Any professors or Criminal Justice majors on the forum?

[missyanne]

I'm in the process of deciding what I'm going to do with my life (lol) - but seriously, I've been thinking a lot lately... about what I'm going to do when I finish school, what field I'm going to go into, etc.

I've always wanted to be a cop and someday become a detective because it seems adventurous and it's not the same ol' boring stuff every day. However, my family thinks it's too dangerous and I'm not the most active person so... that's probably never going to happen. I'm majoring in Criminal Justice but I can't really seem to think of any jobs that interests me besides Law Enforcement.

I also thought about being a professor and teaching Criminal Justice because it seems more realistic to me. What do I need to become a professor? What kind of experience is needed? What exams would I have to take? Grad school? Masters? PhD? I'm absolutely clueless. :shame:

If you're a Criminal Justice major, please tell me what your occupation is and any suggestions for jobs in the CRJ field would be greatly appreciated!

 

[twiggers]

I am working towards a PhD in another field and the basic requirements to be a professor at the 4-year colleges is a PhD, 2 year colleges is a masters degree.

 

[RWolfeOH]

I am a cop!

I have always wanted to do it, but let everyone talk me out of it because of the danger. I joined the academy and finally did it once I turned 30. It was alot of hard work, especially with a husband and two kids at home.

If you really want to become a cop, then go for it...give it a try. This is your life and ultimately you have to make you happy.
Start becoming active. You will need to run several miles within a certain time frame, do timed sit ups and push ups. Let me tell you--I hated to run before the academy, but grew to love it. I couldn't do one push up, so I got a trainer, bought a weight system for my basement and I trained. Before the academy began I could do 80 push ups without stopping. I blew away just about every guy in my class. If you want it bad enough you can do it!

Yes, it is a dangerous profession, but we live in a dangerous world where everything is dangerous these days. I hope you give it more thought and not let anyone talk you out of it. Good luck!

 

[KatsBags]

My sister has a degree in criminal justice. She works as a probation officer dealing with adult drug offenders. She started her career working with juvenile drug offenders.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[LivinLuxuriously]

I'm going to watch this thread. My fiance did criminal justice as his major for his AA, and had initially wanted to be a detective (he planned on policing after getting his AA - but started to fall out-of-love with the idea). He went on to get his BA in sociology/criminology - and now is at a complete loss with what to do with himself! My room mate had a similar major, and works as a court advocate now - but gets paid crap and is pretty miserable (awful urban area). He's going to apply to a temping agency to try different jobs out come June.

 

[lelgin]

I got my BA in Criminal Justice. I wasn't really sure what to do when I graduated, so I went to graduate school and received a masters in public administration. If you are interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement, then you should definitely go for it. As a side note, the public administration degree is actually preferred over criminal justice for law enforcement.

 

[Hats]

ME! I'm a Criminal Justice/Anthropology major. (Forensic Anthropology)

I'm going to internship with the local coroner over the summer (I think) and then I want to work for a department for awhile before getting a Masters in CSI.

Eventually I want to do Forensic work, obviously.

 

[kristie]

I am a cop!

I have always wanted to do it, but let everyone talk me out of it because of the danger. I joined the academy and finally did it once I turned 30. It was alot of hard work, especially with a husband and two kids at home.

If you really want to become a cop, then go for it...give it a try. This is your life and ultimately you have to make you happy.
Start becoming active. You will need to run several miles within a certain time frame, do timed sit ups and push ups. Let me tell you--I hated to run before the academy, but grew to love it. I couldn't do one push up, so I got a trainer, bought a weight system for my basement and I trained. Before the academy began I could do 80 push ups without stopping. I blew away just about every guy in my class. If you want it bad enough you can do it!

Yes, it is a dangerous profession, but we live in a dangerous world where everything is dangerous these days. I hope you give it more thought and not let anyone talk you out of it. Good luck!

Excellent, I am a Police Officer too. I went through the academy at 18 years old.....youngest recruit accepted ever at the huge agency I worked for (Over 2000 deputies) I was a Sheriff's Deputy for 6 years and then transferred to a Police Department and have been there for 4 years. PM me if you want more info I cannot imagine doing anything else in this world. I would be forever bored with ANY other job.

 

[samoXenina]

ME! I'm a Criminal Justice/Anthropology major. (Forensic Anthropology)

I'm going to internship with the local coroner over the summer (I think) and then I want to work for a department for awhile before getting a Masters in CSI.

Eventually I want to do Forensic work, obviously.

I plan on doing the same...right now im getting a B.A in chemistry after Im finished with that then get a masters. I am basically done with my A.S in Criminal Justice and am minoring in forensic science.

I hope to work in a Forensic Field also

 

[missyanne]

Thanks for replying everyone!

RWolfeOH, your words are SO motivating!!! I will definitely reconsider but being a professor and teaching criminal justice seems for realistic to me right now. Maybe I'll change my mind again when I'm done with school.

To everyone else that replied: I feel like there aren't too many jobs out there in the CRJ field, or not too many jobs that pays well. They all seem lousy and boring. Blah!

 

[Hats]

I plan on doing the same...right now im getting a B.A in chemistry after Im finished with that then get a masters. I am basically done with my A.S in Criminal Justice and am minoring in forensic science.

I hope to work in a Forensic Field also

Very cool! I didn't want to be strictly a lab tech, persay, I'd rather work more in the field/expert testifier/etc, so my adviser suggested the double major in the CJS and either Anthro/Bio. I keep jumping between classes, cause I just can't decide! Lol. But George Washington University offers a Masters program in CSI: with a concentration in Ballistics, Photography, etc. So, I think that I will do that after a few years experience. I think I'll also go and get my "certificate" or whatever it is called as far as Crime Scene goes.

Happy to meet someone going into the same field!

 

[nawth21]

My first degree is in Biology, my second degree that I'm currently working on is CJS. If you're interested in Law Enforcement, that's the route to go. (well, my school offers both degrees, CJS and Law Enforcement both are 4 yr degrees). Many of the professors at my Uni are community faculty, meaning they have other jobs in the field they teach. Many of my CJS courses have been taught by the St. Paul Chief of Police. It's pretty cool. Not really planning on doing anything with my CJS degree, but it was my minor and I get free tuition so I figured I'd finish it up as a BA since I already had most of the courses.

Job wise, not sure. All I know is it's tough as hell to break into a police dept around here, a friend of my father has applied to all sorts of places..most waaaay out in the middle of nowhere and none are hiring. But I'm not sure if that is the way everywhere or just my location. Most start out as corrections officers and go from there.