Criminal Justice Career - Essay Example

Ensuring that I attain high marks in my final year at UCF remains one of the most important things to me to achieve my objective of becoming a Special Agent in future. The courses I pursue at UCF will leverage my selection as an FBI Special Agent because FBI recruits on the grounds of certain critical skills, which I have so far covered in my university coursework. FBI requires all Special Agent position applicants to first qualify for one of their entry program, which include accounting, language, law, diversified and computer science or information technology.

A Special Agent, often referred to as a criminal investigator or detective, gathers facts and assemble evidence pertaining to the intent of ascertaining whether violations of local, or federal laws has occurred in connection to a case in question. No archetypal day exists for an FBI Special Agent because each day has its unique course. Today, an Agent may be testifying against a criminal in a federal court and the following morning he may be engaged in collecting evidence from the field, making arrests, contacting an informant or doing some paperwork among other activities.

There are numerous types of crimes such as Intelligence, Criminal, Counterintelligence, and Counterterrorism among others. As such, an individual aspiring to be an FBI Special Agent may choose which one to specialize in. Special Agents are usually employed full-time and it is very rare to find part-time employment opportunities in this field. Those who have been in the field with vast experience usually get favorable working hours than new recruits who are usually assigned night duties and even weekends as well as holidays.

The profession is highly risky, especially because Special Agents deal with criminals who may attack them in one way or another causing bodily harm and even death in extreme cases. Therefore, it is usually imperative to follow recommended procedures when working in order to reduce risk exposure. Special Agent job is a physical and stressful. You are always oblivious of what dangers you might encounter in the line of duty. Nevertheless, Special Agents are trained on how to handle such occurrences, which makes them fit to creatively deal with any situation.

In order to become a Special Agent, many people usually serve as police officers before joining the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) as Special Agents. The minimum education requirement for the job is a high school diploma with some law enforcement agencies requiring college or degree certificates, for example, an FBI Special Agent must possess a degree coupled with at least three years work experience. An applicant for the position of a Special Agent must be 23 years old, but less than 37 years.

Passing physical test as well as background assessment, including polygraph, is mandatory for one to qualify for the job of a Special Agent. After recruitment process, the selected individuals are taken to a training academy, which could be regional or agency-owned. One then commences his or her on-the-job training after graduation from the academy. Besides educational requirements, one must have good problem-solving skills, good judgment as well as excellent communication skills. Good communication skill is essential in interacting with peers as well as suspects (U.S. Department of Justice, n.d). One