Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am now finishing up my 2 year degree in criminal justice and now applying to get my Bachelor degree,but wondering which career is better (if anyone works in these fields it would be great).
#1-Social Worker
#2-Special Education teacher
#3-Probation worker
#4-Accounting
I picked criminal justice because I originally wanted to be a probation officer, but now I find I am interested in other things too. Also I am in my 30's if this makes a difference. Thanks in advance for any advice !
My wife got her Bachelor's Degree in Accounting when she was 49 years old. She also has two AA degrees in Business Admin.. For the last 10 years she has worked in Accounting for some big companies. She makes very good pay and has weekends off so we can have fun fishing, boating, etc.
FYI: My wife's sister is a retired Special Education Teacher with a Master's in Special Education. Her daughter (our niece) is also a teacher with a Master's in Special Education. I would believe that you would have to have a Master's Degree for teaching, but not sure.
With the way people are today (2008), I don't know if I would want to be a Social Worker or Probation Worker. Those jobs take real "people skills"!!
I lean towards accounting if you like figures (my field) and then education if you can work with people and kids. Next would be social work and then probation work, but both of these I think are actually quite similiar.
If you are at all flexible as to where you can live, the first two will give you great flexibility. Nursing is similiar. It might be hard to get a probation or social worker position and the career path seems quite limited.
I am a juvenile probation officer. I love the job except dealing with parents. I'm in it for the kids only, but you can always get a job as an adult PO and knock the parents out the picture. Your age does make a bit of a difference in this field. If you are interested in working as a PO on the federal level the maximum entry age is 37 (minus military and prior federal law enforcement experience) otherwise ae is not an issue.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,763,471 times
Reputation: 3587
Quote:
Originally Posted by ogplife
I am a juvenile probation officer. I love the job except dealing with parents. I'm in it for the kids only, but you can always get a job as an adult PO and knock the parents out the picture. Your age does make a bit of a difference in this field. If you are interested in working as a PO on the federal level the maximum entry age is 37 (minus military and prior federal law enforcement experience) otherwise ae is not an issue.
A juvenile PO is more like a counselor. And adult PO is more like a police officer.
I am now finishing up my 2 year degree in criminal justice and now applying to get my Bachelor degree,but wondering which career is better (if anyone works in these fields it would be great).
#1-Social Worker--Big Heart, underpaid and usually lost causes; you may feel resentful after a while since you don't make any money...
#2-Special Education teacher---Again, Big Heart, underpaid probably, lots of patience...
#3-Probation worker--kind of dangerous I think and again underpaid...
#4-Accounting--good money probably if you get your CPA, nice hours...
I picked criminal justice because I originally wanted to be a probation officer, but now I find I am interested in other things too. Also I am in my 30's if this makes a difference. Thanks in advance for any advice !
I think I see a trend, you have a big heart and tend to gravitate to jobs that really do not pay that well to compensate you for that big heart. My choice would be to get your CPA while you are young; get a great paying job, and you could VOLUNTEER at a place where your BIG HEART would be a breath of fresh air....GOod luck!!!!!!!!!!!!
Be aware that more and more accounting tasks can be automated or outsourced (TurboTax being an example) so the competition for jobs in that field may get pretty fierce over the next generation. The other three jobs you list will always be in demand.
The easier way to go, I believe, is Spec. Ed Teacher. You will always have a job as there is a great demand. I think you can pretty much leave your head at work when you go home. A Parole Officer might be cut when there are budget cuts. Social workers have endless caseloads - a giant headache. A master''s degree is needed in that line of work. I don't know about accounting except that my hair stylist was one and took a cut so she didn't have to be an accountant anymore, and she is quite happy, though a bit poorer.
I've heard once you become a probation officer it's hard to transition into anything else if you decide to change jobs. Doesn't social worker require a masters? Special ed teacher, tough job, lots and lots of vacation days. Accounting, do you like numbers? Do you mean CPA? I think CPA requires a masters as well. Accounting seems so different than the other 3 jobs which require a lot of people interaction. Accounting seems more solitary.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
!
probation
