Part 1, The Beginning
In May of 1996, I was sitting at home when a buddy of mine called. I was in the Air Force reserves with him out at Travis AFB and he knew I was looking for a job in Law Enforcement. When I picked up the phone, John tells me: “ Robert, call this number and apply for the job.” I asked what it was, and he told me it was for a Special Agent position with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. At the time I had no idea what that was or what they did so I asked him, “what the hell is that?” The second thought that went through my mind was, because I did not have a bachelor’s degree, there is no way I qualify for that. John was direct, “Just call and apply.”
I was working at the Marriott’s in Napa, in the banquet department. It was a good job and I enjoyed it and company, but it was not a career nor enough to live comfortably in California. I also had this desire to do something that helps other people. I called the number and answered a few automated questions and before I knew it, I received the test date.
Being in the military I had learned how to take government tests, but my method was a little different. Typically, the rule of thumb for multiple question tests, especially the questions you don’t know, is you can immediately decide to throw out the two most unlikely answers. Then you are only picking from two, so now…
