Expert: Jason Grabill - 6/26/2009

Question
Dear Jason,

Hello, and thank you for reading my inquiry.  I am a twenty three year old student majoring in American history with a minor in government.  I will be graduating in May of 2011 with a BS in the aforementioned subject.  I will also have a class A, 700 hour certification as a law enforcement officer out of Missouri.

There are three general questions that I have that I am hoping you might be bale to answer.  The first is:  Does a POST certification with a BS degree make a difference when applying to a federal agency?  Would they look as the combined certification and degree more favorably even if I have to attend their training program regardless?

Secondly, I have had a couple of jobs from high school that I quit without giving notice.  Added to that is another job that I was terminated from as a work-study at school from a department that has since gotten into trouble for terminating people without sufficient reasons.  I now work for the campus police,have multiple letters of recommendation from police officers I work with, and I am married and have an absolutely clean criminal record.

Would I still be able to apply to the federal government in spite of a couple of stupid decisions I made as a dumb kid almost eight years ago and still have a chance of being hired?  Would I also be able to explain the circumstances of my termination and show the letters of recommendation and references from officers?

In short....would my BS in history and POST certification look good as an applicant, and will I be forgiven for being a stupid child and since wising up during my background check and interviews?

Thank you very much for your help.  Have a wonderful day.

Answer
Rich:

 Yes, you certainly sound qualified.  It's going to depend on what kind of federal position you are looking for, be it uniform or something else.  (FBI vs Dept of Defense or VA police..)

 I think you stand a decent chance either way.

Jason