what to do with a criminal justice major

Having achieved the goal of entering into a criminal justice profession, many personnel in the field next wait to accelerate their careers and their ability to make a positive touch on in their communities. Earning a criminal justice degree is an accomplishment that ofttimes comes with additional benefits but brings up some other question: I have my available's degree in criminal justice. Now what?

Advancing with a Criminal Justice Degree

Joseph Medina '17 '19 was passed up for promotion multiple times. Frustrated, he approached his sergeant who suggested he practise something to better himself in lodge to stand out to his employers, the Boston School Police force Section. He did simply that past earning an associate degree in criminal justice to boost his resume.

Soon after, Medina received a promotion to citywide mobile sergeant. Now he'southward taking aim at a bachelor's caste in criminal justice.

"I attribute my education with my promotion and accept seen, firsthand, the connected career opportunities that are now attainable every bit a result of earning my degree," he said.

David Lemieux 'eighteen earned his bachelor's caste in police assistants and operations in December, an achievement he said came with a enhance from his current employer, the Portland Police Department in Maine.

"Portland has an bureau of approximately 150 law officers; I chose criminal justice in police operations to advance through the ranks equally I proceeds feel," he said. "I of the reasons why I chose Portland was because of the room for advancement."

Of class, earning a caste while working full time comes with its ain difficulties, and Lemieux said he needed to find a program that meshed with his piece of work schedule, which typically involves 2nd- and third-shift hours. A traditional on campus schedule wasn't an option if he wanted to sleep, so he turned to an online criminal justice programme, which he said offered the best value in terms of time, flexibility and price.

"Information technology was a petty bit of a challenge figuring out how to programme my work, personal time and school piece of work," he said.

Lemieux said his time management strategy involved breaking weekly work into manageable chunks in lodge to meet assignment deadlines.

"Every instructor had a vast array of knowledge; they got back to you lot inside 24-48 hours on a question that you might take," he said. "The instructors know that life happens and were able to piece of work with you if an incident came up."

Criminal Justice Careers

For those not currently working in criminal justice and those seeking a new career path in the field, in that location's plenty of opportunities. Published data from the FBI'southward Uniform Crime Reporting division shows at that place were nearly 1 million total-time law enforcement employees in 2016.

There are many roles inside the criminal justice field including:

• Police officer or sheriff's deputy
• Detective or criminal investigator
• Fish and game wardens
• Transit police
• Corrections
• Forensics
• Homeland security

Y'all tin also consider continuing your education and earn a master's caste to assistance you in a specialized field such as avant-garde counterterrorism or public safety administration.

"After taking a couple of months off, I am going to go on my education and pursue my master's degree in criminal justice and police operation," said Lemieux.

Criminal Justice Careers for Veterans

A career in criminal justice is a natural transition for many veterans looking for jobs afterward the war machine. Experience in the war machine can prepare you well for a office in a similarly structured organization such equally police force enforcement. But there are other options, too, including corrections, probation and more.

Some veterans worry their military service will work against them in a job search. In fact, the opposite is truthful. According to a 2017 Career Builder survey, 48% of employers pay more attending to a resume from a veteran. The survey likewise plant that 40% of employers planned to recruit veterans in the next twelvemonth, and half said they had hired a veteran in the previous 12 months.

The aforementioned survey said some of the near highly-sought skills employers value from veteran employees include:

• Teamwork - 63%
• Disciplined approach to work - 60%
• Integrity - 59%
• Performance under pressure - 52%
• Leadership - 52%
• Problem-solving skills - 52%

Marking Evenson, an offshoot teacher at Southern New Hampshire Academy, was in the Army himself before becoming a constabulary officer. He knows firsthand the benefits veterans bring to criminal justice careers. "It'south a natural transition," he said, speaking of their maturity, diversified training and willingness to accept on responsibleness.

War machine veterans are accepted to working within a strict hierarchy, taking orders and helping each other as a team. Shut work with colleagues from many backgrounds has often given them interpersonal skills and cocky-conviction. These skills tin concur them in good stead when dealing with stressful or unsafe situations; and, Evenson said, "Y'all could use the same to other fields in criminal justice, (such every bit) corrections or probation officer."

In addition to being required more frequently to piece of work in criminal justice fields, veterans who have bachelor'due south degrees are employed more than oft than those with a high school diploma, co-ordinate to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Unofficial Benefits of Criminal Justice Degree

Having achieved his goal of earning a bachelor's degree in criminal justice, Lemieux said he has newfound conviction in his job duties.

"My affidavits have significantly improved," said Lemieux. "This was because of the projects and milestones we had to complete in each course. My instructors were able to provide me the proper feedback of how to obtain references and put them in a (proper) format. (My criminal justice degree) has likewise provided me with the noesis in constitutional law to behave proper police force community involvement."

Similarly, Medina said in that location take been many practical benefits in addition to his promotion and obvious monetary gain.

"I feel that through my education I learned more than nearly the other agencies that I interact with, such as the court arrangement and the corrections organization," he said. "I too learned a bang-up bargain near how a lot of the principles and tactics utilized in modern policing came to exist."

Almost important, said Medina, is the impact he'south experienced at abode.

"The promotion has enabled me to better provide for me and my son," he said, "and my earning of my caste has made my son realize the importance of education and has motivated him to want to go to higher."

Ryan O'Connor works in higher teaching marketing at Southern New Hampshire Academy. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

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Source: https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/social-sciences/i-have-my-bachelors-degree-in-criminal-justice-now-what

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