BYU-Hawaii Career Services brought in FBI Special Agent Ty Arnold to discuss job opportunities open to BYUH students within the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Arnold received a criminal justice degree and served in the military prior to joining the FBI and has now been an FBI special agent for 18 years. Arnold has experience in all different fields of the FBI including; white collar crime, terrorism, violence and drugs.Throughout the information session, Arnold explained the two types of staff in the FBI. There are about 25,000 positions of the first: professional staff. These positions include Intelligence Analysts, Linguistics, Engineers and Human Resources Specialists. The second type of staff is Special Agents. “Special Agents conduct investigations and/or operations,” said Arnold. “We are the people out in the field doing all of the fun stuff. That’s why it is the best job in the world. We get to go out and do everything from interviewing suspects, witnesses and victims. Everything that involves investigation.” Arnold said there are about 15,000 of these elite positions. Jake Hsu, Employer Relations Manager of Career Services, said, “Alumni & Career Services at BYU-Hawaii invites relevant employers and organizations to campus so students can become aware of the possible career options and also understand how to align themselves to best compete and apply for such positions.”The FBI information piqued the curiosity of Matthew Medonich, a senior double majoring in international cultural studies and hospitality and tourism management from Arizona. Medonich said he was interested in possibly working for the FBI. “My aunt works for the CIA and I really want to use my language abilities to help America as well as work in some kind of government position that wears nice suits,” said Medonich, who also said the meeting was informative and gave him the ability to prepare for the future job.Arnold emphasized the FBI is a hard industry to get into and comes with a few requirements. First, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen. Second, the applicant must be between the ages of 23 and 36 years old. The applicant must also have a four-year degree and must be physically fit and willing to relocate. Hsu said, “Information sessions are always good to attend because they are the real… professionals explaining reality in the working world to students who are preparing for it. Information about jobs and organizations you think you know and heard from others will be verified and explained at information session. The benefit is mutual, when great students and BYU-Hawaii alumni take great opportunities, and then those organizations return to BYU-Hawaii for more recruits.”Uploaded March 19, 2015
Writer: Alyssa Troyanek
