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I have a BS in CJ and graduated summa *** laude from a state supported university.
CJ degrees are WORTHLESS!!!!!!!!
I have essentially been unemployed since I graduated from college in 2008. I have applied to countless local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies only to get turned down for one reason for another (better qualified applicants, hiring freezes, etc).
I am in the hiring process with two agencies right now but if they don't work out, I am done with looking for a job in the field of CJ.
Getting a degree in CJ has been nothing more than a disappointment and embarassment.
If I had the power to do it, I would ban all colleges from offering degrees in CJ. CJ degrees look nice and interesting, but the reality is, they are worthless and offer little value to both the degree holder and the employer.
Heeha-I doubt that you can't find a law enforcement job for 3 yrs (for most of which you don't even need a degree in) unless you only search in one dead, local area or have some disqualifying factors or red flags. I mean even with all the cuts, I see police officer positions open up almost every day in various departments, if you look hard enough. As far as I know the degree does not even matter that much in the beginning, at least for police officers. It comes into play way later when you got experience then the degree can help you move up the ranks. Must be some other reason.
Is there something in your background? (if not even legal issues, but medical)
How's your credit? (very big factor)
Last edited by OleSchoolFool; 10-24-2011 at 10:39 PM..
I haven't applied yet. They take people without bachelor's degrees though, and if you have one, they don't really care what it is at that stage. Foreign language would be more of a plus than a bachelor's this early in the game. You haven't answered my questions: how clean is your background and credit?
I have just always viewed CJ as a fluff major. Most of the people who majored in it weren't about much and weren't smart or very intelligent. It was a huge joke. I have a friend who is a detective. He's going to school to get his four year degree finally. They told him to major in business admin instead of criminal justice because he would allegedly advance faster and get more respect.
Either way, people always snickered around here at the CJ majors.
I see no problem with anyone getting a CJ degree as long as they know what they're in for. I just get annoyed by the people who THINK they should study CJ to get into law enforcement. If you enjoy the subject and you know that your employment options will be limited if you can't get into a law enforcement agency, then go for it. A common mistake people make is that they think CJ is desired by the FBI or intelligence agencies when it's not. The FBI prefers degrees in computer science/information technology, accounting, law, and foreign languages. Intelligence agencies prefer degrees in international relations, political science (internationally focused), cultural studies, history (internationally focused), and national security studies. They prefer science, engineering, mathematics, economics, business administration, finance, and computer science/IT for white collar and technical intelligence work. People also fail to think outside the box. If you get turned down by federal and local law enforcement agencies, CJ is also applicable to many social service jobs. Insurance companies hire CJ majors for investigative positions and security companies hire them for management positions if they have experience. Parole and probation is easier to get into than law enforcement. By the way, most parole and probation jobs require a degree in CJ, counseling, social work, psychology, sociology, or any other behavioral science.
CJ majors are the dumbest college students I've come across. A lot of people study CJ or political science in preparation for law school; but philosophy, physics, economics, and mathematics majors score the highest on the LSAT. Do you know which ones score the lowest? CJ and pre-law majors! As someone else said, don't even think about getting a master's degree in CJ unless you want to teach it or become a prison warden. A master's degree in public administration would better prepare a police officer for management positions and it has utility in other government fields. CJ is a very superficial major that is a hodge-podge of psychology, sociology, and law with a little bit of applied law enforcement techniques thrown in. It just touches the surface of all of those fields, so that's why CJ majors aren't that deep. CJ majors might find that they also have an interest in law, emergency management, homeland/national security, forensic science, intelligence studies, cybersecurity, and criminology if they aren't afraid of a little more academic rigor.
Those days are almost over everywhere.
Now you need a 2yr deg at min on most states, pass the MMPI and POST.
To be a cop. some Depts. may hire you with out it but your employment is predicated on you getting your Deg and passing the MMPI and POST.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bolshoi
Heeha-I doubt that you can't find a law enforcement job for 3 yrs (for most of which you don't even need a degree in) unless you only search in one dead, local area or have some disqualifying factors or red flags. I mean even with all the cuts, I see police officer positions open up almost every day in various departments, if you look hard enough. As far as I know the degree does not even matter that much in the beginning, at least for police officers. It comes into play way later when you got experience then the degree can help you move up the ranks. Must be some other reason.
Is there something in your background? (if not even legal issues, but medical)
How's your credit? (very big factor)
If you wanna get technical, Bus Admin aint about noth either then, thats what I used to study. It's a very broad field and unless you get into accounting or finance or someth like that, its all useless too. You don't know anything thoroughly in the end, you know just a little of everything, which makes you just average in the job seeking scene.
Those days are almost over everywhere.
Now you need a 2yr deg at min on most states, pass the MMPI and POST.
To be a cop. some Depts. may hire you with out it but your employment is predicated on you getting your Deg and passing the MMPI and POST.
We were talking about needing a bachelor's, not assosiate's
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