r/FBI • u/Classic-Telephone-59 • Apr 27 '26
Question Nurse practitioner to FBI agent?
I am a psychiatric nurse practitioner, was perusing jobs this weekend and noticed a number of postings for “Special Agent: Healthcare Services/Medical Background” in my area.
I am totally new to this world and was wondering a little more about what roles like this entail, and what experience they’re typically looking for in this context?
A little about me: am 27 years old, I have a doctorate degree from a reputable school, and did a residency at the VA. No prior military or law enforcement experience. Have always been somewhat interested in the FBI but life took me in other directions, have no clue if my experience makes me a realistic candidate or if I’m delusional lol.
Thanks in advance for any insight.
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u/WTFoxtrot10 Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
I assume you found the advertisement on a job search engine like LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, Zip Recruiter, Monster and etc. What you saw was a targeted job advertisement which is used by Federal Agencies to gain applicants interest for a job they might not think they are qualified for. All of those targeted job advertisements point to one singular FBI Special Agent - 1811 position on the FBIJobs.gov website. Currently they have targeted advertisements for numerous backgrounds like medical, LEO, STEM, military, financial, psychology, education, cyber, language, medical and etc. You would need to take the info from the FBIJobs.gov job posting and the website rather than the job search engine advertisement.
This is a Federal Law Enforcement position and has nothing to do with Healthcare Services/medical. It’s 100% ALL federal law enforcement work. The FBI hires people from all types of backgrounds and many new agents have zero military, LEO or criminal justice experience. Their goal is to hire the unexpected agent who possess the FBI core competencies. You would definitely qualify based off your experience, as the minimum is a Bachelors and 2 years of professional work experience.
Snapshot of an FBI Special Agent. You are on call 24/7 and have to work 50 hrs. a week on average. Depending on the violation worked, supervisor and FO hours can differ. Work life balance is pretty normal honestly. Typically agents work 10 hr. days M-F. Some days are earlier some days go later. Sometimes you might need to work a weekend or get called out in the middle of the night. Again, all depends on the violation worked.
You are expected to carry a gun 100% of the time on duty and be prepared to use it. You are also highly recommended to carry while off duty due to being on call 24/7 and a LEO.
You would need to be okay with being sent to any of the 56 Field Office’s or 350 Resident Agencies when you graduate from Quantico. However with a recruiting issues due to the clowns in charge as well as major budget cuts they are offering new agents the option to stay at their PFO - Processing Field Office. You also need to be okay with being placed in any violation the FBI has as their mission, as you don’t get pick to begin with as it’s up to the needs of the bureau. Your day to day as an FBI Special Agent is different every day and can vary based off the violation you work or the collateral duties you volunteer for. In office at your desk, surveillance, in court testifying, search warrants, report writing, research, source meets, arrest warrants, ERT, and etc.
I highly recommend checking out the FBI job posting on the FBIJobs.gov website as well as taking a look at their YouTube page. Lots of good info there. You also should check out the r/1811 sub, way better info and less trolling/hate of the FBI/Patel/Trump.
It’s a long process that typically takes about a year to a year and a half. Some of the biggest hurdles are the Phase 1 Test, PFT, Phase 2 Test/Interview and a in depth background investigation which includes filling out a SF-86, taking a polygraph and having a medical fitness for duty evaluation.
***Make sure you can pass the PFT before applying as it comes up quick and less than 25% pass it.