Future Image

In ten years from now I will be forty-six. It is hard to say where I will see myself at this time since things never tend to go down the path that I have laid down for myself. Upon graduation next year my plan is to be employed with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a Special Agent. In ten years I see myself working with the Joint Terrorism Task Force in the Behavior Analyst Unit Number One (BAU-1) dealing with counterterrorism/threat assessment. I also see myself to be settled down and married with at least one child. This will be a big change for me since I have always been on my own.

Becoming a Special Agent with the FBI is the type of career that commands the majority of your time. Behavioral Analyst Unit personnel collaborate closely with federal, local and international law enforcement agencies to produce accurate recreations of violent crimes, provide a psychological framework for such crimes and predict the likely actions of violent perpetrators. This position will include countless hours of work and research. It is not your typical 9-5, Monday through Friday kind of job.

One of the biggest conflicts I have with this career path is within myself. How can I handle being a Special Agent in the FBI as well as a mother and wife? This job detail is not a 9-5, Monday through Friday type of job. It takes a lot to raise a child and find a husband that will be supportive of the career choices that I have made since I can be called in to work at any hour of the day and night. There are not really any other steps to prepare or solve this conflict within myself other than making sure that I communicate the demand of this career choice so my future husband knows what kind of sacrifices are instore for a future that includes me.

Ten years from now opportunities for mass-casualty terrorist attacks using chemical, biological, or less likely, nuclear weapons will increase as technology diffuses and nuclear power (and possibly...