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my issue is not with the future cop that wants to do criminal justice, my problem is with the little kiddies that watch too much law and order, and think it sunds cool, but dont really take the time to think about if they really want to do those 'cool' things. i work in admissions so maybe i have a diff perspective.
I think most degrees as useless and you can learn the same skills, and more, on the job. For the most part I think higher education is a scam but in today's society it doesn't hurt to have a degree on your resume.
I think most degrees as useless and you can learn the same skills, and more, on the job. For the most part I think higher education is a scam but in today's society it doesn't hurt to have a degree on your resume.
they are pretty useless overall, but education helps create a well rounded individual and trains him to solve tasks and apply critical thinking, thas prolly the main theme behind it, this gives prospective employers at least some kinda filter that says this person is prolly capable of getting things done
not to say eryone with a degree is capable or smart or eryone without one is dumb, but education does make you better than u were b4 without it
of course educated and smart is not the same thing tho, theres plenty stupid people with degrees and smart people without degrees
your options are limited with any degree other than business management, but then u could say your options are too broad,
to become any kinda fed agent is very hard without exp, doesnt matter which degree u have so if dea is your only desire in the cj field, the cj degree mite not be for u cuz if they dont hire u, u gon be upset at the cj degree like some people on here
dea does not list any specific degree requirements on their site so i suspect any decent degree will do, cj is prolly one of them, the best to way to find out-contact them directly, otherwise its all speculation, one thing to consider tho, all fed law enforcement agencies require applicants to sign mobility agreements meaning they can relocate you around the country and sometimes the world at a moment's notice, that is one thing that kept me from pursuing a career with them
if u wan be a cop, its not a bad idea to study cj cuz that actually has to do with what u gon do instead of some random major, havin said that, practically, it mite be wise to get a degree in someth else cuz u can still be a cop with any other degree
havin said THAT, if ur like me and wan have a career in law enforcement related/public service agencies and not a cop necessarily, cj is a good degree to get because u learn things bout all kinda public agencies and how they work together, investigative technics, history of crime and policing, courts function, etc the typa info that will help u later on
another thing-connections, internships and job opportunites the school provides, for example i attend john jay college in nyc, and we got all kinda people comin ova all the time to talk bout careers and recruit people like all the top agenices u can think of, we got internships in homeland security, nsa and cia
u not gon get that kinda opportunity doin accounting degree in a regular school so to say cj is worthless is to say my whole school is worthless and fbi, secret service, dea and state dept recruiters coming over are therefore morons for pickin people up with a worthless degree, which is not true of course and only idiots would say its worthless, matta fact that would mean our highest national awards are worthless John Jay College Of Criminal Justice | The City University of New York| President Obama Names Professor Carpi as Recipient of Mentoring Award
most investigative positions in city or county like public fraud or public agency misconduct/corruption jobs ask for cj degrees specifically, probation/parole most of the time require a cj degree, corrections require it for advancement, most police officers with degrees have cj degrees, homeland security and ICE agents list cj as one of the top desired degrees
the problem is like with anything, u cant go to a weak or bs online school with no career placement or networking whatsoever, get a cj degree from there and expect to be a fed agent, i think thas wat many people did and now wonder what happened, but overall cj degree is good for people interested in public sector and law enforcement related jobs period
I hope you are typing on a mobile device. This is really hard to read. Anyway, I got an interview for a parole officer position with a social science degree. Parole/probation jobs do not only list CJ as a requirement; they also list other behavioral/social science subjects. The reason why there are a lot of police officers with CJ degrees is because they got them for educational incentive pay and promotions. They could have gotten those things with any degree, but CJ is related to their field and is also an extremely easy major. Many of these officers are getting their degrees online because they don't have time to work their odd hours and attend school on campus. Their departments don't care as long as the school is regionally accredited. Even though I am vehemently against for-profit schools, I have to admit that the federal government does often hire graduates of those schools. All you have to do is look at the Presidential Management Fellows semi-finalist and finalist list.
For the DEA and ICE, a CJ degree is fine. I attended an FBI recruiting event and they pretty much said their target degrees are what's listed on their website: Accounting, Computer Science/Information Technology, Language, Law, Diversified. Anyone who does not have first 4 degrees will be placed in the diversified category. That means CJ majors start out on the same level as Fine Arts majors. This is not to say that someone can't get in with a CJ degree; it's just that they aren't anymore desirable than non-CJ majors when it comes to the FBI. The FBI already has too many people with CJ degrees and they need to diversify by hiring people who can either investigate white collar crimes and cyber crimes or speak/read/write a foreign language.
One can get an internship with the CIA with any major as long as their GPA is high enough. Going to a prestigious school might help too. Actually getting hired by the CIA is a different story. If you want to see what kind of degrees they're looking for, just take a look at their job openings. CJ is rarely listed. By the way, I work in the CJ field with a government agency without a CJ degree; although, I did take many CJ courses online. Some of my supervisors have degrees in sociology and psychology.
I hope you are typing on a mobile device. This is really hard to read. Anyway, I got an interview for a parole officer position with a social science degree. Parole/probation jobs do not only list CJ as a requirement; they also list other behavioral/social science subjects. The reason why there are a lot of police officers with CJ degrees is because they got them for educational incentive pay and promotions. They could have gotten those things with any degree, but CJ is related to their field and is also an extremely easy major. Many of these officers are getting their degrees online because they don't have time to work their odd hours and attend school on campus. Their departments don't care as long as the school is regionally accredited.
For the DEA and ICE, a CJ degree is fine. I attended an FBI recruiting event and they pretty much said their target degrees are what's listed on their website: Accounting, Computer Science/Information Technology, Language, Law, Diversified. Anyone who does not have first 4 degrees will be placed in the diversified category. That means CJ majors start out on the same level as Fine Arts majors. This is not to say that someone can't get in with a CJ degree; it's just that they aren't anymore desirable than non-CJ majors when it comes to the FBI. The FBI already has too many people with CJ degrees and they need to diversify by hiring people who can either investigate white collar crimes and cyber crimes or speak/read/write a foreign language.
nah, i jus like makin it hard
but yes, fbi likes all that what u listed, i guess it depends what u wann pursue, like im not lookin to be in the fbi or even a street cop anymore so id rather study cj and do someth else related, all depends what u like to do too, i could never see myself picking accounting or computer science, id rather take law, but thats an overkill
in regards to cia, last time i checked they listed political science, international relations (interestingly "soft" degrees so they must not be worthless) and languages as their main things and also preferred master degrees, getting hired by them is extremely hard tho, u got more chance of gettin into harvard
Last edited by OleSchoolFool; 12-21-2012 at 01:59 PM..
only thing im wonderin tho, besides internships in yo school, what can u do to make yoself more competitive, like i was thinkin bout joinin coast guard reserves cuz seems like they dont send people to war involuntarily and its good exp, but im not sure where they can send you exactly
It is hard to find a job with just an undergraduate degree in political science or international relations. The unemployment rate is actually not that bad at the graduate level and the salaries can be quite high. Most people with international relations and political science degrees aren't fully aware of their options. I guess I could say the same for those with CJ degrees who fail to get into law enforcement.
Since you aren't interested in the FBI or being a street cop, what are you planning to do now? Are you looking into other federal or state law enforcement opportunities? If you want to get into parole or probation, a counseling, law enforcement, or corrections background is strongly preferred in addition to having the right degree. I didn't get the parole officer job because I was competing against people who had done social work and corrections for years.
Military experience helps in the public and private sector security field. Some employers are picky though and expect military experience in combat or security forces which includes military police. Have you thought about the national guard? If you test high enough, you might get into a training program for intelligence and get a security clearance. A security clearance is golden.
Those in the Coast Guard can be forced into the Navy and go to war, but the chance of that happening is probably low. The Navy is not as important in war as it used to be, so they won't be so desperate as to take over the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard does have a major focus on homeland security. Well, it is a part of homeland security.
It is hard to find a job with just an undergraduate degree in political science or international relations. The unemployment rate is actually not that bad at the graduate level and the salaries can be quite high. Most people with international relations and political science degrees aren't fully aware of their options. I guess I could say the same for those with CJ degrees who fail to get into law enforcement.
Since you aren't interested in the FBI or being a street cop, what are you planning to do now? Are you looking into other federal or state law enforcement opportunities? If you want to get into parole or probation, a counseling, law enforcement, or corrections background is strongly preferred in addition to having the right degree. I didn't get the parole officer job because I was competing against people who had done social work and corrections for years.
Military experience helps in the public and private sector security field. Some employers are picky though and expect military experience in combat or security forces which includes military police. Have you thought about the national guard? If you test high enough, you might get into a training program for intelligence and get a security clearance. A security clearance is golden.
Those in the Coast Guard can be forced into the Navy and go to war, but the chance of that happening is probably low. The Navy is not as important in war as it used to be, so they won't be so desperate as to take over the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard does have a major focus on homeland security. Well, it is a part of homeland security.
im not sure exactly, but i kno that i dont wan bust doors down and run around with a gun
some kinda analytical, office type work, maybe some kinda coordinator for someth in a city or county or state level, maybe some kinda civilian work in a local police dept or state police office, basically someth that has to do with all this, but not a sworn officer, like police depts have civilian crime intel analysts, but those jobs are prolly hard to get
not interested in the military cuz dont wan go to war, not interested in fed LE when it comes to special agents, they can relocate you if they want, maybe support positions or certain homeland security jobs that dont require moving, maybe some kinda investigative assistant to some kinda local govt office or courts or whateva
so even tho its vague, i kinda know what i want, and i def know what i dont want, its hard to give concrete examples cuz civil service sites list a buncha diff jobs with weird titles that could work for me, not sure bout parole/probation and def not corrections
Last edited by OleSchoolFool; 12-21-2012 at 03:33 PM..
I get what you're saying because I've applied to all of those jobs. I was already employed, but it took me 9 months to get a new job after graduation. It's supposed to be the norm these days to take 6 months to a year to find a job as a new graduate. If your GPA is high, definitely apply for internships with the CIA, FBI, and other federal agencies. These normally require security clearances which are hard to get without being hired by the federal government. The federal government has now instituted the Pathways program, which encourages agencies to hire inexperienced people and train them. Those openings are posted on USAJobs.gov. If you get a master's degree, you can apply to the Presidential Management Fellows program. Sometimes, you just have to take any job within a government agency to get your foot in the door.
well the thing with cia internships u have to go to dc and i cant do that, and with internships overall theres a lot i can do prolly cuz theres a lot of diff agencies in nyc, but even tho i attend school there, its hard to get around, esp since i live in jers and it mite be hard to work out the hours and erything thats convenient for me and for them cuz im guessing they can only have u certain days and times when there is someone there to train u
anyway, i was thinkin bout interning or volunteering at one of the state police offices or a local police dept around here, which there is a bunch of cuz we have so many little towns here and each town has their own erything so it would be convenient and still good exp
do u know anyth bout that? like how hard is it get in and what not even as jus an intern or a volunteer?
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