The Career Center hosted an informative session on careers in the FBI on Thursday.
Special Agent Gwen A. Buckley has worked for the FBI for 26 years and gave a lecture on the mission of the FBI, their history and how students can apply.
The FBI has 56 field offices, 400 satellite office, 61 foreign language liaison posts, lab services along with their headquarters in Quantico, Va.
Students can apply online for a position as a special agent, professional staff member, linguist or an internship. All applicants must go through a top-secret background investigation consisting of a polygraph test, urinalysis and medical exam. Buckley said the polygraph is the most critical.
“More than 50 percent of applicants don’t pass the polygraph,” Buckley said. “If you are unsure of whether or not you fall within our guidelines and policies it is best to wait until you are sure you do.”
According to the FBI policies on illegal drug use, the applicant can not have used marijuana in the last three years and can not have used any other illegal drugs in the last 10.
“There was one applicant that was unsure of the last time he used marijuana,” Buckley said. “He knew it was in the summer several years ago but he couldn’t remember the month.”
If the applicant passes the tests they are then submitted to a 10-year background investigation. This investigation includes questions on past residences, employment and education.
Students looking for an internship must be a junior or senior that is not graduating before the internship is set to begin. The student must also have a 3.0 to 4.0 GPA and apply online. The FBI only accepts applications for their 10-week summer internship during a three-week period in October.
Two jobs open for public application as a job are intelligence analysts and special agents. Once the applicant is accepted they spend 19 weeks at FBI Academy in Quantico where they focus on academics, firearm, physical and defensive training.
A variety of students attended the event including Marybeth Rice, a junior, who is interested in joining the Bureau as a member of the Behavior Analysis Unit. Rice is a criminal justice major with a minor in psychology.
“I’m interested in a field that will never run out of demand,” Rice said.
Rice said she thought the session was helpful.
“It gave the reality of the FBI,” Rice said. “A lot of perceptions of the FBI are probably a lot different than what we heard today.”
Jacob Newmister, also a junior, attended the event as well.
“A job at the FBI would be a lot more fun than sitting behind a computer all day,” Newmister said.
For more information on applying for a job or internship with the FBI visit www.fbijobs.gov.
