How To Become An Intelligence Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is an intelligence specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Carol Flinchbaugh Ph.D.

Information, particularly classified information about potential enemies, or threats is called intelligence. An intelligence specialist is an employee of the government who pieces together information from various sources to assess threats and prevent attacks from interior or exterior enemies. They work both in the office and in the field, and perform a variety of tasks to ensure their region's safety.

In addition to analyzing intelligence data, Intelligence Specialists prepare and present intelligence briefings, prepare materials for reconnaissance missions, use maps and charts to produce imagery data, provide input and receive data from computerized intelligence systems ashore and afloat, and maintain intelligence databases, libraries, and files.

Essential skills for this position include analytical, communication, flexibility, and discretion. No formal education is required for the role; thus a high school diploma or a GED may suffice. This, along with relevant work experience, will get you qualified for the job.

The work may be hectic, but it rewards handsomely. The average hourly salary of an intelligence specialist is $41.45, which equates to $86,225 annually. Moreover, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce more opportunities across the United States.

What general advice would you give to an intelligence specialist?

Carol Flinchbaugh Ph.D.

Professor of Management, New Mexico State University

I always remind students entering today’s workforce they will have anywhere from 6-8 careers. Not jobs, careers. That is the age we are living in with such fast technological advances. They need to have an understanding as to how and when their careers will change based on generative AI. That said, there are many industries – especially in customer service-related jobs – where job roles won’t change so quickly.

ScoreIntelligence SpecialistUS Average

Salary

6.1

Avg. Salary $78,453

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.1

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.67%

Asian 2.85%

Black or African American 12.38%

Hispanic or Latino 16.27%

Unknown 5.01%

White 62.82%

Gender

female 24.23%

male 75.77%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

6.1

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.5

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.3

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an intelligence specialist

Explore intelligence specialist education requirements

Most common intelligence specialist degrees

Bachelor's

55.2 %

Associate

21.4 %

High School Diploma

10.2 %

Start to develop specific intelligence specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
DOD	9.93%
Security Clearance	9.38%
TS/SCI	9.23%
Intelligence Analysis	5.66%
Law Enforcement	5.62%

Complete relevant intelligence specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New intelligence specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an intelligence specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real intelligence specialist resumes.

Research intelligence specialist duties and responsibilities

Manage RFI requirements, direct production of all-source intelligence products and provide quality control.
Coordinate and manage Cognos customers from a select group of high revenue contribution, establishing exceptional customer relationships.
Create multiple SSIS packages and T-SQL store procedures to extract customer level activity data from multiple online subscription sites.
Create corporate innovation metrics analytics, enhancing executive decision making.

Prepare your intelligence specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your intelligence specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an intelligence specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable intelligence specialist resume templates

Build a professional intelligence specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your intelligence specialist resume.