Special Agent – Linguists/Foreign Language Background – FBI

FBI Special Agents apply their professional expertise and unique skill sets to their work every day. Many have foreign language/linguistics backgrounds and use them to interview victims, translate during a suspect interrogation or testify in court. Language skills and cultural knowledge, specifically in Arabic, Bosnian, Chinese, Farsi, Russian, Somali, Uzbek, Korean or another language are highly sought after by the FBI. All applicants must pass the FBI’s Foreign Language Test Battery.

Duties

You can expect continued specialized training once onboard and opportunities to work on some of the Bureau’s most complex cases. The scope and scale of our investigations provide unique challenges unlike anything you could work on in the private sector. Your ultimate mission: to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution of the United States. Being a Special Agent can be a lifelong career of uncommon days and amazing experiences.

Valued skills that can help you succeed at the FBI:

• BA/BS degree (preferably in linguistics or language).
• Written and verbal proficiency in a language or languages other than English and the ability to communicate clearly in English with colleagues both internally and externally.
• Native/fluent experience in a particular language and culture.

In addition:

• Exceptional problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Be detail-oriented, yet able to keep a strategic focus.
• Ability to objectively evaluate information and make sound judgments.
• Honesty and integrity must be the foundation of who you are.
• The drive and commitment to make a difference in the communities you serve.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Adhere to strict standards of conduct.
• Undergo a rigorous background investigation, credit checks and a polygraph in order to obtain a Top Secret Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) Clearance.
• Pass a Physical Fitness Test (PFT); must be physically fit to complete training at the FBI Academy at Quantico, VA, and maintain a high level of fitness throughout your career.
• Pass a medical exam, which includes, but is not limited to, meeting visual and hearing standards.
• Successfully complete approximately 19 weeks of employment as a Special Agent trainee while housed at the FBI Academy at Quantico.
• Upon graduation from the FBI Academy, be available to transfer to one of the FBI’s 56 Field Offices, including San Juan, Puerto Rico or remote resident agencies (satellite offices) to meet the needs of the FBI. Special Agents rarely return to their processing office. Applicants should ensure that their families are prepared for and support this move.
• Throughout your career, be available for temporary duty assignments anywhere in the world, on either a temporary or a long-term basis.
• Work a minimum of a 50-hour workweek, which may include irregular hours, and be on-call 24/7, including holidays and weekends.
• Be willing and able to participate in arrests, execute search warrants, raids and similar assignments.

For more information on eligibility requirements see: https://fbijobs.gov/working-at-FBI/eligibility.

Link to original posting: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/463485800