Protective Service · Holland code CER

Customs and Border Protection Officers

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.

Also called: Customs Inspector, Customs Officer, Special Agent, US Customs and Border Protection Officer (US CBPO), Canine Enforcement Officer (K-9 Enforcement Officer), Import Specialist.

O*NET 33-3051.04

At a glance

US median annual pay: $76,210; Middle half earn $59,290 to $97,600. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 39% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Examine immigration applications, visas, and passports and interview persons to determine eligibility for admission, residence, and travel in the U.S.
Detain persons found to be in violation of customs or immigration laws and arrange for legal action, such as deportation.
Inspect cargo, baggage, and personal articles entering or leaving U.S. for compliance with revenue laws and U.S. customs regulations.
Locate and seize contraband, undeclared merchandise, and vehicles, aircraft, or boats that contain such merchandise.
Interpret and explain laws and regulations to travelers, prospective immigrants, shippers, and manufacturers.
Institute civil and criminal prosecutions and cooperate with other law enforcement agencies in the investigation and prosecution of those in violation of immigration or customs laws.
Testify regarding decisions at immigration appeals or in federal court.
Record and report job-related activities, findings, transactions, violations, discrepancies, and decisions.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening4.0 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.9 / 5
Writing3.6 / 5
Monitoring3.6 / 5

Knowledge areas

Law and Government4.5 / 5
Public Safety and Security4.3 / 5
English Language3.9 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.6 / 5
Psychology3.4 / 5
Administrative3.2 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic40
Investigative27
Artistic0
Social27
Enterprising55
Conventional71

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

customs and excise officer · DE Zolldeklarant/Zolldeklarantin · FR préposé des douanes/préposée des douanes
import export specialist · DE Import-/Exportsachbearbeiter/Import-/Exportsachbearbeiterin · FR spécialiste en import-export
customs officer · DE Zollbeamter/Zollbeamtin · FR agent de constatation des douanes et droits indirects/agente de constatation des douanes et droits indirects
hand luggage inspector · DE Handgepäckkontrolleur/Handgepäckkontrolleurin · FR agent de sûreté aéroportuaire, mention «passagers»/agente de sûreté aéroportuaire, mention «passagers»
immigration officer · DE Grenzschutzbeamter/Grenzschutzbeamtin · FR policier aux frontières/policière aux frontières
social security inspector · DE Sozialversicherungsprüfer/Sozialversicherungsprüferin · FR contrôleur des situations individuelles/contrôleuse des situations individuelles

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Importers and exporters (3542)6,500 employed
Inspectors of standards and regulations (3581)44,300 employed
National government administrative occupations (4111)228,700 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.67. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (33-3051).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test