John Douglas's Guide to Careers in the FBI [Paperback]

John E. Douglas (Author), Kaplan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1998 | Series: Kaplan John Douglas's Guide to Careers in the FBI

The FBI is more selective than Harvard. Overcome the odds with the help of this comprehensive guide from John Douglas, a former FBI profiler. Drawing on 25 years of solid FBI experience, Douglas gives you the inside track on everything you need to know to be a competitive FBI candidate, including:

details on the academic fields, professional skills, volunteer experiences, and personal attributes most highly regarded by FBI recruiters

former Special Agents' experiences and insights on the front lines

a detailed description of the application process from the written tests to the background check

Editorial Reviews

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One: Best Work In Law Enforcement

You are going to get a lot of just-the-facts-ma'am information in this book. You are also going to get a look at just what it's like to be a member of what I consider the finest investigative agency in the world. The information here comes from the Bureau itself and from the experts -- former FBI Special Agents.

This book differs from most career planning guides. This is about a passion that was my career for over 25 years and about what I consider to be the best work in law enforcement. Included are facts and solid advice to help you evaluate your edge as a competitive candidate for a career in the Federal Bureau of Investigvation, both in sworn positions and in the numerous professional positions tied to the FBI mission.

Even the most casual follower of current events is aware of the changes that have affected law enforcement since the September 11 attacks in 2001. The FBI now has an even more extraordinary presence overseas involving investigators, Evidence Response Teams, Bomb and Explosive Experts, and Forensic Scientists in both the physical and behavioral fields. Critical Incident Response Teams, Hostage Resuce and Swat Teams, Cyberspace Experts, and Language Specialists also make up the nuts and bolts of the FBI -- field investigators and analysts present only a glimpse at FBI opportunities. Just remember, the ever-changing mission, the fast pace, and the unbreakable camaraderie make the FBI a very gratifying career.

The Bureau has come a very long way since my Entered-on-Duty (EOD in Bureau-ese) in the late '60s. Then, the Bureau recruited only men for its Special Agent position, and it referred to other in-house professionals as "support staff." But the Bureau is a microcosm of society and has adjusted accordingly. The organization has made a large effort to change the composition of its workforce and to respect and recognize the contributions of all FBI personnel. In 1972, the Bureau began appointing women to agent positions, and they have been a vital presence ever since. Through the years, the Bureau has also changed with respect to technology and investigative response capability.

This book will give you insight into the extensive history behind the FBI. You will learn about the hierarcy within the organization, and read in detail about the myriad of task forces and programs the FBI takes part in every day. Each chapter is peppered with first-hand accounts of on-the-job experiences by former Special Agents.

You will then find out exactly what a career with the FBI entails, and precisely the types of candidates the Bureau looks for. We will walk together through the application process. By the time you have finished reading, I am sure you will have an idea whether or not a career with the FBI is right for you.

First-hand Accounts

Before we begin our adventure, I want you to read some of the first-hand stories from individuals I respect both personally and professionally. They are designed to assist you in honestly evaluating both the career and the application process. These people represent the heart and expertise of the FBI. Perhaps you will recognize yourself in their backgrounds and stories. Through their experiences, you will discover the range of opportunities available with the FBI and a "walk in my shoes" candor as presented in no other text. The FBI is clearly about making important contributions on a transnational stage. Many FBI colleagues have often said "where else can I get paid for doing this?"

I'm giving you their stories here for two reasons. First, you'll see a range of the career opportunities open to you as a Special Agent of the FBI. Second, I want you to get to know the men and women I interviewed, because they're the ones who are going to let you "walk in their shoes."

THE AUTHOR

Some of you might know my story already from reading Mindhunter. But for those of you who don't, here is the condensed version.

I grew up in Hempstead, Long Island. I never had any idea I'd become an FBI Agent; I didn't even know how to spell FBI. My big ambition was to be a veterinarian. For three summers while I was in high school, I went up to Ithaca, New York, and worked for the Cornell Extension Service. So while my buddies were out playing in the sun at Jones Beach, I was shoveling cow manure.

When it came time to apply for college, I sent off my scores and my grades to Cornell, and they wrote back a very nice letter thanking me for my interest and suggesting that maybe Cornell wasn't the right place for me. They said I might be better off at another fine academic institution: Montana State University.

So I packed up and headed out west to Montana, where the men are men and the sheep are nervous. I spent a few semesters there, diligently working on my extracurricular activities. When I bombed out of MSU, I went home to Long Island for a while, then joined the Air Force.

While I was in the Air Force, I finally started getting my act together. I did some volunteer work with mentally disabled kids, and found that to be tremendously rewarding. I was stationed in New Mexico then, and decided I'd get a degree in education. I started taking classes at Eastern New Mexico University, fondly referred to by its students and alumni as Enema U.

I'd met an FBI agent at the gym we both went to, and shortly after I got my degree, he suggested I apply to the Bureau. I still had no burning interest in law enforcement, but this guy seemed to be doing okay. He was making a nice salary, while I was scraping by and living in a basement apartment that was more like a glorified Roach Motel. So I applied, and I got in.

I fell in love with the work. After a few years in the Bureau, I ended up in the Behavioral Sciences unit, analyzing the "why" to develop ways of finding out the "who" behind the most brutal crimes. More and more, I kept thinking that we were missing something basic. We had all these ideas about criminal thinking, but they were really just speculation from the outside. I felt we needed to talk to the criminals themselves to get the real story. After all, they're the real experts.

Now, as you will read in Doug Rhoads's story, this was a time when the first thing a new agent was told was "Don't screw up." That fear of embarrassing the Bureau sometimes translated into a fear of trying anything new, so I had a hard time getting anyone to listen to me.

By 1978, I was giving classes with the Bureau's "road school" for police officers around the country. One day, a colleague and I were on the road in California. We had some time on our hands and I said, "Let's see if there's anyone we can talk to near here." There was: serial killer Ed Kemper.

Kemper was California's "Co-Ed Killer." Like most violent criminals, he'd had a troubled childhood. He never got along with his mother, who didn't like him because he looked like his father. His favorite game as a young child was to have his sister tie him up so he could pretend he was dying in a gas chamber. Later, he killed and mutilated the family's two cats. Finally, his mother sent him to live with his grandparents, who lived in northern California.

One day, when Ed was 14, he got irritated with his grandmother. He shot her and stabbed her over and over again with a kitchen knife. He figured his grandfather wouldn't be happy when he discovered what had happened, so Ed shot him too. Kemper told the cops, "I just wondered how it would feel to shoot Grandma." He was sent to a mental hospital, but released when he turned 21.

Kemper then went to live with his mother, who worked at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Not surprisingly, his relationship with her hadn't improved. The rage he felt toward her eventually was unleashed. Within two years, Kemper started killing again.

He quickly developed a simple but effective technique. He'd offer a ride to a young woman, kill her in the car, then take her home where he'd sexually assault the body and take photographs of it. Then he'd dump the body by the side of the road.

Kemper eventually killed six women, becoming bolder as he went along. As a condition of his release, he had to keep regular appointments with a state psychiatrist. He reported to one appointment with the head of a 15-year-old girl in the trunk of his car. That day, he was judged no longer a threat to society.

Finally, Kemper went for his real target. One Saturday night, he beat his mother to death with a hammer, decapitated the corpse and raped it. He cut out his mother's larynx and tossed it into the garbage disposal. But when he flipped the switch, the disposal threw the larynx back up at him. Kemper complained later, "Even after she was dead, she was still bitching at me. I couldn't get her to shut up."

The next morning, Kemper called a friend of his mother's and invited her over for lunch. When she arrived, he killed her and fled. Within days, he called police from the road and surrendered.

Kemper turned out to be the perfect guy to begin our interviews with. For one thing, he's very smart -- brilliant, really. And he has a lot of insight into himself and his crimes. I actually like Ed. Do I think this intelligent, sensitive man should be let out of prison, under any circumstances? Hell, no. He's dangerous, and he always will be.

Interviewing Kemper confirmed my theory: The criminals themselves had a lot to teach us. We continued our interviews and, with Ann Burgess, eventually wrote Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives. A few years later, we followed up with the Crime Classification Manual, which was the biggest portion of my thesis for my doctoral degree.

Eventually, profiling became accepted as a legitimate investigative technique, and even as a legal, valid way of linking violent crimes. By the time I retired from the Bureau in 1995, the profiling unit had contributed to the capture and prosecution of some of the nation's most dangerous criminals. And that's something I'll always be proud of.

Bruc... --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Kaplan Publishing; 684th edition (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684855046
• ISBN-13: 978-0684855042
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #578,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a realistic career guide  I've seen better., January 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: John Douglas's Guide to Careers in the FBI (Paperback)

If you want the history of the FBI you might be satisfied with this book, but for a career guide it's a big disappointment. Federal law enforcement aspirants need to know that the FBI isn't the only game in town, and that it's nearly impossible to compete with the countless thousands who apply each year. An outstanding book that covers 225 careers with more than 130 agencies - including the FBI - is "Guide to Careers in Federal Law Enforcement" by Thomas H. Ackerman. This book not only has details on FBI Special Agents, but also on FBI Fingerprint Examiners, Intelligence Specialists, Biologists, Chemists, Forensic Specialists, Document Analysts, and others. Ackerman even includes details on FBI Police Officers, who patrol the FBI Academy and Headquarters building, a position many job-seekers don't know exists. Most important, Ackerman's book covers prestigious careers with more than 130 other agencies that are virtually unknown to most job-seekers. If you need details on the history of the FBI and major cases solved, I recommend "The FBI" by Ronald Kessler. If you really want to serve in federal law enforcement as a special agent, police officer, intelligence specialist, communications technician, corrections officer, or in some other capacity, I recommend Ackerman's book.

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but I've seen better, December 26, 1998

By 

Mike Hoeflich ([e-mail]) (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: John Douglas's Guide to Careers in the FBI (Paperback)

I've read many books written about the FBI, but this doesn't impress me at all. For a John Douglas book, this is very disappointing. It gives you the basic knowledge that one might need to know for writing a paper on the topic but by no means is it worth the price. I've been able to obtain the same information that is in the book from official FBI publications including recruiting material and information found in the government section at your local library. I recommend "The FBI" by Ronald Kessler, not only does it tell you the entrance requirements for FBI Special Agents but also great stories about past cases and life at the FBI Academy. If you have money to burn than buy "The FBI". Otherwise just go to your closest FBI field office at talk with the Recruit Coordinator; he or she should be able to answer any questions you might have plus give you the material that you'll need.

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars John Douglas's Guide to Careers in the FBI, February 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: John Douglas's Guide to Careers in the FBI (Paperback)

I found the book informative in regards to history and examples from former and current agents. However, it did not prepare me for the application process. I actually think it hindered me, in that, I went into certain phases of the process with preconceived notions of what to expect. My expectations were WRONG. I did make it to Phase II before I floundered in the Bureau's eyes. I wish I had found something more informative in detail regarding each phase of the selection process.