Would I stand a better chance at an FBI/Government Job if I were to Major in Psychology, or Criminal Justice?

Long considered the province of lawyers and accountants, today's FBI has opportunities for men and women with a variety of educational backgrounds.

History

For many years, the popular perception of the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been that its special agents came from two backgrounds: law and accounting. Although many of the bureau's special agents have law or accounting degrees, today's FBI has many opportunities available for men and women from varied educational backgrounds.

Requirements

An applicant for a special agent position in the FBI must be 23 to 36 years of age and a U.S. citizen, and have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. The FBI also requires at least three years of work experience. In addition, applicants must qualify under one of the FBI's five entry programs for special agents: accounting, law, computer science, language and diversified.

Accounting Program

To qualify under the accounting program, an applicant must have a bachelor's degree in accounting and be eligible to take the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) examination.

Law Program

To qualify under the FBI's law program, applicants must hold a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school. The J.D. is the basic law degree. Most law schools require a three-year course of study to receive a J.D.

Computer Science Program

To qualify under this program, applicants must have a bachelor's degree in a computer science or information technology field, or in electrical engineering.

Language Program

Special agent applicants who wish to qualify under the language program must have a bachelor's degree in any field, plus demonstrated competency in a language that meets the FBI's needs. The FBI requires language program applicants to pass a language proficiency exam.

Diversified Program

The diversified program requires applicants to have a bachelor's degree in any area, plus three years of work experience. Applicants with an advanced degree plus two years of work experience may qualify as well. Once applicants qualify in one of the five entry programs, the FBI prioritizes them based on its need for particular skills.

Read more: Education Needed for an FBI Agent | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_4796715_education-needed...

FBI Agent

The Federal Government upholds a strong reputation in most departments of law enforcement. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents are the Government’s primary researchers, accountable for investigating infringement of over 260 statutes and performing susceptible national security investigations. Agents observe court-authorized wiretaps, participate in sensitive undercover assignments, track the interstate movement of stolen property, perform surveillance, examine business records, investigate white-collar crime, and collect evidence of espionage activities. The FBI conducts investigations concerning public corruption, drug trafficking, fraud against the government, terrorism, organized crime, interstate criminal activity, bribery, copyright infringement, civil rights violations, bank robbery, extortion, kidnapping, financial crime, air piracy, espionage, and other infringements of Federal laws.

To work as an FBI agent, you must hold a bachelor’s degree and a minimum of three years of full-time, correlated job experience. If you want to work in FBI law enforcement, it is helpful to have Experience in law, law enforcement, or in the military. Experience in a financial field is helpful for those who want to work with fraud or financial crime.

Before working for the FBI, candidates have to pass medical and physical examinations, an oral and written examination, an extensive background investigation, and a psychological assessment. In addition, candidates have to fall between the ages of 23 and 36 years at the time of application.

What is the FBI looking for in its applicants?

The FBI is interested in candidates possessing bachelor’s or master’s degrees in engineering/science, foreign languages, accounting/finance, or in criminal justice-related areas. Presently, the FBI only admits applications for candidates who possess at least one of the following skills:

Accounting/Finance Experience (Accounting/Finance Degree/CPA/or at least 2 years relative work experience)

Computer Science Experience or other Information Technology specialties

Engineering Experience

Fluent in a Foreign Language (Arabic, Farsi, Pashtu, Urdu, Chinese [all dialects], Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese)

Law Enforcement or other Investigative Experience

Law Experience

Military Experience

Physical Science Experience (such as physics, chemistry, biology, etc.)

What kind of training will I need in order to become an FBI agent?

Initially, a bachelor’s and/or master’s degree in your area of specialty is needed. In addition, two-to-three years of work experience is mandated. Numerous FBI agents also possess graduate degrees in law (JD). Following acceptance into the FBI, 17 weeks of training is completed at the FBI academy on the US Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia.