Pursuing A Career In The FBI (FBI)

FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
This was my first stop on the career fair for the day. I was walking around the upper level looking at all the businesses and organizations present. Then my eye was caught by the FBI. The 3 letters everyone knows, this really sparked my interest. I love watching shows about the FBI and investigative television. Since my major is in political science I figured that maybe they would need lawyers or something or that sort in the FBI, so I decided to talk to them.
Once I introduced myself to the agent, we began to talk about him and what he does and his job as an FBI agent. Then I proceeded to ask “What kind of career in the FBI could I have with a political science major?” Tom told me that if I wanted to

get into the FBI with that major that there is a great need for lawyers who are able to speak a foreign language, and also be able to handle some big crime cases. When he said big cases he meant ones that would be nationally know. For example the Casey Anthony, OJ Simpson trials. He said with these big trials the lawyers in them tend to get very stressed by the media covering the trial, and also their job of being a lawyer doing a case. Tom said that their is surprisingly right now a big need for lawyers in the FBI especially with immigration becoming more and more of a controversial topic and becoming larger than it ever was. So he said that a major in political science is a great gateway door into the FBI and I would most likely find a job there.
After more talking and joking around I decided to ask Tom my 2nd question.

“What do you like about your job as an agent and why?” Tom had a great answer to this big question. He said that he loved how his job involved real problems of everyday and he was always out trying to protect Americans from these troubles. He added that it is a great job, because no two days are alike, so that even if you are researching a case he said you always learn new stuff and are kept on your toes. Tom said the job was stressful during many times, but once the outcome was a good one in your favor the rewards of happiness for you and the family or country were amazing and made all that stress worth it. The best thing he said was that he loved it so much because when you are doing something you love it is not a

job.
After that I asked Tom my 3rd question, “What really got you in to the FBI and having an interest in it.” Tom said that he went to school for a degree in criminology.

He later went to the police force for 12 years and then went to the FBI and has been there for 18 years now. Tom loved being a cop but he said it is also dangerous and he wanted a job where he could be on scene but also be able to just research things and get information about the problem. He said this job is also more family friendly, when he says that he means that it is not as dangerous and his family is not constantly worrying about him. He also does not have to travel a lot so he can spend time with his

family.
My 4th question for tom was, “What do you do in a regular setting?” Tom answered this very well he said he typically goes to work and researches the cases of the day and finds information on them, if he is doing a drug smuggling case once he gathers the intel he said he and other agents go out and try to stop it or figure out who is doing it. He said if you ever watch TV and see what an FBI agent does he said that is a actually a good representation.
My final question was, “What kind of skills are very good to have if you want to go into the FBI?” Tom said it is good to be a jack of all trades if you want to be an FBI agent. A couple huge ones are to be a good communicator orally and written. You must be able to read tons and comprehend and understand it. The biggest he said was being able to listen to what others say and correct them or catch them. Tom said as long as you can communicate well and listen and read you are all set and good to go, the rest you would later learn and pick up.
Overall I was very glad I went to the fair, I loved learning more about the FBI and talking to Tom. He was very knowledgeable and very easy to talk to and he answered all of my questions with detail. This is a company I will consider and look into because there are many positions and I have some of those traits that he talked about. This visit was a great help because it just showed that I have another door open in my future if I wanted to go into the FBI and my degree would really help me there. I was very glad I was able to talk to Tom and learn more about the FBI it was great information and also now it is a option I have for the future.