FBI agent

Being an FBI agent is one of the most respected yet secretive positions. People often wonder what goes on at the J. Edgar Hoover building in Washington D.C.. The FBI agency currently has 33, 852 employees and 13,412 are special agents. Being excepted into a place as secretive as the Federal Bureau takes a substancial amount of work.

FBI Special Agent

When applying for a job at the FBI, the applicant is required to take a top security clearance. Making sure that the person checks out and is not coming in with wrong intentions. Special agent candidates have to pass a physical fitness test. They have to run a 300 meter dash, 1 minute sit-ups, maximum push-ups and a 1.5 mile run. After the fitness test is passed the applicant is hooked up to a polygraph test.

If the agent is able to pass the security clearance, physical test and polygraph test they are able to sign the non-disclosure agreement. After the agent is cleared they enter into the FBI academy for 20 weeks as a student. In the academy they will recieve 500 classroom hours and 1,000 law enforcement hours. It is long and taxing but once finished the agent is able to go any where in the world.

Most of the time FBI special agents are unaware of where they will be placed. The Bureau usually places agents where their skills will be utilized the most. Now the fun begins.

Each day is different then the next. One day you could be in a courtroom and the next you could be working on a terrorism plot. Each person in the agency has a different experience then the other.

College courses that help

There is no specific degree that is used to get into the FBI. There is courses, however, that help to give you an edge when qualifing for the FBI. Taking classes in the criminal justice field is always smart. Students are able to get a better grasp on law and official ranks. Computer forensics is a course that is good for a niche in the agency. Forensic science is good to know when going into the FBI field. You may not be using it all the time but if you are the best in that field the agency will recognize you for it. Criminal investigator, gives people a well rounded edge. Investigators have to know a little of everything, from laws to forensics.

Those are just few classes to give you an idea. Some times it helps to check online colleges to give you a better perspective.

Being an FBI agent is a rewarding career. It may take 4 years of college and 20 weeks of blood and sweat in the academy but once you have made it you never want to look back.