Former CIA Case Officer Reveals What Life Inside The Agency Is Really Like

Fast cars, fancy suits, beautiful women, secret destinations, and covert operations. It’s all in a day’s work for the elite and mysterious beings that are called on to become spies. Or at least that’s what James Bond would like us to believe.

But if you’re hoping to join the CIA and live a life of luxury, you might be sorely disappointed. The reality, it seems, is far from what 007 and others have portrayed. In fact, you could find yourself driving a Prius, making an average salary, being deployed to warzones for months at a time, and wondering why your childhood dream of becoming the next 007 never saw the light of day.

A former Central Intelligence Case Officer has allowed the public a rare and authentic glimpse into his career, by inviting people online to ask him anything. Douglas Laux is the author of the memoir Left of Boom: How a Young CIA Case Officer Penetrated the Taliban and Al–Qaeda, and his Q&A clocked up more than 3,000 comments.

Bored Panda has put together the best questions and answers to set the record straight on what life in the CIA is really like. Spoiler alert: Hollywood has been lying to us.