Looking for an FBI career, advice?

You will have to pass a military physical, usually performed at the nearest military base. Then it is required every year while in service. German was the language to know during the cold war. Now, the language to have is some form of arabic. Good luck with your goals.
 
Actually, FBI prehire physicals are rarely performed at a mlitary base. Generally, a local contractor is used. Most often it will be some type of local clinic that does the same for local PD's, companies, workman's comp cases, etc. A "work & wellness" clinic of some sort. Often, several government agencies will contract with the same clinic and they do physicals for several of them. Once you are onboard, you receive continuing physicals, but not every year, at least until you reach a certain age.

Excercise induced asthma could prevent you from being hired by the Bureau. It depends on the severity and the doctor's opinion. You absolutely WILL need documentation from your current Doc on your asthma and limitations. What you have to keep in mind is that the 2-mile run is simply a minimal that is used for the PT test. Even then, it is performed at the end of all of the other PT test events, so you will already be winded. At Quantico, you will participate in runs that range from 2 miles to 8 miles or more. You should expect run at least one 6k as a minimum. Additionally, on many of the runs you will stop every so often and do various exercises such as push-ups (regular, knuckle, fingertip, front leaning rest, etc), sit-ups, leg lifts, etc. PT is NEVER JUST a couple of miles on the track.

I'm not trying to discourage you. You should realize, however, that it will be an issue you have to face. Get as much documentation as you can and train and medicate (under a doctor's care, of course) to get the most out of your aerobic exercise periods. The upside is that you should know pretty early in the process if it is going to DQ you.
Gonzo
 
I was an FBI agent for about 6 yr, went in when I was 35. Physical fitness was very important for the Academy, then not important unless you were SWAT. qualifications widely varied. I had the law degree but I will say management is not fond of reasoned arguement. Accounting is important in any fraud investigation. Languages would be a big plus,(but takes time to learn well-study overseas in college) especially for counter intelligence as well as for investigations into various immigrant groups. The FBI can tell you what they like. Computer skills continue to grow in importance.

The biggest drawback to the FBI was management. They are the in group and are coddled. Suck ups get into management. Everyone else is a target for random harassment, even the best investigators. There is no civil service protection. Management has, and will, skew investigations to its peculiar desires and punish those who follow the evidence. Racial discrimination is practiced according to the race of the supervisor.

The FBI has tremendous influence/control of the Justice Department. Complaints about the FBI are no handled by the Inspector General of Justice but by the FBI itself. The complaining employee is generally punished. Consider other law informent agencies. ATF, DEA, ICE, Customs, US Marshalls, NSA, EPA, etc. All get comparable training. The FBI has the widest range of investigative jurisdiction but many are minor/forgotten areas. Many other agencies have civil service protection, better office set up, and less arrogance.
 
I would echo everything Tiberius2 said, but I would add that I do think the Bureau is a good agency to work for, but no better than ATF, DEA, ICE, USSS, etc. Know what you are getting into. Work varies GREATLY from office to office. Working for FBI New York (in NYC) is almost a different world from working for FBI Boise. Same agency but different worlds.

And, as he stated, fitness is extremely important at Quantico, but lags tremendously in the field. You have to want to do it for yourself, not for the agency.

Gonzo
 
I'm thinking about customs myself. That E7 I mentioned hates the FBI. He also laughed way too hard at that video of the DEA agent shooting himself with a Glock in a classroom demonstration, not a lot of love to spread around the alphabet soup :)
 
Everything Tiberius said will be echoed by every agent you meet (with the exception of management wannabes). Given that you're looking for a long term career, you might instead look at what jobs within the FBI interest you, but plan on doing them for another agency/company.

Also, don't get hung up on wanting to do the same thing for 35-40 years. There is no reason why you can't do one thing and then switch to something different down the road.

If you really want to be in LE, the asthma issue is going to be tough. My family doctor had diagnosed me with asthma as a young child. Somehow it got posted on my school transcripts, and believe me it got noticed. I didn't have any health issues, but I was sweating it for a while.
 
Have you thought about the FPS, or Federal Protective Service? You would start out probably on patrol in a squad car, but you would get a foot in the door for higher level jobs. If your asthma can deal with the physical part of the job, I think you could rise up the ranks. From what I've seen, you're a smart guy, and could play the system. It all depends on how you play the cards you're dealt. I'm a go-getter at my job, but I operate under the radar, even though that changed recently, for the better at least.

Oh yeah, the FPS are the ones who really protect the gummint offices, not the contractor security guards, although the ones in my building are good people.
 
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