement Officer 1st and a pilot 2nd. You may have to run after some young person, wrestle them to the floor and handcuff them as part of your job. Not easy to do after age 57, which is why I had to retire.

Question: As a veteran, am I exempt from this? At age 67???

As a Vet you may be exempt from the age 37 max, BUT you will not qualify for federal LE retirement which is a HUGE factor. Federal LE retirement (6c) requirements are set by law and CBP has no authority to change it. However 67 is probably too far past the 37 to be competitive.

:cool:
 
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