FBI Agent Job Overview:
Requirements, Salary & Responsibilities

The job of a FBI agent is very demanding and stressful. It deals with investigations of criminals and protecting the economy from terrorists. It can be dangerous and requires a lot of patience as well as a great deal of will power. Being a FBI agent is no easy task and one hardly gets any personal time. Becase of this, there are very specific FBI agent requirements.

However, you can definitely do well if you like to serve the public and are determined to face obstacles. An FBI special agent can be assigned with special tasks and investigation. They might also have to do undercover operations for which they get special training.

The training of an FBI special agent depends upon the assignments they get. FBI special agent requirements are the same as FBI agent requirements. FBI special agents are assigned specific units of investigation. They also have to undergo a special training of 16 weeks after recruitment.

They might also have to go through more training in future depending upon their assignments. How does one become an FBI agent? Well, there are strict rules and regulations that must be followed during the recruitment process. Let’s have a look.

FBI Agent Requirements
One needs to qualify in all the rounds. The FBI agent requirements are as follows:

• The minimum age requirement is 23 years.
• The applicant must be a citizen of America.
• He must possess a four year bachelor’s degree from any college or academy, officially recognized by one of the regional or national institutions authorized by the United States Secretary of Education.
• He must have minimum three years of work experience and a valid driving license.

The applicants must qualify under any one of the special agent entry programs:

• Diversified
• Law
• Computer Science/Information Technology
• Accounting
• Language

After qualifying in any one of the special agent entry programs, the applicants will be tested for their critical skills. The critical skills can be one of the following:

• Diversified Experience
• Computer Science/Information Technology Expertise
• Engineering Expertise
• Intelligence Experience
• Accounting
• Finance
• Military Experience
• Law Enforcement/Investigative Experience
• Foreign Language(s) Proficiency

These critical skills are necessary for surviving the abstruse way of working for the FBI. Candidates who possess more than one of the above mentioned skills will be given preference.The next step in the recruitment of an FBI agent is the physical requirements.The candidates who qualify in the critical skills has to undergo testing which will prove they are physically fit to be a special agent.The test that will be taken as follows:

• The cadet would have to run for about a mile and a half and the assessment would be done by setting a timer.
• He/She would have to do push ups according to his capacity (timer would not be used in this case).
• He/She would also have to compete for 300 meter sprint.
• He/She would have to do a maximum number of sit-ups.

The cadet has to pass in each one of these tests to meet the physical requirements laid down by FBI. Another physical test will be conducted during the training session, after the candidates have been selected. After the physical test, all the applicants have to go through a background investigation, which is one of the important FBI agent requirements. It is a crucial part of the recruitment process. The candidates will receive a conditional offer letter before the background investigation. It is necessary to pass this round in order to join the FBI. This investigation consists of credit and record checks, test for illegal drugs, polygraph test, interviews with neighbors, friends and colleagues.

Disqualifications
There are certain FBI disqualifiers the applicants should be aware of if cahe or she is in serious pursuit of career opportunity.

• Failing in the urine analysis drug test conducted by the FBI.
• Use of illegal drugs (it is a breach of the FBI Employment Drug Policy).
• Involvement in a major crime ( it is a felony).
• If not registered with the Selective Service System (U.S. Government registers the names and addresses of men between 18-25 years in case of emergency expansion of army). This point only applies to the male candidates.

These are the FBI agent requirements. You have to qualify in all the tests conducted, for a successful recruitment in the FBI. If you wish to serve the public and know you have the potential, then you can definitely be an FBI agent.