Exploring the Career of an FBI Special Agent

This article explores the career of an FBI Special Agent, including the requirements, salary, and hiring process. It also delves into the roles and responsibilities of FBI Special Agents in different agencies.

Running head: CAREER PROJECT 1
Career Project
Name
Institution

CAREER PROJECT 2
Career Project
The specific job title I have selected to explore is the FBI Special agent. My choice is
purely based on passion having mustered unassailable interest in matters of crime investigation
and analysis.
The job of an FBI Special agent requires one to be equipped with special mental and
physical talents. The basic qualifications for this position is thus highly selective. It involves
attaining a number of plausible parameters. Each parameter is summarized as follows:
a. Age
Candidates that wish to join the FBI agency should be at least 23 years and younger than
37. However, veterans can be recruited even above 37 years.-
b. Education
Candidates must hold must be degree holders of a four year course from a university or
college. The institution has to be accredited by one of the governing bodies that is
recognized by the US secretary of Education. Candidates must have qualified in either of
the five FBI Special Agent Entry Programs that include: Accounting, Language,
Computer Science or IT, Law or diversified. Critical skills will be an added advantage.
Critical skills will include
c. Physicality
Candidates vetted in should pass through a fitness assessment test. Precisely, this will be
1.5 mile run, a 300 Meters sprint, press ups and push ups.
d. Training
The candidates must be ready to undertake a vigorous training session and this should be
expressed by his desire for physical exercises.

CAREER PROJECT 3
e. Experience-
Candidates must have at least three years of professional work in criminal justice directly
related field.
f. Other qualifications
The candidate has to be a United States citizen or a citizen of Northern Mariana, the
candidate must also be in possession of a valid driving license. Knowledge of the English
language can also be considered when choosing the most qualified persons.
There is a total of at least 13,500 personnel currently employed in the United States in the
position of FBI Special agent. Men take a large share of gender representation with the ratio of
men to women approximately standing at 10.8:2.7. There were a total of 10,800 men employed
as FBI Special agents compared to women at about 2,700 (Statista, 2016).
The starting salary of the FBI Special agent job is at $43,441 per year, which is also what
GS-10 employees are given (FBI Agent Edu, n.d.). There is an additional Quantico, VA COLA
adjustment approximately $7,602 for the year. However, the salary increases with more
experience in the field. Such may attain a pay grade at the level of GS-13 which pays between
$71674 and $93175. One can also be promoted to GS-14 with a pay range of 84697 and 110104
or GS-15 –with a pay range of $99628 and $129517- upon obtaining a management, executive or
supervisory position (FBI Agent Edu, n.d.).
The hiring process of FBI Special agents starts at the application phase. One wishing to
become an FBI Special agent has to make an online application. The applications will be
reviewed and the qualified will proceed to undertake two testing phases. Even experienced
personnel wishing to become agents may be required to go through these phases. The first phase
will involve a number of written tests. Passing to the second will see one subjected to a writing

CAREER PROJECT 4
test and an in-person interview before a panel of FBI Special agents (FBI Agent Edu, n.d.). Upon
passing the second phase, the applicant will be granted a conditional letter of appointment which
is, ideally, a conditional job offer. The final passage will be the applicant being subjected to a
thorough FBI background check, which includes a physical fitness test and, eventually, a medical
examination (FBI Agent Edu, n.d.). Only those applicants who have passed all of the
aforementioned phases of the application process are booked for training at the FBI Academy
situate in Quantico,
The FBI Special agents are divided throughout five major agencies or divisions:
counterterrorism, intelligence, counterintelligence, cyber and criminal. A person who works as a
FBI Special agent has a number of roles and responsibilities which may vary respective to which
department he or she takes. Generally, this group of persons are tasked with the investigation of
cases –depending on which agency one works for- and capturing, searching and arresting
criminals, which may call for undercover work, analyzing and evaluating criminal cases (FBI
Agent Edu, n.d.). FBI special agents can also testify before a court as witnesses on a matter they
have investigated and gathered evidence. On a wider front, the mission of FBI Special agents is
to protect and defend the US against foreign intelligence and terrorists.

CAREER PROJECT 5
References
FBI Agent Edu. (n.d.). FBI Special Agent careers. Retrieved from
https://www.fbiagentedu.org/careers/fbi-special-agent/
FBI Agent Edu. (n.d.). FBI requirements. Retrieved from https://www.fbiagentedu.org/fbi-
requirements/
Statista. (2016). Number of Federal Bureau of Investigation employees in 2015, by role and
gender. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/745497/number-of-fbi-
employees-by-gender/