The FBI Lures Generation Y

Forget career-switchers — these days the FBI is looking for younger, more technically proficient types. As part of his push to remake the FBI into a leaner, more agile and competitive agency, FBI chief Robert Mueller is trying to move away from the 30-year-old disgruntled former accountants or local police officers that traditionally populate each new class of agents. Instead, he's tilting toward younger specialists with intense knowledge of regions where terrorism flourishes or specialists in high end relational databases, computer security and computer forensics.

What is the FBI looking for now? U.S. citizens between the ages of 23 and 36 who are in excellent physical condition and have completed a 4-year college degree. Flexibility is key: new agents must be willing to take an assignment anywhere, at any time, for at least four years. Drug tests and background checks are also required. Under the new guidelines, a law degree is enough to qualify you for consideration, as is a BA plus two years of work experience. If you're proficient in Russian, Spanish or, better yet, Pashto, you're also in luck.

These new younger-skewing requirements come just as the FBI is experiencing record-high application volume; in its first month of operation the Bureau's new jobs Website has received more than 15,000 submissions from would-be G-Men.

— Reported by Elaine Shannon/Washington