An Intelligence Officer is a trained professional responsible for developing and evaluating plans to gather information and intelligence. They carry out investigations in target areas by interviewing people they believe can provide them with the information they need. After gathering the required information, they write reports of their findings and ensure records are maintained.

Depending on their area of work, intelligence officers work with an array of stakeholders. They generally work with researchers, intelligence analysts, the police, security agencies, and intelligence agencies. An intelligence officer can get employed by law enforcement agencies, the military, intelligence agencies, and government organizations.

A successful intelligence officer should have a good understanding of information in order to make recommendations based on the information collected. He/she should also be analytical, communicative and should have an eye for detail. Intelligence officers typically work the normal office hours of 40 hours a week but are expected to be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The job also involves a lot of traveling, and they may sometimes work in shifts.

What Does an Intelligence Officer Do

There are certain skills that many intelligence officers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, empathy and good judgment.

Learn more about what an Intelligence Officer does

How To Become an Intelligence Officer

If you're interested in becoming an intelligence officer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 75.2% of intelligence officers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 13.2% of intelligence officers have master's degrees. Even though most intelligence officers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become an Intelligence Officer

Intelligence Officer Career Paths

Average Salary for an Intelligence Officer

Intelligence Officers in America make an average salary of $93,740 per year or $45 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $169,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $51,000 per year.
Average Intelligence Officer Salary
$93,740 Yearly
$45.07 hourly

What Am I Worth?

salary-calculator

Roles and Types of Intelligence Officer

The role of an intelligence officer includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general intelligence officer responsibilities:

  • Prepare intelligence packets on sensitive, high-profile clients using in-house sources, public domain searches,
  • Unrivaled defense intelligence expertise. Service: putting the welfare of the nation
  • The senior planning officer at the joint integrated threat detection agency (jida)helps the j2

There are several types of intelligence officer, including:

Combat Engineer

Role:

The primary duty of a combat engineer is to oversee building engineering, construction, and inspection in combat situations. He/She supervises and assists team members when moving through rough terrain in combat situations. He/She constructs fighting positions, bridges, obstacles, and defensive positions. As a combat engineer, you will build defenses to protect the troops. Likewise, you'll be tasked with destroying obstacles on the combat troop's path. You'll lay or clear minefields and prepare and install firing systems for demolition and explosives.

For this position, enlisted members must take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. This is to know the best Army jobs for them. After this, they would undergo weeks of One Station Unit Training (OSUT), Basic Combat Training, and Advanced Individual Training. Candidates must possess analytical, decision-making, problem-solving, communication, leadership, and basic construction skills. Combat engineers make an average salary of $44,825 per annum. This varies between $27,000 and $74,000.

  • Average Salary: $55,188
  • Degree: High School Diploma

Electronic Warfare Officer

Role:

The electronic warfare officer (EWO) is a subject matter expert working in a small, close-knit crew setting, providing expertise supporting mission requirements. They leverage their aviation and warfare experience and critical-thinking prowess to develop tactics and techniques to counter emerging threats.

You will also work and coordinate with DoD entities and agencies to facilitate cutting-edge product development. You must possess an in-depth understanding of the critical factors in aircraft survivability and combat mission planning to ensure meeting of client objectives.

This highly desired position offers you the unique opportunity to make good use of years of military electronic warfare training and aviation experience. So, you typically require a bachelor's degree (or equivalent experience) and a minimum of eight years of aviation experience, as it is the most desired academic qualification for this role.

Compensation and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. Thereby, your employment benefits include competitive compensation, health and wellness programs, income protection, paid leave, and retirement.

Besides, you will earn an annual salary ranging from $36,990 to $88,552.

  • Average Salary: $56,341
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

12B Combat Engineer

Role:

A 12B combat engineer supervises a team of fellow Soldiers as it tackles rough terrain and other unpredictable environments during combat operations. They help the team by providing mobility, counter-mobility, survivability, and engineering support. They are usually involved in clearing barriers using explosives, detecting and neutralizing mines, constructing fighting positions, designing and building bridges, and securing perimeters.

12B combat engineers play a very crucial role in the success of any mission. They need to be able to work in a team in order to efficiently execute their objectives. To succeed in their role, they should have combat engineering training, basic engineering skills, the ability to work as a team, leadership skills, analytical skills, attention to detail, and decision-making skills.

Other essential skills include training in basic explosive hazards, building bridges, constructing wire obstacles, demolitions, and operating heavy equipment. In case a 12B combat engineer leaves the army, they can utilize these skills in pursuing careers in construction, civil engineering, or building engineering.

  • Average Salary: $55,647
  • Degree: High School Diploma

States With The Most Intelligence Officer Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active intelligence officer jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where intelligence officers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Intelligence Officer Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1Texas2,176$78,226
2New York1,896$127,330
3Illinois1,548$119,287
4Pennsylvania1,484$90,777
5Georgia1,311$96,311
6Massachusetts1,309$94,830
7North Carolina1,271$97,964
8New Jersey1,179$127,044
9Ohio1,073$90,070
10Minnesota1,058$104,067
11Maryland1,025$91,885
12Washington870$86,364
13Arizona862$99,428
14Colorado811$92,182
15Michigan805$91,166
16Tennessee747$75,722
17Indiana730$83,136
18Wisconsin653$87,279
19Missouri646$93,342
20Alabama551$88,347
21Virginia514$105,222
22California513$115,477
23South Carolina513$76,991
24Oregon480$113,928
25Iowa456$112,527
26Oklahoma402$96,976
27Kentucky382$81,956
28Nevada373$109,870
29Connecticut367$116,122
30Idaho353$107,878
31Louisiana353$77,444
32Mississippi330$91,945
33Kansas307$103,590
34Nebraska304$94,660
35Arkansas303$73,967
36New Mexico269$82,027
37New Hampshire221$115,537
38Rhode Island211$116,124
39Florida197$92,621
40Maine180$119,347
41West Virginia179$89,168
42North Dakota163$105,208
43South Dakota146$81,521
44Vermont123$114,705
45Utah81$97,377
46Hawaii58$59,700
47Montana42$83,302
48Delaware39$113,718
49Alaska33$126,262
50Wyoming32$91,457

Intelligence Officer Education

Intelligence Officer Majors

13.1 %

Intelligence Officer Degrees

Bachelors

75.2 %

Masters

13.2 %

Associate

7.9 %

Top Skills For an Intelligence Officer

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 8.5% of intelligence officers listed personnel security on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and empathy are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Intelligence Officer Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Intelligence Officer templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Intelligence Officer resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Intelligence Officer Resume
Intelligence Officer Resume
Intelligence Officer Resume
Intelligence Officer Resume
Intelligence Officer Resume
Intelligence Officer Resume
Intelligence Officer Resume
Intelligence Officer Resume
Intelligence Officer Resume
Intelligence Officer Resume
Intelligence Officer Resume
Intelligence Officer Resume
Intelligence Officer Resume
Intelligence Officer Resume
Intelligence Officer Resume
Intelligence Officer Resume

Intelligence Officer diversity

Intelligence Officer Gender Distribution

Male
Male
82%
Female
Female
18%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among intelligence officers, 18.0% of them are women, while 82.0% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among intelligence officers is White, which makes up 71.2% of all intelligence officers.

  • The most common foreign language among intelligence officers is Spanish at 28.2%.

Online Courses For Intelligence Officer That You May Like

Advertising Disclosure  

1. An Introduction to Emotional Intelligence

udemy
4.5
(2,829)

The secrets of emotional intelligence. What everyone should know about the intelligence in emotions...

2. Communication Skills: Emotional Intelligence Coaching

udemy
4.3
(255)

Enhance your coaching skills and capabilities using emotional intelligence...

3. Level 2 Intelligence Analyst Certification

udemy
4.4
(2,203)

Training for Explanative Intelligence Analysis...

Show More Online Courses For Intelligence Officer
Job type you want
Full Time
Part Time
Internship
Temporary

Best States For an Intelligence Officer

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an intelligence officer. The best states for people in this position are New York, New Jersey, Alaska, and Maine. Intelligence officers make the most in New York with an average salary of $127,330. Whereas in New Jersey and Alaska, they would average $127,044 and $126,262, respectively. While intelligence officers would only make an average of $119,347 in Maine, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. New Jersey

Total Intelligence Officer Jobs: 1,179
Highest 10% Earn:
$207,000
Location Quotient:
1.41

2. New York

Total Intelligence Officer Jobs: 1,896
Highest 10% Earn:
$207,000
Location Quotient:
1.4

3. Rhode Island

Total Intelligence Officer Jobs: 211
Highest 10% Earn:
$194,000
Location Quotient:
1.65
Full List Of Best States For Intelligence Officers

How Do Intelligence Officers Rate Their Jobs?

5/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Intelligence Officer Reviews

5.0
Nov 2019
Pros

If i got to work as an intelligence officer in any department around my city. I would love to use my psychology and sociology mind to help catch fugitives, also my toughness and speed to run and catch fugitives as well.

Cons

Nothing. it’s all amazing.


Working as an Intelligence Officer? Share your experience anonymously.
Overall Rating*
Career Growth
Work/Life balance
Pay/Salary

Top Intelligence Officer Employers

Most Common Employers For Intelligence Officer

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Booz Allen Hamilton$125,907$60.535
2Penn National Insurance$102,221$49.145
3General Atomics$100,902$48.516
4Central Intelligence Agency$100,806$48.4662
5SAIC$97,883$47.065
6Ohio National Financial Services$94,641$45.506
7Office of the Director of National Intelligence$94,266$45.324
8Defense Intelligence Agency$93,946$45.17172
9Department of Homeland Security$92,771$44.6018
10BAE Systems$92,676$44.564

Intelligence Officer Videos

Becoming an Intelligence Officer FAQs

How Long Is Army Intelligence Officer School?

The Basic Officer Leadership Course is 16 weeks and 4 days long. The location of the training is at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.

The army intelligence officer is the key leader in any military organization. They are primarily responsible for overseeing and maintain other military personnel on a day to day basis.

Search For Intelligence Officer Jobs