The job of a criminal profiler is to create a personal profile of an unknown criminal. The profile is prepared on the basis of in-depth investigations and psychological analysis. Based on the findings, the profiler has to trace the criminal. Even though the job seems quite exciting, it involves several challenging aspects.

  1. Know the Basic Requirements

For being a certified criminal profiler, certain basic qualifications are mandatory. Only qualified and competent criminal profilers are hired by law enforcement agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

  • To be an independent criminal profiler you need to have prior experience in a law enforcement sector or military.
  • In order to be an FBI criminal profiler, one should have a bachelor degree in criminal justice or psychology.
  • Besides academic excellence, training and experience in fields like a criminal investigation, crime scene analysis, and forensics are also important for getting hired as a profiler.

  1. Acquire the Traits of a Criminal Profiler

Once you are sure about the basic requirements, you need to work on developing the qualities and traits of a skilled criminal profiler. Competitiveness is a major aspect that determines your success as a profiler.

  • In order to be a criminal profiler, you need to be a critical thinker. Logical reasoning and analytical thinking can help you in resolving challenging situations.
  • An in-depth understanding of the human mind and its working is an important requirement. You should be able to fathom the subtle reasons behind unexpected behavior patterns.
  • Besides knowledge of psychology, you should also have strong intuitive skills and social perceptiveness.

  1. Maintain Complete Physical Fitness

Being in good shape is an essential requirement for any career related to law enforcement and criminal justice. As a profiler, you may often expose yourself and your team to various types of risky situations that can be handled only if you are physically fit.

  • The level of physical fitness required depends on the hiring agency. For instance, FBI criminal profilers are required to pass a special fitness test that has several requirements.
  • Even for working as an independent profiler, you should maintain an impressive level of physical fitness.

  1. Pass a Background Check

Every law enforcement agency working at the local and state level conducts a complete background check of profilers before hiring them. This is one of the basic requirements that have to be fulfilled without any compromise.

  • You would be asked to furnish complete facts about your past working history including details of the employers or companies you have worked for.
  • Your criminal background should be entirely clean and there shouldn’t be any kind of criminal charges registered against you.

  1. Join a Law Enforcement Institute

Once you have all the basic requirements in place, you need to work on the practical aspects of being a professional profiler. One of the major milestones in achieving your goal is to get proper training from a reputed law enforcement institute or academy.

  • By joining a law enforcement academy you can gain hands-on training and expertise. Most of the training programs last for around 3 to 6 months.
  • A professional training regimen can make you more confident and you can drastically improve your chances of getting hired as a profiler.

  1. Gain Experience

After acquiring hands-on training, you need to work on gaining a good deal of experience in the field. This would make you more eligible for joining reputed law enforcement agencies like FBI and United States Secret Service.

  • For gaining experience you can work independently for various types of private agencies and local investigation services.
  • You can also search for job openings and apply for suitable positions in this field. Once you start working on real criminal cases, you will be able to judge your shortcomings and work on them.

  1. Option for Additional Courses

Alongside experience, continued training can certainly improve your chances of getting hired by government agencies. This would not only help you in improving your skills but also get you connected with many influential people in the law enforcement sector.

  • You can attain training in diverse fields like forensic pathology, crime topologies, human behavior, risk assessment, etc.
  • By joining advanced training programs and courses you can stay informed about internal vacancies and prospective job openings.

TIPS

  • Getting a master degree in psychology can definitely enhance your chance of getting hired as a criminal profiler.

Working as an assistant to a reputed criminal profiler can also make things easier for you.

What degree do I need to be a criminal profiler?

Typical educational and experience requirements for criminal profilers include: Bachelor’s in psychology, criminal justice, forensics and behavioral science, at minimum. Master’s or doctorate degree in criminal justice. Attendance in a law enforcement academy.

Can you be a criminal profiler without being a cop?

Criminal profiler is one of the more fascinating jobs in criminal justice. These criminal justice jobs are usually filled by investigators or detectives that work for law enforcement. So, typically, in the beginning becoming a profiler would require the same criteria as a police officer or an agent of the bureau.

How do you get into the FBI BAU?

How much do FBI profilers make a month?

Most profilers working in the BAU have between seven and fifteen years of investigative experience before transferring to the BAU. The FBI requires a four-year college degree in any major in order to apply for the Agent position. You will want to choose a degree that YOU like, so you will complete your education.

Is criminal profiler a real job?

Criminal Profiler Salary
Annual Salary Monthly Pay
Top Earners $83,000 $6,916
75th Percentile $70,000 $5,833
Average $51,855 $4,321
25th Percentile $27,500 $2,291

How much do FBI profilers earn?

“The FBI does not have a job called ‘Profiler. The actual job is called criminal behavioral analyst and, using a mixture of psychology and good old-fashioned police work, they help the FBI and local law enforcement generate leads based on the type of person who commits a particular crime.

Do FBI profilers travel a lot?

Supervisory criminal profilers with the FBI can earn as much as $140,000 per year and forensic psychologists can earn as much as $400,000 per year as a consultant in private practice.

What is the highest paying FBI job?

Some positions with the FBI require frequent trips while others have limited travel or even none at all. In high-security divisions, such as Counterterrorism or Intelligence, agents can be required to travel frequently, and whenever the agency deems necessary.

Who pays more CIA or FBI?

Salary and Career Outlook
Career Average Annual Salary
Entry-Level FBI Agent $52,440
Mid- to Senior-Level FBI Agent $79,468
May 3, 2021

How much do CIA agents get paid?

Salaries. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has 589 more total submitted salaries than CIA.

Is it hard to become an FBI agent?

The average salary for a CIA agent is $81,207 per year. Salaries range from $25,000 to $169,000 per year.

How long is the FBI Academy?

Becoming an FBI Agent is a tremendously difficult and competitive process. It takes years of time, planning, and hard work to mold yourself into the kind of candidate the FBI is looking to hire. It’s not going to happen overnight, and the hiring process itself can take a year or longer.

What is the age limit for the CIA?

The Basics

The training includes over 800 hours, including a variety of web-based courses, in four major concentrations: academics, case exercises, firearms training, and operational skills. Currently, new agent training lasts approximately 20 weeks.

What is the best college for FBI agent?

There’s no strict age limit for employment; hiring decisions are made based on a review of the whole person. You can join the CIA right out of high school, since 18 is the minimum age for employment here, but most of our positions require at least a bachelor’s degree.

What degree is best for FBI?

Top 15 Best FBI Colleges in America to Become an FBI Agent
Sr. No Name of the Institution Location
1 Arizona State University Pheonix AZ
2 University of Michigan- Dearborn Dearborn, MI
3 California State University Long Bean, CA
4 Indiana University Bloomington, IN
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Nov 5, 2020