Jean Wyant
Special Agent
Richmond Field Office
I joined the FBI in 1997 and was so fortunate to be assigned to the Richmond Division directly from Quantico. I chose to remain there for my entire 25-year career. I started off investigating bank robberies, fugitives, and crimes against children.
When the first of three daughters was born, I began investigating white-collar crimes. Although I spent the majority of my time working a wide array of white-collar crimes, I have had the opportunity to experience so much more—from being a member of the Richmond Evidence Response Team to interviewing potential FBI applicants and serving as a crisis management coordinator during critical incidents
What drew you to the FBI?
I grew up wanting to be a lawyer. After practicing family law and criminal defense for a few years, my husband read in a news article that the FBI was recruiting accountants, lawyers, women, and minorities to become special agents. My husband pointed out that I fit two of those categories.
Until that conversation, I had never thought about becoming a special agent for the FBI. I was 29 and had never shot a gun before, but that conversation started me thinking: Why not become an FBI special agent?
What is the best career or life advice you have to give?
After 25 years with the FBI, my career advice is to take advantage of the unique experiences and training presented to you as an employee who works for the FBI.
You will have the opportunity to travel domestically and internationally, even to unusual places like Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. You will have the chance to drive at high rates of speed on a race track or learn to drive stealthily while surveilling a subject. You could meet, interview, or even work with lawyers, prosecutors, judges, bankers, accountants, and professional athletes. You could end up collecting evidence at a crime scene, dismantling a bomb, and shooting an M-4 weapon.
Embrace the opportunities presented to you if you decide to have a career with FBI.
