The FBI is one of America’s main defenses against a future terrorist attack. Over 36,000 employees are currently working to this end, employing everything from the latest technological resources to the finest human intelligence capabilities. The FBI also has seven other top priorities including protecting civil rights, ensuring cyber crimes and foreign intelligence operations are not carried out on U.S. soil, and combating public corruption as well as white-collar and violent crime.
The FBI was immediately involved in investing the greatest crime every perpetrated against the United States in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. This is for a variety of reasons, among them being that one of the highjacked flights, United Airlines Flight 93, took off from the Newark airport. The New Jersey division of the FBI had previously established a Joint Terrorism Task Force, and this featured prominently in the ensuing investigation.
The FBI’s regional headquarters are located in Newark, with additional satellite offices in Northfield, Somerset, Woodland Park, Red Bank, and Trenton.
How to Become an FBI Agent in New Jersey
There are a variety of career paths in the FBI. The prospective employee must begin by choosing between being a Special Agent or a specialized professional. There are several FBI requirements in New Jersey that are the same across the board, these are:
- U.S. Citizenship
- Through background check
- Eligible to receive an FBI security clearance
FBI Jobs in New Jersey: Special Agents
Careers as special agents involve teamwork and extensive special training. Some examples of Special Agents careers are:
- Computer Forensics: These agents comb through and salvage electronic evidence from a variety of electronic devices, ensuring it is presentable in court.
- Evidence Response Teams: The Newark Division has four ERTs consisting of 32 agents in total. Their primary duty is crime scene investigation, where they gather and analyze evidence in the form of DNA, blood splatter analysis, bullet trajectories, photographs, and act as crime scene archaeologists, finding the smallest and most minute pieces of possible evidence.
- SWAT Team: Technically Specialized Weapons and Tactics, SWAT Teams can basically get themselves into and out of any situation. Specialized training with shotguns, assault, and sniper rifles. The Newark Division’s SWAT Team also specializes in hostage situations.
The minimum requirements to be considered for a career as a Special Agent include:
- U.S. citizenship
- Being between the ages of 23 and 36, with some exceptions for military careers
- Having a 4-year college degree from an accredited education institution
- Two years of professional work experience
Specialized Professionals
Careers in the New Jersey FBI as specialized professionals are in high demand. Career requirements depend of the agent’s field of specialization, and usually include a combination of a university degree and field experience. Some career examples are:
- Intelligence Analyst: Dissect evidence from a wide variety of sources. Makes reports to local, state, and other federal law enforcement agencies. Uses a special knowledge of culture or language and works in a specific geographic location or region.
- Investigative Support and Surveillance: These specialists support counter-terrorism and foreign counter-intelligence operations. They conduct surveillance operations on specific targets clandestinely. Includes the use of the latest technology to capture conversations on video and audio, and to collect photographic images.
- Applied Science, Engineering, and Technology: Specialists with training in various fields, including biology, chemistry, cryptography, forensic science, mathematics, and software engineering.