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I know there are a wide scale of jobs I could get with this degree from (Social Work to Teaching from a Federal Agency to Airport Surveillance). But will I be able to find/get a job after? I'm really looking to work for a federal agency like the FBI, DEA, Marshals, CIA..but I'm also looking into Probation or Social Work as well. Should I go a different route?
It could be very worthwhile if you want to be in that field, but keep in mind that you will most likely need a higher degree to be qualified for any decent-paying job in that area. Plan for at least a Master's degree which will be an additional 2 years in graduate school.
It could be very worthwhile if you want to be in that field, but keep in mind that you will most likely need a higher degree to be qualified for any decent-paying job in that area. Plan for at least a Master's degree which will be an additional 2 years in graduate school.
Yeah, I know I was going to get my masters anyway after I work a little. You know pay off a little of the debt I will be in..
A BA/BS in Criminology/Criminal Justice/Admin of Justice/Pre-Law, etc is a GROSS waste of time, energy, and money.
Believe it or not, most criminal justice agencies do not really like CJ type degrees, with the exception of maybe the prison system or a victims advocate organization.
If you are looking to get hired on with agencies like the FBI, DEA, ATF, Secret Service,etc, it would be better for you to major in something like accounting, computer science, or foreign languages.
Today, most law enforcement agencies are faced with complex investigations that involve money and computers. A CJ or Criminology degree is not going to teach you how to look at financial records or how to analyze information on the hard drive of a PC.
Here are some another reasons why you shouldn't major in Criminology:
What are you going to do if you get injured while on the job and can't work in law enforcement, corrections, etc ever again? A Criminology degree has very little value outside the criminal justice field. How many Fortune 500 companies are in dire need for Criminology majors? NONE.
What happens if you can't get hired by a law enforcement agency or corrections agency? Many jobs in law enforcement require the use of a polygrah. If you can't pass the polygraph, you won't get hired.
You should stay away from Criminology type degrees. You should also stay away from sociology, psychology, political science, childlife and development, social work,etc. Most liberal arts majors are a waste of time and money.
You should either pick a major like accounting and strive to get your CPA or you should think about maybe learning a trade, not at a trade school, but at a community college.
Today, most law enforcement agencies are faced with complex investigations that involve money and computers. A CJ or Criminology degree is not going to teach you how to look at financial records or how to analyze information on the hard drive of a PC.
The FBI, ATF, ICE, SS etc are NOT interested in criminal justice degrees. I've had quite a few recruiters tell me this before. It's fine for local LE agencies, however those agencies normally take ANY major as long as you have college credits under your belt. For example, in the NYPD you simply need 60 credits to make the cut.
As far as social work is concerned, and from what I've seen, CJ majors generally qualify academically for investigations in regards to social servces, but not as actual social workers. Generally you need a SW background for that either through course work and/or the actual degree.
A BA/BS in Criminology/Criminal Justice/Admin of Justice/Pre-Law, etc is a GROSS waste of time, energy, and money.
Believe it or not, most criminal justice agencies do not really like CJ type degrees, with the exception of maybe the prison system or a victims advocate organization.
If you are looking to get hired on with agencies like the FBI, DEA, ATF, Secret Service,etc, it would be better for you to major in something like accounting, computer science, or foreign languages.
Today, most law enforcement agencies are faced with complex investigations that involve money and computers. A CJ or Criminology degree is not going to teach you how to look at financial records or how to analyze information on the hard drive of a PC.
Here are some another reasons why you shouldn't major in Criminology:
What are you going to do if you get injured while on the job and can't work in law enforcement, corrections, etc ever again? A Criminology degree has very little value outside the criminal justice field. How many Fortune 500 companies are in dire need for Criminology majors? NONE.
What happens if you can't get hired by a law enforcement agency or corrections agency? Many jobs in law enforcement require the use of a polygrah. If you can't pass the polygraph, you won't get hired.
You should stay away from Criminology type degrees. You should also stay away from sociology, psychology, political science, childlife and development, social work,etc. Most liberal arts majors are a waste of time and money.
You should either pick a major like accounting and strive to get your CPA or you should think about maybe learning a trade, not at a trade school, but at a community college.
Thank you! I'm thinking about computer science or even law.
A BA/BS in Criminology/Criminal Justice/Admin of Justice/Pre-Law, etc is a GROSS waste of time, energy, and money.
Believe it or not, most criminal justice agencies do not really like CJ type degrees, with the exception of maybe the prison system or a victims advocate organization.
If you are looking to get hired on with agencies like the FBI, DEA, ATF, Secret Service,etc, it would be better for you to major in something like accounting, computer science, or foreign languages.
Today, most law enforcement agencies are faced with complex investigations that involve money and computers. A CJ or Criminology degree is not going to teach you how to look at financial records or how to analyze information on the hard drive of a PC.
Here are some another reasons why you shouldn't major in Criminology:
What are you going to do if you get injured while on the job and can't work in law enforcement, corrections, etc ever again? A Criminology degree has very little value outside the criminal justice field. How many Fortune 500 companies are in dire need for Criminology majors? NONE.
What happens if you can't get hired by a law enforcement agency or corrections agency? Many jobs in law enforcement require the use of a polygrah. If you can't pass the polygraph, you won't get hired.
You should stay away from Criminology type degrees. You should also stay away from sociology, psychology, political science, childlife and development, social work,etc. Most liberal arts majors are a waste of time and money.
You should either pick a major like accounting and strive to get your CPA or you should think about maybe learning a trade, not at a trade school, but at a community college.
I have to take issue with several of the points you made.
1. The majority of LE agencies are NOT involved with complex investigations. That is only a few federal agencies, and tiny portions of state and local agencies. The backbone of law enforcement is patrol. That does not neccesarily require a CJ degree......but it doesn't require comp sci or accounting degrees either. The majority of LE agencies have a civil service approach to degrees.....how many credit hours, is GPA above 2.0 and is college accredited....there is no weight for major, school attended or GPA.
2. What happens if.... questions apply to many degrees. A CJ degree does not automatically limit one to the CJ system. After all if degrees were always limited to their field then history, english, sociology, psychology, art history...etc majors would all be unemployed. At least CJ has a relevant field. (Though I admit only the private security industry gives an actual bump for CJ degrees).
3. "Most agencies do not like CJ degrees" is not true. With the exception of a few specific purpose federal agencies, degree type is irrelevant. There is no special preference for CJ, but there is no penalty against it either. All that matters is credit hours, GPA above 2.0 and accredited school.
That said, I do agree with your statement that this degree is usually not worth the cost. But that is because college in general is not worth the cost for a LE career, not because a CJ major is worse than any other. Enlisting in the military out of high school is a better option for a law enforcement career (at least at the state and local level) than going to a 4 year college is.
A CJ degree is worth pursuing under certain conditions. Taking on debt at a 4 year college in hopes of a future LE career is not one of them.
Go to the FBI's website and read about the hiring process for Special Agents. In order to even be considered you must have a 4 yr degree PLUS you must possess a critical skill that the FBI needs, which currently includes accounting experience (CPA), foreign language fluency, law degree, or intelligence experience.
Yes, you are right. Your degree doesn't define who you are but how many Criminal Justice majors do you know of who are the CEOs of companies? How many CJ majors are on Wall Street working as stock brokers?
With the economy the way it is, a CJ major applying for jobs outside the CJ field doesn't stand much of a chance unless the CJ major is applying to do manual labor for minimum wage or work as a janitor.
Let me ask you this: If you contributed to a mutual fund, who would you want managing your money? A accounting/finance major who studied the stock market and knows the in's and out's of finance or a CJ major who doesn't know jack s**** about finance.
Let's face it. A criminal justice degree doesn't really teach you many tangible skills you can use to make an honest living. Most of the classes are nothing more than a bunch of theories about crime and police operations. CJ is nothing more than a specialized branch of sociology (another worthless major).
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