CONSIDERED A CAREER AS AN FBI LANGUAGE SPECIALIST?
Here’s What It’s Like: Up Close and Personal

03/18/05

Language Specialists, by the very nature of their work, are often at the center of intriguing cases reaching into far-off lands. For “Katrina,” a Language Specialist with the FBI for nearly eight years, the job has put her on the front lines of some major global criminal cases involving Russian organized crime, kidnapping, computer hacking, and attempted murder. It’s no wonder she prefers to remain anonymous. But given the chance to talk about her work, she was more than willing. Here’s what she had to say:

Q. Katrina, can you tell us about the more interesting aspects of your job?
Katrina: The most exciting part is going out on arrests or searches with agents. My friends tease me that I’m the only person they know who carries a raid jacket in their car. I’ve had a lot of interesting assignments. In one case, a group of Russians and Ukrainians in the U.S. were smuggling people over the Mexican border—some of them to work as prostitutes. They were arrested and convicted. My job was to interpret for the victims, witnesses, and suspects and then testify in court. In another case, I interpreted for a Ukrainian hacker we busted and translated his online chats to help build our case.

Q. Have you traveled overseas or in the U.S. on a case?
Katrina: Plenty of times. I’ve been to several big cities in Russia, as well as a handful of Eastern European countries. One of the most interesting trips was working as an interpreter during Director Mueller’s visit to Moscow. On another trip to Russia, I went on an early morning raid with our agents and Russian police. In the U.S., I’ve traveled to Florida, Texas, Washington, D.C., and Alaska, where I twice interpreted during interrogations of crew members on ships charged with serious environmental crimes.

Q. What’s a typical day like?
Katrina: Even though the work is often exciting, it can also be routine. I spend many days translating documents into English or interpreting for agents during interviews or interrogations. That said, you never know when you will get a call to pack your bags for an unexpected adventure. I love what I do so my day goes by quickly.

Q. Any advice to prospective FBI recruits?
Katrina: I would say this: even if you speak two or three languages, don’t assume you are automatically a good translator. I compare it to playing a piano—without much training you can play simple tunes, but it takes a lot of preparation and practice to play more complex pieces. So work hard on your language skills. Read newspapers and watch TV programs in your foreign language. Many colleges offer courses in translation and interpretation. I strongly recommend that. When you’re ready, please apply. I think you’ll find—as I have—that it’s tremendously satisfying and rewarding work.

Links: Apply today! | Check out contract linguist job opportunities at the National Virtual Translation Center