Students looking for a career full of excitement and a little danger may want to consider a job with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Special Agent Josh Mayers, Madison resident agency, spoke to the Criminal Justice Association on April 22 about what a career with the FBI is like.

Graphic by Becky Ninneman

Eugene Woehrle, junior criminal justice major and president of the CJA, asked Mayers to come to UW-Platteville to discuss his career and how to get involved with a federal agency.

“The FBI is always something students want to hear from, and he was happy to come here,” Woehrle said.

Mayers started his career with the New York City Police Department. After working on a case dealing with Russian organized crime in Brooklyn, an FBI agent was sent to work with Mayers.

“They sent someone on a dime,” Mayers said of his first exposure to the response rate of the FBI.

The seed was planted, and he was soon enrolled at the FBI Academy, a 385-acre facility in Quantico, Virginia, Mayers said. He trained for 19 weeks and joined the agency in Washington D.C. upon completion.

Mayers worked the first part of his career with counter terrorism, and was one of the first agents on site in Africa when two United States Embassies were bombed in 1998.

“I was one of the first agents on the ground, it was an amazing experience,” Mayers said.

Although his career has left him with many great experiences, Mayers notes the dangerous side of an FBI career. Calculated risks are taken on a daily basis, because there is no set schedule for what a day will entail, but not every day is as dramatized as the movies, Mayers said.

Mayers said agents are taught the importance of working in a team during the intensive training at the academy. Agents always work in a group, especially when working on high-risk cases

“The best part of the job is the everyday differences, there is no average day,” Mayers said.

Mayers said paperwork is a very important part of the job. Everything that occurs during an investigation must be documented and presented to the supervisor; agents do have freedom to use their investigation techniques how they choose.

“We document everything; every 90 days we go over the files with the supervisors to know what is going on with the case,” Mayers said.

On average, an agent can be working on several small cases or one large case, Mayers said. There is no clear amount of work an agent may have, it is all dependent on the types of cases they take on.

Mayers puts in an average of 50 hours a week, which can create a strain on his family life. Although his wife and children understand the demanding job, he has missed several birthdays and holidays due to having to be available all the time.

“You have to be available every day, all day,” Mayers said.

For the most part his family understands Mayers was able to show them what he does when he brought them to a recent trial. Mayers said they were excited to see the results of his hard work, and actually got into what was going on in the case.

Mayers has been working out of Madison since May 1999 when he was given the opportunity to choose a location of preference due to his seniority with the bureau.

“You’re allowed an office of preference in a career, and you’re never forced to move in the agency again unless for advancement,” Mayers said.

A career with the FBI never has a dull moment, Mayers said. If one crime category gets boring, an agent has the ability to switch their focus area.

“This is definitely the reason I got into accounting,” Vince Morelli, senior accounting major, said of his future plans for working with the FBI.

Mayers said there are many opportunities for everyone, regardless of their abilities. If people have the ability to decipher languages, they are encouraged to look into a federal career.

“Any intelligence or military background is always good,” Mayers said.

“I’ve been lucky, I’ve had a great career, traveling overseas and meeting great people,” Mayers said. “It can be difficult, it can be dangerous, but I’ve been lucky.”