As Agent Marshall Muse beats up the boxing dummy, his eyes water with tears after his eyes had been drenched with pepper spray. Little did Muse know, there was worse to come. Muse had spent two years prior to being in the FBI working in environmental science after majoring in it for four years at the University of Colorado. After seeing the FBI on usajobs.org, he thought it “looked like a pretty cool job,” Muse said.
Passing the background investigation, candidates receive orders to report to the FBI academy in Quantico, Virginia. The basic field training course involves 21 weeks of mental and physical training in residence at the FBI academy, and graduation based on successful completion of coursework and suitability requirements.
“I trained in Virginia, then later got to go to some neat places such as Canada, Fiji, Spain, and the Netherlands,” Muse told Titans at a Titan Center career talk on Jan. 17.
Muse is in the organized crimes squad, focusing mainly on groups like the mafia, and he deals with crimes like drug trafficking, migrant smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering, and firearms trafficking.
To be a special agent like Muse, applicants need to be between 23 and 36 years old, pass the FBI’s physical fitness test, and be willing to live and work anywhere in the FBI’s global jurisdiction. They also must have at least two years of full time work experience.
“I recommend you get a degree in accounting, finance, law, or some sort of science you can easily pursue a career in,” Muse said.
Special agents can join specialized teams such as the hostage rescue team, which has deployed more than 850 incidents involving terrorism, violent crimes, and foreign counterintelligence with missions involving hostage rescue, barricaded subjects, and undercover operations.
The FBI also has Lab Services and Operational Technologies, such as the evidence response teams, terrorist explosive device analytical center, and hazardous evidence response teams.
Students such as junior Carly Ackerman have a huge interest in working at the FBI. “Personally, I am interested in lab work. There’s the large forensics labs at Quantico, and that’s where I’m interested in working, or as a field forensics scientist who helps collect and log evidence from crime scenes.” She plans to get a job at a research facility before applying there.
In coming weeks, the Titan Center will host more career speaker presentations such as a registered nurse on Jan. 31, a district attorney on Feb. 7, and a psychologist on Feb. 14.