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Customs & Border Protection Officer

Customs & Border Protection Officer profiles score highest on Safety-Seeking and Organizing. This page covers what the work involves, what the trait profile looks like, what it pays, and where the fit tends to break.

Median pay
$76,210per year, U.S. BLS 2025
Entry education
Vocational training or associate's degreetypical for the occupation

SOURCE · O*NET 33-3051.04 and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures are national and vary widely by state and setting.

What the work involves

Investigate and inspect persons, common carriers, goods, and merchandise, arriving in or departing from the United States or between states to detect violations of immigration and customs laws and regulations.

Skills rated most important

Active Listening75
Critical Thinking75
Speaking75
Reading Comprehension72
Social Perceptiveness72

Work context

Contact With Others96
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled93
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams91
Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled61
Spend Time Sitting56
Spend Time Standing56
Spend Time Bending or Twisting Your Body40
Spend Time Walking or Running38
Spend Time Kneeling, Crouching, Stooping, or Crawling34
Spend Time Keeping or Regaining Balance29
Spend Time Climbing Ladders, Scaffolds, or Poles12

O*NET importance and frequency ratings, 0–100.

The trait profile

Where Customs & Border Protection Officer profiles sit on the eleven Haliscope traits, derived from O*NET’s published interest and work-style data.

Safety-Seeking83
Organizing70
Persevering61
Law-Abiding58
Influencing55
Operating40
Analyzing28
Helping28
Harmonizing28
Exploring15
Creating2

Who it fits, and who it doesn’t

Strong signals

  • High Law-Abiding. Measures your commitment to ethics, rules, and fairness. High scorers value honesty, follow procedures, and prefer environments with clear moral guidelines.
  • High Safety-Seeking. Measures your preference for stability and predictability. High scorers value security, prefer familiar environments, and carefully weigh risks before acting.
  • High Organizing. Measures your preference for structure, detail, and systematic processes. High scorers excel at creating order, optimizing workflows, and maintaining precision.
  • High Persevering. Measures your persistence and resilience in the face of challenges. High scorers push through obstacles, maintain long-term focus, and value grit as both means and end.
  • High Analyzing. Measures your drive to understand systems and solve problems. High scorers are knowledge-seeking, strategic thinkers who enjoy investigating and finding solutions.

Friction points

  • Low Law-Abiding. Measures your commitment to ethics, rules, and fairness. High scorers value honesty, follow procedures, and prefer environments with clear moral guidelines.
  • Low Safety-Seeking. Measures your preference for stability and predictability. High scorers value security, prefer familiar environments, and carefully weigh risks before acting.
  • Low Organizing. Measures your preference for structure, detail, and systematic processes. High scorers excel at creating order, optimizing workflows, and maintaining precision.
  • Low Persevering. Measures your persistence and resilience in the face of challenges. High scorers push through obstacles, maintain long-term focus, and value grit as both means and end.

These are what the occupation’s profile says, not a hiring criterion. Haliscope is not validated for hiring or screening, and none of these is disqualifying — they are where a fit most often breaks.

Getting in

Entry education: Vocational training or associate's degree.

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

O*NET Job Zone descriptions, U.S. Department of Labor.

Exposure to AI

How much of this work AI can already do, and how much AI tools help the people doing it, is scored task by task in the AI Risk Index.

Will AI replace Customs & Border Protection Officer?

Is this profile yours?

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