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Police Officer to FBI

I am interested in entering the Police academy then working towards becoming a FBI Agent, what are the abilities & capabilities in order to get a head start into reaching my goal?

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Mark Francis’s Answer

Hello Ronald. The end goal is becoming an employee of the FBI so diligently study the officially documented prerequisites (which change a bit periodically) listed on their official recruitment website and align all you do aimed on meeting exactly those, Although starting out as a police officer (that’s what I did) is a way to become a federal law enforcement official, it is not the only way. Other paths (arguably better) are to acquire professional experience in other careers such as in banking, IT, accounting, real estate, cyber security, digital currencies/blockchain, and in-demand foreign languages such as Chinese, Russian, Farsi, etc. The recruitment site will explain all this. Also, I would not discount applying for other “1811” positions in other federal law enforcement agencies instead of just with state/county/municipal police agencies as acquiring employment with the federal government more sooner than later would give you an opportunity to get vested sooner in the federal law enforcement retirement plan. From there, you could still apply to the FBI or might even discover that you would like to stay in the agency that hired you. Hope that helps. All the best. Mark
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Joe’s Answer

Hi Ronald- Here is my small piece of advice? Many, many FBI employees started their careers in the USMC. The training academies for both are both located in the same place (Quantico, VA).
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Robert’s Answer

Get your four-year degree (All Fed positions and some cities and states) require a four-year degree. Do not get a degree in Criminal Justice but social studies or phycology. You can get on a PD and work school around your schedule but it'll take a bit longer and it'll be rough.
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Ann’s Answer

Hi Ronald! You can start in the police force and eventually apply for the FBI, but you do not need to be a police officer to become and FBI agent. The FBI provide their own training program, and they are usually looking for people from various backgrounds like Criminal Justice, Psychology and Computer Science. You need a Bachelor's degree and 2 years work experience.

If you are interested in starting in the police force first, I recommend starting with a Bachelor's degree, applying for the police force and sticking with it for at least 2 years and then applying for the FBI.

Here is a link to the FBI Special Agent job description for more info. Good luck! https://www.fbijobs.gov/special-agents
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Nick’s Answer

That is a career path that my brother in law adopted
He worked in the police force in Northern California & then applied to the FBI & was accepted into the Behavioral Sciences group that has become very popular & necessary over the past 30+ years.
Before he retired from the FBI he was involved in multiple high profile serial killer cases in the country & was often called into the criminal trial process as an expert witness
Once he retired from the FBI he set up his own consulting company as a Profiler & because of his FBI reputation he was called into on-going criminal investigations both within & outside the USA.
He even was approached in retirement to create a television series about serial killer cases that he had worked on during his FBI career & about cases he was consulted on while in retirement
His career path was definitely unique but because he wasnt complacent about learning the underlying technology in profiling as it evolved during his career at the FBI he was able to take career further into retirement
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