Yeah, being an immigration worker would actually be kind of interesting and fun in a way, if you liked people. You get to meet a bunch of new visitors to the US, be the first contact they have on arrival, etc. I know in other countries (middle east, asia), it's a highly sought after job, and has relatively high status and decent benefits, if not high pay.
Customs, however, would be hell -- essentially on the front lines of the war on drugs and maybe terrorism in some cases (although I guess immigration is relevant to terrorism in limited cases too). Customs people tend to also be more corrupt in many countries.
> Customs people tend to also be more corrupt in many countries.
Ha! I was flying from a East European country. At the Customs at the airport someone was stopped over something they couldn't bring in. I overheard him tell the customs officer "hey let's step over to the side and 'figure this out'". 'Figure this out' is euphemism for "I'll pay you some money or drop some names and you'll let me in".
I remember hearing from someone I know intimately of an awesome deal worked out where someone could hypothetically "steal" his own packages from the airside of an airport, for $20, to bypass months of customs impound (no duty was payable, including the 5% reconstruction levy, since the actual items were going to exempt parties such as the national government).
Customs, however, would be hell -- essentially on the front lines of the war on drugs and maybe terrorism in some cases (although I guess immigration is relevant to terrorism in limited cases too). Customs people tend to also be more corrupt in many countries.