My daughter is a HS senior this year, and she's been taking a criminal justice class. Turns out she loves it, and is signed up a for an intro to criminal justice this fall when she goes to college. She doesn't know what she wants to do for a career, but she is interested in some aspect of law enforcement. What are some options she could consider, and any advice you can offer?

Thanks

As someone who has criminal justice degree I would advise against it knowing what I know now. Its basically a basket weaving degree. Nothing I learned in college is applicable to my job. All the relevant info is taught in the police academy. I would recommend a minor in CJ but do not major in it unless you plan on going into teaching.

Im not sure about your state but in PA you can become a police officer in 6 months after the academy. Individual departments may have a specific educational requirement but very few require a 4 year CJ degree.

If something would happen to me and I could not perform my duty I have nothing to fall back on. I have no "desk job" skills or training. I would have to go back to school for years to become an accountant, etc. However that accountant could become a police officer in 6 months.

As far as her wanting to do some type of LE work she really needs to decide. I hope she does not think the NCIS and other investigator shows are how it really works. The people who go out and investigate do not process the evidence in the lab then go kick down doors serving search warrants. Also remember if she like detective work she has to start out on the bottom. I have also sadly found throughout my career it does matter what you know its who you know if you want to get anywhere.

Any other question email me.

My wife and I are both retired LE. Since she's interested, perhaps she should keep taking the CJ classes. She'll soon learn whether or not it's something she'd be interested as pursuing as a career. I suggest getting at least a BA/BS degree if possible before starting in a full time LE related job. More and more, that degree becomes important in hiring, promotion, specialty assignments,etc. Being Bilingual is also a BIG plus. Other than sworn LE, there are opportunities in crime labs, communications/dispatch, IT, Probation officer positions, Detention officer positions, etc. Since Mom and Dad were in LE when they were growing up, our kids expressed no interest in LE. One became a doctor and one will soon have a BS in IT. But for my wife and I, LE provided us the opportunity for our family to have a good life with few regrets. There is a family price to pay in LE, missed birthdays, working holidays,call outs, shift work, danger of serious injury or worse. Got shot myself,but obviously survived to bloviate on the interweb It was all worth it.

PS, gpbst3, some of my fellow officers had CJ degrees. They felt the same way you do, that it did not help them once they were actually in LE. But they were eligible to promote to lieutenant and above due to their degrees. I should have mentioned to the OP that on the two departments I worked, the type of 4 year degree did not matter, only if you had one or not.....

I'd advise against a Criminal Justice degree. And that's coming from a LEO with a CJ degree.

On one hand, a CJ degree is better than no degree, since having a degree (any degree) may help her get hired over someone with no degree, may get her a bump in pay over officers with no degree, and may allow her to promote faster over officers without a degree.

On the other hand, as previous noted, there's not much that she'll learn in her college CJ classes that she won't pick up through her training. And she'll be just another applicant with a generic CJ degree, competing for jobs against a bunch of other applicants with generic CJ degrees.

A much smarter option is to get a degree in a non-CJ field that's still applicable to the type of LE work that she wants to do. For example, if she's into Forensics, then consider something like Chemistry, Physics, or Biology. If she's interested in Cyber Crime, look into an Information Technology or Computer Science degree. If she's wanting Federal LE, then consider something like Accounting, since every major federal case deals with money in some aspect of it, or a relevant foreign language like Arabic, Spanish, Russian, or Mandarin Chinese. Even if she doesn't know what she wants beyond just starting out as a local patrol officer, she could go with something like English, to help with her report writing, or Business Administration/Public Administration, for when she starts rising through the ranks into a supervisor/administrative position.

These types of degrees will help her with some aspect of her LE career by equipping her specialized skills that "normal" LEOs don't have, thereby making her stand out from the generic CJ applicants. And even better, it can also be used as a fallback career if LE doesn't work out for some reason. For example, if she gets a few years in and then gets burned out or gets a career-ending injury, she can still go be a Chemist/Accountant/Translator/etc. But if she gets a CJ degree and then can't be a LEO any more for whatever reason, the options for other careers with a CJ degree are very limited.

Thanks everyone for the great feedback. I'll show her this tonight when she gets home from work.

I'd also highly suggest something other than a CJ degree. She should go to Law School and work as an attorney. Stay away from LE. Some serious things have to change for the juice to be worth the squeeze... If she's adamant about LE, she should get her JD and go federal.

I am in the same boat as many here on the forum. I got my BA in Criminology, but I stayed on for a second degree in History. I have gotten more hits for my history degree than i have with my CJ degree. Heck, I am almost done with my MS in Forensics and still get more hits with my history degree.

There are numerous degrees that she can earn that will help her immensely over a CJ degree such as Forensics, Death investigation, Physicl or Biological Anthropology, Entomology etc..

I was originally a Psychology major and then looked at Sociology but stayed in CJ because I could not pass a math course (too lazy to study to be honest) I wish I would have stayed in one of those fields.

If she does stay in CJ, there are many avenues that she can pursue if she wants to stay in Criminal Justice: Probation and Parole, Crime scene Tech, Death investigation, Victim witness.

For years I tried to get with one of the alphabet agencies with no luck. I wish I would have tried the Federal Probation and Parole route. One of my instructors worked for the Feds in that role and loved it.

What was the old LE joke: What can you do with a CJ degree:
Tell someone to press hard for all three copies or would you like to supersize that.

I cannot remember.

I would recommend doing some ride outs, at a busy department if that's available to you. Before she gets neck deep in CJ classes.

Agree a with everything that has been said above. Get a degree in a core subject science, accounting, math, engineering etc. Do not get a degree in the fringe programs colleges offer.

My experience was to become a reserve officer for the sheriff's department that contained my university. Had the same training as regular officers, but academy was nights and weekends to accommodate people with day jobs. Same police powers and would work solo after field training was done. Got my fix and went to school for accounting. Still love it and would do it again in a heartbeat, but realized your not going to make a lot of money doing it. It is something you do as a sort of calling. Sounds weird, but that is how it was for me. But I also wanted more and police work was not going to help provide that. So that is my experience. Had a blast and some awesome memories both good and bad.

Long story short look into reserve police/deputy positions if they are offered close to your location.

Doing this on a phone, so forgive mistakes above. I have fat fingers.

ETA: Do some ride alongs to see if she can stand the excitement or mostly boredom.

The quality of a criminal justice degree depends upon the quality of the institution. I have multiple degrees in the field and they have served me well. Some college degree is essential if she intends to make it a career or if she wants to go federal. A degree is almost mandatory to move up in most agencies due to intense competition. A BS degree in forensics is essential if she wants to follow that track.
With all that said if I were a young man starting out with what I know now I would pursue an MBA from the start.

I've heard that the next "hottest" thing coming up is cyber-criminology. Maybe she can find a curriculum that focuses on that, or, get a Computer Science degree and sell that to the locals.

take a rid along....do it more than once and tell her to get out of the car and see what the officer does, sees smells and hears.....

Tell her to go to the Fire Side! Fireman all the way! This is from a 22 year veteran of the Chicago Police.

IF... and that's a big IF she really wants to go the LE route, go Fed!
Look into the DEA, US Marshal, Secret Service.

My opinion, not that it matters much, but I'd avoid the FBI, Customs and Imigration like the plague.

Computers...IT...etc.

Not CJ. Throw in a foreign language too.

Many doors to open.

If she enjoys it let her minor in it.

A friend of mine was a sub-par student in H.S., when he got to college, he decided to go for a Criminal Justice Degree.

Because he really liked what he was studying, he graduated with honors, and later tested and was accepted to LA PD. He now works for Seattle P.D.

O.P.
If your daughter likes the subject matter, she might study and apply herself harder - and even enjoy her college years more.

Good luck to her.
Former LEO with a 4 year degree in Poly Sci

Out of curiosity what does anyone think about the Explorers Programs? Does your agency have one? Does it help or hinder the participants?

A degree in government would help, and Homeland Security degrees appear to be useful now. I would recommend the Bureau of Prisons, there's a lot of opportunity and competition is less. Everyone wants a badge and gun, no one wants a flashlight and count slip. The feds pay a whole lot more and there's a whole lot more personal interaction. If she wants to make a difference in people's lives, that's a good place to do it. The few successes I had were great experiences.

I have a slightly different perspective than many others who have responded, but I feel that my experience may support the exact same conclusions.

I have a BS and and MS in Criminal Justice. From High School on, I was laser focused on getting into federal law enforcement. I graduated with a 4.0 for both degrees, did an internship with the ATF (one of the federal agencies of my choice, although my opinion on them has "matured" over time), and applied directly to the ATF for a sworn position. Despite being told I would never be considered without local LE experience, I was accepted, passed the TEA on the first try, interviewed in Washington DC, passed the interview, and was sent the packet to begin the background (which I would have easily passed).

However, at that time, I bowed out of the hiring process. The reason is that this had taken 2-3 years from when I initially applied to get to this point, and during that time, I had acquired a better paying job in a totally un-related private sector (I was then an Audio-Visual systems programmer, now general manager for the same company).

What does all this mean about how I feel about my Criminal Justice degree? I feel like getting the degrees, especially the master's degree, has helped me greatly in my current job with everything from analytic skills, to writing skills, to math and statistics skills. That being said, the fact that it was a Criminal Justice degree has nothing to do with that, I probably would have gained similar skills pursuing almost any degree.

In conclusion, I do not think my Criminal Justice degree was a waste of time at all, and I do believe it helped me get accepted for the ATF, but ultimately I found my career elsewhere. I feel like anyone who us unilaterally focused on one degree and one career field runs the risk of being keyholed, as mentioned by other posters. However, if your daughter enjoys Criminal Justice classes, I would not tell her to stop solely because she won't have a backup plan if she decides to not make it in LE. I think the skills she gathers while pursuing the degree, and her flexibility to apply those skills to other careers, is ultimately more important.

A few thoughts;
I always wanted to be a Fireman like Grandpa. Took a CJ class and got hooked. The average HS student became an 'A' student in CJ classes. Let her take the classes if it interests her. No, a CJ degree is not a guarantee, but as many have said, many agencies have % pay increase for degrees in anything. But if she likes it, it gives her a little clue to the Profession.

Cadet/Explorer programs are great. Riding with an Officer is another way for a person to see if they really want the job. Cant tell you how many people we have hired and then they quit days or weeks into the career because it 'wasn't what I thought.' We are running a Cadet competition this weekend. The kids are tasked
with scenarios/situations and they go forth and deal with them. It is great to see them apply themselves and learn from the critiques.

Hope this helps.....