- FBI agents must achieve undergraduate degrees and three years of work experience or graduate degrees and two years experience before proceeding to FBI training. FBI recruiters look for police officers, private investigators and military veterans to reduce training requirements. The agency actively recruits graduates in information technology, law and accounting to meet the nation's law enforcement needs into the twenty-first century. An agent should also be fluent in at least one language with Middle Eastern languages in high demand over the next generation.
- An entry-level FBI agent can earn up to $60,000 per year based on the General Schedule (GS) used for federal employees. New FBI agents enter as GS-10 due to the work experience, educational achievement and extensive training required for employment. Field office managers, supervisors and high level professionals can earn up to $131,000 at the GS-15 pay scale. These annual salaries do not include bonuses and benefits that accrue with each year of experience.
- An FBI agent must clear an extensive gauntlet of background checks, interviews and tests before heading into training. Once an applicant is accepted as an agent, he is sent to the FBI Academy located at a Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia. The FBI mandates 18 weeks of training for new agents to prepare them for field operations and other assignments depending on agency needs. Every agent has to take training in proper fitness, police science, defense techniques and firearms to follow the FBI's procedures once training is complete.
- The images of FBI agents in movies and television only represent a small portion of the agency's daily work. FBI agents are expected to peruse phone records, look through financial statements and conduct other administrative tasks to prepare cases against suspected criminals. Agents are also asked to conduct undercover operations and aid law enforcement officials in raids to capture criminals before they harm innocent people. The FBI uses its considerable resources to handle crimes ranging from cyber stalking to terrorism in conjunction with local enforcement officials.
- FBI agents should make every effort to meet with sheriff's deputies, police officers and other law enforcement professionals as they start their careers. The FBI works with local, county and state enforcement officials to share information necessary to fight crime. These relationships are integral to finding suspects, processing evidence and making effective cases to make sure justice is served in every case. An applicant to the FBI has to weigh the financial benefits and prestige of an agent position with the potential day-to-day hazards of the job. The FBI requires agents to work long hours in dangerous environments, conditions that can place strains on family life.
