The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is in the process of recruiting students across the country through the Federal Student Work Experience Program, which uses positions in the federal government to give high school, college and university students valuable employment experience before graduation.

The CBSA says it has a total of 471 Student Border Services Officer (SBSO) positions from Vancouver to St. John's and cities everywhere in between, including Montreal, Dorval and Quebec City.

According to the job posting, SBSOs perform many of the same duties as regular border cops (whose practices, recent reports suggest, are rife with racism and prejudice), from scrutinizing travel documents and customs declarations to interviewing travellers, "[identifying] people and goods that pose a threat to Canada" and helping to make decisions about who gets to exit the airport or pass across the settler-imposed land border.

And no, the CBSA will not be arming students.

The listed pay range is $16 to $34.59 per hour for a four-month employment term, from May to August 2023.

Prospective applicants need to be of the age of majority in their province (either 18 or 19), enrolled in accredited post-secondary institutions (sorry, high school students) and plan to return to full-time studies in the fall 2023 term.

The CBSA says it may also give preference to students in "criminology, law, safety/security studies, psychology, sociology, customs border service or police studies."

Successful applicants will need to obtain a security clearance and, in some cases, possess a driver's license. The agency suggests overtime and a variable work schedule are also part of the job.

Applications close September 29, 2022.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.