FBI says applicants should prepare for fitness test as few pass

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The Federal Investigation Bureau’s Las Vegas division is actively looking for people who can take their skills to the next level.

Their work is critical when it comes to helping Las Vegas Valley law enforcement and the federal government in keeping the “Entertainment Capital of the World” safe.

However, the agency said they are not getting enough applicants and the ones that do are passing at a very small percentage.

The bureau still wants to encourage anyone from any background to apply.

FOX5 spoke with Agent Shelby, who preferred us to just use her first time.

Shelby spent more than a decade in the nursing field, before making the switch over to a career in the FBI.

“As a nurse practitioner in the ER I was seeing a lot of the aftermath of crimes I felt like I wasn’t able to help enough,” Shelby said. “Like I could make a bigger impact like if I could help stop the crimes before they started.”

Shelby became an FBI agent in 2021.

As part of the operational medicine program, Shelby works with the SWAT team and puts her medical skills to good use.

“I feel very lucky to take both my jobs, my old career and this career,” Shelby said.

Though agents can’t predict their day to day operations, there is one thing they know to prepare for, which is their physical fitness test.

The problem is only 15 percent of applicants pass the fitness part.

The fitness test includes the following:

• one minute of sit ups
• five minutes of rest
• 300 meter spring
• five minute of rest
• untimed pushups until failure
• five minutes of rest
• 1 1/2 mile run

TAKING THE TEST: FBI tests potential agents with a fitness test. FOX5 steps up to the challenge

“Former marines have come out and think, ‘Hey, I am physically fit, I have taken the Marine PFT,’ but the FBI physical test is different,” said Nathaniel Holland, assistant special agent in charge.

The physical test is different but important for the bureau when it comes to selecting the best agents from the civilian work force.

“We need the best computer scientist. We need the best lawyers” Holland said.

The best of the best agents. But the bureau is looking for the most honest.

The FBI puts its applicants through an extensive background check and polygraph test.

“We are asking you to be honest because if we are requiring you to be honest, the American people want you to be honest and want to be able to trust you,” Holland said.

It is through this polygraph test that at times, the bureau is able to discover if an applicant is being paid by a foreign government to become an FBI agent.

Holland said though their vetting process is thorough not enough people are applying.

“If we don’t have enough candidates, qualified candidates we are not able to serve the American people we are not able to dedicate enough resources to certain investigations, ” Holland said.

This makes agents like Shelby one of the very few selected.

“We need people from all backgrounds and it makes our team and our squad stronger and assist all the different things the bureau works with,” Shelby said.

To apply for the FBI you must be 23-37 years old.

The FBI has job openings from all over the country, to find out more you can click here.

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