Career Services Explores FBI Opportunities

by Emilie Jenson, Public Information Office
Posted on 8/24/2023

To the outsider, working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation may seem like a career that only a select few professionals with advanced degrees in forensics or criminal justice will attain.

The FBI’s Omaha Field Office recently hosted an event to assist collegiate career service representatives by giving them an inside look at FBI operations and educate them on how to let graduates of their institutions know that a career with the bureau is within reach.

Eric Oberg, director of Career Services at Iowa Central Community College recently attended the FBI’s 2023 Collegiate Career Services Day where he got an inside look at FBI operations with 30 other representatives from schools around the Midwest.

The day was a mixture of hands-on sessions where attendees met with a crew of evidence technicians, an FBI SWAT Team, a bomb squad and got an inside look at the gun vault along with a tour of the facility. It included presentations, demonstrations and discussions outlining the FBI’s investigative priorities and the many career opportunities within the FBI.

Oberg attended learning sessions on black light tracing and evidence processing and toured SWAT vehicles in addition to hearing about job opportunities and the degree requirements for working with the FBI.

“We learned about what qualifies you for certain positions like a special agent or investigator, but there is so much more to working for the FBI than just those positions,” Oberg said. “They are open to applicants with a lot of different majors, they have employees with everything from psychology and history degrees to people with military backgrounds.”

Oberg said FBI jobs are possible in a variety of career programs and majors offered at Iowa Central.

“There are so many opportunities that exist,” he said. “Electricians, mechanics, human resource specialists, accountants, IT specialists, social workers, photographers; jobs that most people don’t usually associate with the FBI.”

Oberg was impressed with how attainable an FBI career can be.

“You can be on a SWAT Team with a two-year degree,” he said. “So many jobs we train for at Iowa Central are jobs they are hiring for at the FBI; many of their own never envisioned themselves having careers there, I was surprised at how possible it really is.”

Oberg said the learning experience provided knowledge for career paths he can now pass on to Iowa Central students and graduates who are seeking employment.

“This was an opportunity that has allowed me to show our students that they can work for agencies like the FBI and achieve more than they every thought they could.”