DENVER — The Federal Bureau of Investigation plans to hire more than 1,000 special agents in the next year and it is recruiting in Denver. One goal is to diversify the force.

The bureau is facing a large number of retirements and is now in the middle of a large recruiting effort.

“Recruiting is a constant challenge for us,” said Special Agent Za Smith-Berthe, who got the job at the FBI after working for the state police in Oklahoma.

However, she says one does not need law enforcement or military experience to join the FBI.

“We are looking for applicants with all types of critical skills. We are looking for applicants with science, tech, engineering, math degrees, attorneys, CPAs, all of these things,”  Smith-Berthe said.

The FBI is also looking for applicants with language skills, finance degrees, cyber security backgrounds and data analysis backgrounds.

Applicants must be 23-36 years old, have a bachelor’s degree and two years of work experience. They have to pass a fitness test, a background check, a polygraph test and be drug-free.

The Denver FBI Special Agent in Charge Dean Phillips says the bureau is working to expand the candidate pool and include people from all backgrounds.

“The demographics of the country are changing and the FBI is doing everything it can to mirror those demographics as much as we can,” said Phillips.

The FBI Denver Division is hosting a recruiting event Aug. 1.  If you are interested in attending , you must register ahead of time online on the FBI website.  It is an invitation-only event.

Questions about the application process can be directed to denverapplicants@fbi.gov