M clearly enjoyed the role he played behind the scenes during the cold war and the excitement that came with it a common phenomenon in the intelligence world. In other words, his interrogators seemed to lack proof. M could easily make such trips behind the Iron Curtain without raising suspicions. You cant do anything and you are absolutely powerless. The number of operations officers, or covert spies, within the CIA is largely classified. I received medals from them, whereas the BVD never gave me a medal or another sign of recognition, not even a ballpoint. Insurance agents have a low social status, Insurance agents can help their loved ones, You will not get rich as an insurance agent. This lack of cooperation on the part of the AIVD intensified Ms feelings of bitterness. Feel superior to others. Pros. He feels the BVD did the same when they handed him over to the CIA in 1981, renouncing any further responsibility towards him. By then, he had already become familiarised with the practice of espionage, including its basic techniques, during his military service. No matter the position, when you are working at CIA you are contributing to the work of a nation at the center of intelligence. The Hohenschnhausen Memorial in Berlin, a former Stasi prison. When it comes to insurance, many people out there also dont have any idea whats important and what they have to pay attention to. The Federal Bureau of Investigation had about 35,000 employees in 2017. During the cold war, the KGB, of course, worked very closely with the Stasi. Sasha Maggio specializes in topics related to psychology, fitness, nutrition, health, medicine, dentistry, and recovery after surgery, as well as cultural topics including Buddhism, Japanese culture, travel, languages and cooking. Bedford Square A lot of being a spy is terribly mundane. The Pay Scale of a Veterans Service Officer. He currently owns and operates a vending business. To be a successful operations officer in the CIA, you must always be able to deal with fast-moving, ambiguous and unstructured situations. Through his career in several European, African and Asian countries, M acquired many international contacts and was able easily to obtain information that was of interest to intelligence services. Thus, you will also not be stuck in your job forever when you first start as normal insurance agent. With all of the intelligence policy debates of the last few years, people sometimes forget the CIA has a kinetic, operational role in dangerous places throughout the world. One of the wedding gifts the Stasi gave him was an exquisite Bohemian crystal vase. BUT, at an agency the clients come first. New publications on the Stasi and the HVA started coming out in large numbers after the collapse of the GDR. I told him I was thinking of the police or the army. He also gathered information on the type of short-wave radio receivers, communication devices and codes the East Germans used, as well as the kind of intelligence they wanted him to acquire in the many different countries where he was stationed for his job. Its important to underline just how rare it is for a former secret service agent to open up and talk on the record about their experiences. In turn, you may not be happy with your work at all since you know that you consult people in a misleading way instead of offering the products that would really fit best for their individual circumstances. Others tend to have a more relaxed way of operating. Feel smug about Trebeks mediocrity. His two long-time Stasi handlers were known to him as Wolfgang and Heinz. Another disadvantage of becoming an insurance agent is that you will also have to deal with many difficult people. Sometimes M would also exchange messages and material the East Germans were interested in by way of fleeting meetings in hotel lobbies with East German diplomats. Poor since you will be replaceable as a travel agent. This treatment is still ongoing. At an agency, all of that is taken care of for you. Paradoxically, M bonded most with these two handlers that he was deceiving. At another meeting with Wolfgang and Heinz in the East, I received all kinds of special treats because I had gotten married six months earlier [in 1970]. I was recruited in that old fashioned way, but of course these days the service has a website and a recruitment team which goes round universities and run open evenings at various places. This could place additional strain on a a family. As an insurance agent, you will also be able to sell people insurance policies that can protect those people from serious issues. During the long days spent at the office, there is always room to have some fun. The trouble is that even though the rules have been slightly relaxed now certain members of your family are allowed to know you can never discuss details of operations or what's happening with particular agents. Rather poor since you may have to sell products you dont believe in. This information can help you make a fairly well-informed decision about applying to the FBI. If you ever get a client you cant handle, or you hit a creative block, your colleagues have your back. Use Asana to define and schedule tasks, assign tasks to co-workers and check them when done. He holds a master's degree in management and a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies. Some insurance products are also such complicated that you may not even understand the mechanics behind them. I was a soldier in the cold war.. M felt used and alone when his career ended. You are ordered to undress completely. Border officials of the German Democratic Republic on the Berlin wall in front of the Brandenburg Gate in 1980. Job Satisfaction. Stars on the CIA memorial wall are unnamed, though, and the accompanying "Book of Honor" doesn't list some officers. Now and again, the work of the secret service really counts and they are the moments you look for. We see the varying degrees of gratitude and recognition that the Dutch security service, the CIA and the Stasi showed for Ms work, from personal attention and verbal expressions of gratitude to material gifts. A real estate agent refers to an individual that represents real estate sellers or buyers. In a memo, the CIA said lax vetting . Either way, the interrogation ended suddenly and bizarrely. I was naked, tied to a hard chair with handcuffs. Series one of US crime thriller The Blacklist is available on Blu-ray and DVD now. While some agents possess certain skills and experiences that might not seem relatable to tactical situations, like being a certified public accountant or having law experience, all agents are armed and trained for tactical combat. In 2016, Ms emotional problems became acute, and he spent a night in an hospital emergency ward. Feel inferior to people who are still smarter. You could get called out anywhere and your target could be anyone. This is a disadvantage that doesn't affect everyone equally. For instance, your boss may tell you that you have to sell a number x of insurance products. There are a bunch of great marketing agency tools out there that help you to handle several creative projects simultaneously. In the long run, you may become pretty bored with what you are doing and many insurance agents secretly wish to work in a different field instead. As an insurance agent, you will also have to work in a classical office job. You have potential for great advancement. If this trend continues, you may suffer from pretty poor job prospects and may become unemployed soon. Also make sure to check out the following articles: Advantages and disadvantages of working as a politician, Advantages and disadvantages of working as an air traffic controller, Advantages and disadvantages of working as a painter, https://www.statista.com/statistics/194232/number-of-us-insurance-brokers-and-service-employees/, https://www.statista.com/statistics/422878/annual-median-salary-financial-insurance-real-estate-united-kingdom-uk/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_insurance_agent. M has avidly documented everything that happened to him, including correspondence, some of it fairly recent, with the three services. Gerber showed a keen interest in Ms background, such as the year he had spent at an American high school and a rather unusual topic for a casual conversation among strangers Israeli nuclear developments in the Negev desert. Intelligence collector 3. He also has the medal he officially received from the Stasi. I had once bought a very nice book of fairy tales for myself in Denmark, and sometime later they gave me a similar book as a present. I knew the job wasn't going to be James Bond but I was curious to know more. He loves to dig into behavioral economics to uncover the irrationality in our daily behavior. Stick with me since I will show you all the pros and cons of being an insurance agent so that you can better decide whether you still want to work in this field or if you want to go for other career options instead. The CIA instructed M to observe the behaviour of Wolfgang and Heinz because the Stasi and KGB collaborated closely. Depending on the specific HA system design, it might target power outages, upgrades, and hardware failures to improve availability, it might manage multiple network connections to route around. If you believe the pros of working for the FBI outweigh the cons and you'd like to apply for employment, know that the application process is one of the most rigorous in the nation. Changes in the needs of the government can result in agents being transferred, and not always to a desirable location. Cost - using a network of agents can be a. In the end, you should carefully evaluate all the pros and cons of working in the insurance sector so that you can make a profound decision regarding this important topic. He told us about his life as a double agent and how, in the end, he was abandoned by the masters he had served. Especially big insurance companies are more eager to employ people who hold a degree and if you want to maximize your chances to get a job in this field, you may have to spend many years in college and also have to spend lots of money on tuition and other expenses related to college education. From the perspective of the East Germans, M was indeed a traitor. Earn Good Money. Operations officer 2. I have to assume you mean is there a Disadvantage to being an Military Intelligence Servicemember as opposed to being in the Intelligence business as a civilian. You have the potential to earn good money as an insurance agent. Of course, if the operation goes tits up, the person who is going to suffer is the agent, not me. In some cases, using an agent can be a cost-effective way to test a new market. Naked through the corridors on my way to the interrogation room. Initially, Dutch security tasked him with infiltrating local extremist organisations, both on the left and right, that were part of international networks. He told us: It was early spring and pretty cold. Now that weve covered the downsides, we can start talking about the various advantageous of working at a creative agency. Some people may shrug these types of experiences off and go on without missing a beat. In fact, most insurance agents will start working between 7 and 9 a.m. and will leave their workplace between 5 and 6 p.m. Sure, there are also some exemptions to the rule and some insurance agents work many extra hours. As you can see from the previous discussion, there are many advantages and disadvantages to working as an insurance agent. Our professionals play critical roles in preempting threats and furthering national security objectivesfrom working against terrorism and cyber-attacks to preventing the spread of biological weapons and more. In early 1985, it appeared that the Stasi may have uncovered his deception and his true loyalty to the west. His captors intimidated him by pouring cold water over him from a bucket until the afternoon. In contrast, as an insurance agent, you will be able to enjoy your leisure during those times while other people have to work and this gives you additional opportunities to spend quality time with your family and also to make nice weekend trips with your favorite people. Most creatives are allowed the liberty to wear what they want. But suddenly, in 1988, Ms relationship with Wolfgang and Heinz cooled. Yet M said he felt strangely reassured because these accusations were not specific they were meant to provoke him. The requirements for special agents are considerably more stringent. But you have to balance that out with the buzz of working in the secret world. 0800 181 4422. 1. In our current state of the world, many people dont have this luxury since they just work in low-wage jobs and are not able to save enough money for retirement age. Now advances in technology mean maintaining people's covers has become a specialist area and it is a much more sophisticated operation. Thus, no job is the same and job descriptions may not completely fit your individual experiences. M feels the CIA abandoned him after the cold war, when he was no longer useful for them. Creative freelancers have to worry about marketing themselves, handling their financials, and finding new clients. Flexible Schedule. FBI investigators will interview your friends, co-workers and family to determine whether you would be a good fit for the organization, and you'll need to take a polygraph and drug test. Roles that require regular training can negatively affect your family life, particularly if you're gone for long periods of time or have to leave on short notice. FBI positions are divided into two categories: special agents and professional staff. You can build a strong network. Bedford Street The United States has always maintained spies in one form or another and under one organization or another since the Revolutionary War. As a creative in an advertising agency, you are expected to come up with great ideas on a regular base. New special agents must also undergo a 20-week training course at the FBI academy. Even as an operational officer with a lot of support behind you, there is a lot of waiting for stuff to happen and trying to find out the most basic level of information. Family Life Many jobs in the FBI require mandatory travel. The buzz is taking part in a world that nobody else knows about often you are aware of things happening behind world events that other people don't know and possibly will never know. Yet, you should not expect that working in this field is all upside. But it is hard to know the full truth when it comes to the secretive world of espionage, so we have tried to highlight those areas which are impossible to verify. Until then I was engaged in all kinds of geopolitical developments, I was right on top of them. Sales methods - an agent might not sell your product or service in the way that you would like. The media and communication industry is infamous for its low salaries. A seed that would grow over the years to become an obsession. While you might be excited to work as an insurance agent in the beginning, this initial excitement may vanish rather quickly. I conducted various interviews with employees to give you a good impression of what working in different fields will look like and that you can make the best possible decision regarding your future career choice. After that I got an envelope in my pigeonhole from an anonymous government department inviting me up to London for an interview. And while the median agent income of $50,300 was nice, the top 10 percent earned a cool $112,610. At a meeting in East Berlin shortly after his marriage, Wolfgang and Heinz asked M if he would appreciate a Frauenbesuch (a female visitor) on a particular evening. Job Security. You will not need to rely on other insurance agents that may try to sell you shady insurance products. Lower overheads - you don't have to pay for the salary, the car or the office of sales agents. Potential approaches of KGB officers were preceded by psychological assessments that could estimate their willingness to collaborate. In 2005, he starred with Mike Baker of the CIA in the BBC2 series Spy and wrote the book accompanying the series: Spy A Handbook. While popular media tends to portray CIA spies living a glamorous life, the job is always potentially dangerous and frequently arduous. In 1947, the Central Intelligence Agency was officially established, and the CIA in large part has since carried out the nation's foreign clandestine services activities. 7. The full names of Wolfgang and Heinz also appear in publications by the Stasi archives in Berlin, and a man said to be Koch even appears in a photograph in a book on the history of the Stasi. The lobby of the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Sueddeutsche Zeitung Photo / Alamy Stock Photo, in an episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, Committee Member - MNF Research Advisory Committee, PhD Scholarship - Uncle Isaac Brown Indigenous Scholarship, Associate Lecturer, Creative Writing and Literature. A meeting was simply cancelled, and the door on his spying career slammed shut. Disadvantages of being an Insurance Agent Stress and pressure to sell. The meeting with Wolf lasted about an hour. Increased ability to get high and fuck around through all of life vs. having to work hard to maintain average skillz. More is known, however, about the frequently tough conditions under which CIA spies must work. Some agencies are known for their parties to get their employees together. Litigation attorney 5. Working for the FBI means dealing with bureaucracy. Being a real estate agent is a great deal for many investorsbut not everyone. Ms Dutch handlers correctly interpreted this approach as a recruiting attempt by the Stasi, and encouraged him to respond favourably. Quite often, you will sell insurance products to influential people who are in leading positions in their companies. If you like quick organizational change and seeing your ideas rapidly turn into action, you may be unhappy working for the FBI. Criminal investigator 4. Still in pyjamas, he was taken from the safe house where he was staying for debriefing sessions with his Stasi handlers to a van with darkened windows that transported him, under armed guard, to a prison. Whether using commercial agents can help you develop your business often depends on the nature of your product or service and where you want to sell. A strange detail is that Wolf apparently put strawberry jam in his tea. Feeling discouraged? Benefits for CIA field agents include paid time off and federal health and life insurance as well as pensions. How China combined authoritarianism with capitalism to create a new communism, What my 20 years in Afghanistan taught me about the Taliban and how the west consistently underestimates them, Embracing uncertainty: what Kenyan herders can teach us about living in a volatile world. I was recruited by the secret service during the cold war. But the episode planted a seed of doubt in Ms mind about whether the Stasi was on to him. Founded in 2010, Thought Catalog is owned and operated by The Thought & Expression Company, Inc. For over a decade, we've been at the bleeding edge of media, pioneering an infrastructure for creatives to flourish both artistically and financially. But his attempts to contact them were unsuccessful. Understanding - an agent might not fully understand your product or service and you may be better off with hands-on control. Moreover, sleeping problems are quite common for people who have to work late at night. Hence, the mental pressure can be enormous for insurance agents and you should not underestimate the stress that comes along with it. As of 2019, pay for CIA operations officers generally ranges from $59,426 to $90,461 annually, though special pay programs can increase those amounts. How Much Money Does a Lieutenant Make in the Marine Corps? Keep insisting that as a foreigner you devoted yourself to the good cause, to socialism. It transpired that the humiliating interrogation was in fact a mock arrest led by Stasi handlers to test his mettle. We interviewed M extensively between 2019 and 2021 about his career as a spy during the cold war. M was untied from his chair, handed back his clothes and taken to a room to freshen up. To hear about new Insights articles, join the hundreds of thousands of people who value The Conversations evidence-based news. For instance, a construction worker has to lift heavy stuff all day long and this can be quite exhausting. 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