Texas Border Business
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Cuellar (TX-28) announced today that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is currently partnering with high schools and universities in Texas and around the country, as they undergo recruitment for data experts to increase agency capabilities.
“We live in the digital age,” said Congressman Cuellar. “Having the ability to collect, store, process and analyze data is critical to our national and domestic security. Partnering with the FBI is a tremendous, prestigious, and rare opportunity that I encourage all eligible institutions to explore.”
As the FBI moves to increase data accessibility and improve their information technology branch, it is now a priority to increase outreach to students with in-demand IT skills. The Bureau has already secured the necessary funding to hire data scientists for all 56 of its field offices.
Cuellar continued, “Nationally we are down 300,000 professionals in this field and that could grow to 1 million in coming years. There is a demand and in my district I believe we have a strong supply of smart, patriotic young people who can fill that demand.”
To address recruiting challenges head-on, the FBI has focused on online hiring and instituting field offices that target colleges and universities that have strong programs in science.
The FBI is the lead federal agency for investigating cyber-attacks by criminals, overseas adversaries, and terrorists. In order to safeguard American citizens and businesses from potential cyber threats, the organization has made it a priority to enhance the Cyber Division’s investigative capacity to sharpen its focus on intrusions into government and private computer networks.
This summer, the FBI launched a pilot program aimed at recruiting high school students for cybersecurity-focused internships. They have also taken on recruiting efforts online and by partnering up with targeted colleges and universities with strong Data Science and Cybersecurity programs throughout the United States. These efforts will ensure that the agency will receive top applicants and ultimately hire top applicants into the FBI.
