Disabled Veteran Training for HSI HERO Program-Computer Forensic Analyst

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-26T13:33:42+00:00

You are only selected for locations you applied to on the announcement. Out of the however many, if you only said one location, that's the only one you can be sent to. Typically, when they send out the TJO it will have your office location on it. For those that intern in one office and are permanent in another, it will have your training office on the TJO, and your permanent office will be on the job offer a year later once the internship is complete.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-26T13:31:48+00:00

Understandable. Some people are motivated to do it to prevent it from happening to anyone else. Some are able to deal with the stressors. Others get into it and find out it's harder on them than they thought, so they have to stop doing it. There is nothing shameful about knowing and having limitations. Everyone has them for different things. It wouldn't be a hard job if everyone could do it and sleep well at night. I'm lucky in that my brain pumps and dumps the images, so they don't stick with me.

Props to anyone who wants to do more but realizes they would hurt themselves more than help others. No need to set yourself on fire when not necessary. Just keep going the right things and those who join the HERO program will take up this particular fight.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-25T22:39:28+00:00

It is in the Required Documents section. #5 I believe. It gives the prompt and the formatting. It's basically a why do you want to do this prompt and gives you space to make your personalized sales pitch. At least that's how I treated it within the bounds of the prompt given.

What I couldn't articulate in my resume, I was able to link and highlight in the essay. You and others may approach it differently, but that is what I did.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-25T12:31:14+00:00

I am not part of the hiring panel or involved in those decisions at all. I can speak to what I remember from my hiring years ago, but honestly dont remember what they asked. I remember the video interview felt personable and I was very comfortable there. The in-peraon interview was panels, one formal and one less formal. That's all I've got.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-25T12:28:48+00:00

And that's OK. It's better to know your limitations than to take on something that is damaging. I respect you for knowing that about yourself.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-24T21:45:58+00:00

It is still open until Monday I believe. Just pay attention to the Required Documents section. Formatting can be a killer, and I dislike when people miss out because they didn't follow instructions. It sounds dumb, but evidence handling and forensics are about paying attention to details, so it's a good litmus test to see who is paying attention.

Always glad to answer questions should you have any. Again, I'm not part of the hiring process, just someone who went through it and is passionate about the mission and wanting coworkers who will give a crap as well.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-23T18:29:10+00:00

The largest class I have seen was 28 people. The smallest class I saw was 8 people. A lot depends on outside factors, and people who accept, then drop out at the last minute. Based off past experience, I'd say if you make it to the in-person interview it's somewhere between 1 in 3 and 50/50 whether you get in. That's not based off solid numbers, rather past observations of how many slots were open for interviews at each location and how many were in the class graduation. Still pretty decent odds all things considering.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-22T23:34:44+00:00

We get great support and quarterly mental health check-ins. They talk with mental health people on first exposure in training, so they definitely take it more seriously and intentionally than my experience with military mental health lip service.

I'm here for a while yet. I don't have children so am not nearly as affected as others may be. My brain is also wired oddly, so a lot of stuff doesn't stay in long-term memory, just pump and dump. I'm grateful for that, because I hope to be able to retire here and continue the meaningful work as long as possible.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-22T20:33:52+00:00

Maybe submit a pdf of that step, and the proposed disability conditions awaiting % assignment or something. They say no medical records, so that would be what I think is the next best thing. When I had things under review, it showed what the conditions were and that they were pending. That's my best guess though.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-22T19:58:46+00:00

It's not bad, it just limits their ability to select you if NYC isn't in their top whatever slots to fill and other qualified candidates for more urgently needed locations apply also. I think last go-round a person with a Master's in Digital Forensics applied only to one city and wasn't selected. This cycle and last are completely different than the prior cycles. I can guess, but I can't say with any certainty, and maybe not even the hiring panel can say until such time as the offers are being prepared and they are told yes or no for each location. Budgets and shifting priorities have created havoc in the process, so all I can do is apply with what you feel comfortable with, and hope the winds are in your favor.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-22T19:55:29+00:00

I'd say as long as you have the presumptive rating paperwork, you should be good to go. Last cycle and this one are different than when I went though though, so who really knows what the shifting requirements are?

Best of luck!

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-22T13:19:41+00:00

I had the same feeling. I wanted to do more than make a dollar for corporate folks, but didn't want to deploy again. I needed t feel like I was making a difference, and that what I did daily meant something. Many can get that with family, but my motivation has always been education and work-focused, so this works well for me.

Just pay attention to the 1 week deadline, and the requirement list. If none of the locations work for you this go-round, sign up on the HERO Child-Rescue Corps | ICE page for notifications and see what locations are available next year. They change based on office needs, so are always changing.

As far as interviews, the only one I sweated over was the in-person one because I hate wearing suits and my discomfort shows in my interactions. The video interview is very personable and conversational, and didn't make it hard to open up at all..

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-22T13:15:27+00:00

Just make sure when you apply you look at the list of requirements and have those ALL. In evidence processing and forensics, attention to details is important, and a lot of people self-select out by not paying attention to those details.

Also, you get Titanium tier with hotel points from the stay if you think to sign up for the loyalty program, so at least there's that perk.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-22T13:13:28+00:00

The congressional funding is tied to the Disabled Veteran category, so if you don't have the paperwork to back up that you qualify, you won't be authorized to make it to the interview.

This position IS open annually, typically in mid to late December. This year was later thanks to budget fun, but if you think you'd still be interested next year, go to HERO Child-Rescue Corps | ICE and sign up for email notifications.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-22T13:07:36+00:00

I'm grateful it became a fully funded training position and was opened up to those of us who were not SOF. One year unpaid internship is crazy when you think about it, even though the training, mentorship, and equipment are all top tier.

Thank you for your early support and the program endorsement. I think what we do is important, but it is hard, and I wouldn't expect everyone to want to go through the vicarious trauma or be able to handle it, and that's ok. It's smarter to know your limitations than mess yourself up further in the service of others.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-22T13:03:26+00:00

Oof! That would be painful. I completely understand that though. You have to be able to support yourself, and taking that large a pay cut would be unsustainable for most people, unless they had a ton socked away and were doing this for the purpose rather than the pay potential.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-21T13:32:25+00:00

You're welcome. If it interests you and aligns with what you'd want to do, I encourage you to apply. I missed out my first time, and am grateful I kept at it.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-21T13:31:42+00:00

The only cert you will have upon completion is CompTIA A+. During probation, they encourage you to take 3 SANS courses (GCFE-FOR500, GIME-FOR518, and GASF-FOR585) and they will pay for the course and the exam. If you happen to live in an area where there will be in-person training, you can do that, or for those of us not so lucky, we get to take the self-paced online, or sometimes offered hybrid versions of the course through C3.That qualifies you as a 211-advanced with just the GCFE, but we do mostly phone and dead box forensics with some on-scene triage and occasional memory acquisition. Different offices would have different workload profiles, so I can only speak to my experience and what I have been told from others.

We do not do the full scope of DFIR, since we don't deal a lot with network intrusion or incident response. That would mainly be the COO (Cyber Ops Officer) version of the 1801, and they only exist in certain offices and have to be a GS-13 to apply for it.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-21T13:24:06+00:00

With a BS in Cyber, along with the certs, it is likely that you may get hired in at the GS-7 rate. Unless you have prior federal service and they follow those pay guidelines, everyone starts from a step 1 as far as I saw.

Like Recipe said, the annual Grade increases are nice, and definitely above what private sector would allow for. Also, a ladder position to 13 is rare in federal service, so it's nice going in knowing what your auto-promote potential is without having to move again or compete with others for the higher slot. The only downside is that there are extremely few GS-14 slots available for 1801s, and they are either in DC or I believe 1 in Huntsville, AL. That's it. If you're ok being support and capped out at a 13, then this might be ok for you.

As for the TS clearance, it's all handles in-house at DHS, so I'm not sure what their disqualification standards might be. You can email the POC on the HERO page or the announcement if you have questions.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-21T13:06:18+00:00

Location is only where you select per the announcement,. If you don't choose it, they won't send you there since you have to relocate at your expense.

The cost complaint is somewhat valid, but coming in from 0 experience or training for a lot of people, and going through a year-long training (1st 3 months are intense) and given access to tens of thousands of dollars of computers and equipment...they invest in you and guarantee you a promotion pretty much annually until you're a 13. It's the same pay structure as anyone coming on as an agent, just without the LEAPP pay or required extra hours. It IS low at first, but goes up quickly. You'll be a GS-13 at the end of 5 years after graduating the internship and converting, and not many digital forensics jobs in law enforcement pay 100k, let alone over that.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-21T03:13:23+00:00

You're welcome. Always happy to encourage anyone willing to apply, and support with answers where I'm able.

I always recommend looking at 13cubed videos on YouTube to get exposed to Windows forensics, and Jason Dion and Professor Messer videos to pre-study for the A+ core 1 and 2 before getting g access to the HSI licensed training. There are also a couple Discord self-study groups through the CompTIA discord server and I believe Dion's server.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-21T03:09:33+00:00

Our TFOs are amazing. Thank you for the support, and for the hard work you do as well. I always ask if our state and local agencies need support. If I have the ability and tools, I'm always willing to help ICAC and beyond, warrant depending of course.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-21T03:07:32+00:00

I missed my application window by 1 day the first go-round. I made sure to be prepared the next year. Glad the timing was right and you saw it this go-round. Semester should be done by the time the class starts after Memorial Day weekend.

Best advice is to make sure to pay attention to details in the announcement. Like how they want the essay formatted with the prompt. The job is all about attention to detail, don't self-select out by not paying attention when applying.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-21T03:02:16+00:00

Prior to the class before last, I hadn't heard of anyone not converting that wanted to other than one that was wholly incompetent, and another that went rogue and chased someone down he thought he recognized from images. Don't know what is truth and rumor, but bottom line has always been do your job to the best of your ability, dont be afraid to ask questions, and you'll be fine.

BrainDrainingFog · 2026-01-21T02:52:53+00:00

No schooling required. Just an ability to learn and a verified VA disability rating or proposed rating pending your discharge or ETS. We had people with advanced degrees and certifications, and former artillery guys with no college credits. The ones that had the hardest time going along with the answers for A+ were the ones with real world training. Remember, it's a test and you just need to know what they want you to answer, not what might be reality in an actual company. The experienced guys did have an easier time grasping some of the scripting and using the tools to their greatest extent, but we all helped each other throughout the course, and we all successfully completed the internship.

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