What do I do with this Criminal Justice degree?
April 7, 2011 5:36 PM Subscribe
What do people with a B.S. in Criminal Justice do as a career besides being a security guard?
I am trying to help a friend land a job. She just graduated with a B.S. in Criminal Justice and it seems that the only opportunities that use that degree are security guards. She is not interested in that nor in being a police officer (though she has had two internships with the NYPD). She tried applying to the ASPCA for a Humane Law Enforcement position but heard nothing. Can anyone help steer us in the right direction?
I am trying to help a friend land a job. She just graduated with a B.S. in Criminal Justice and it seems that the only opportunities that use that degree are security guards. She is not interested in that nor in being a police officer (though she has had two internships with the NYPD). She tried applying to the ASPCA for a Humane Law Enforcement position but heard nothing. Can anyone help steer us in the right direction?
Don't focus on jobs that are specifically looking for someone with that degree (unless the only skills she has came from the degree, which I doubt). Look for jobs that fit her skills and/or interests. There are a lot of jobs that require a college degree but don't specify what it's in -- if she has the skills to do the job, she should apply regardless of whether it has anything to do with criminal justice. I have a journalism degree and I'm a software engineer...
posted by sharding at 5:47 PM on April 7, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by sharding at 5:47 PM on April 7, 2011 [2 favorites]
My brother has this degree, and he's a legal assistant at a law firm.
posted by DrGirlfriend at 6:05 PM on April 7, 2011
posted by DrGirlfriend at 6:05 PM on April 7, 2011
My son, who has a degree in criminal justice and is probably very close in age to your friend, is working as a corrections officer. He's working at a county pre-release facility so it isn't as dangerous as some other possibilities. At least, that's what he tells his parents. He's also looking at moving into work as a probation or parole officer.
posted by maurice at 6:07 PM on April 7, 2011
posted by maurice at 6:07 PM on April 7, 2011
My father got a Criminal Justice degree as an adult and his first job was managing the security department for a large department store.
posted by something something at 6:17 PM on April 7, 2011
posted by something something at 6:17 PM on April 7, 2011
I know some people with that degree that have pretty rewarding jobs in probation and parole, first offenders programs or halfway houses.
posted by mjcon at 6:17 PM on April 7, 2011
posted by mjcon at 6:17 PM on April 7, 2011
Stop looking for jobs that require that degree and start looking for jobs that lots of people with that degree do. These aren't the same thing at all. Lots of occupations are open to people with lots of backgrounds even though there are some majors that are particularly well-matched to it.
Anything in law or law enforcement (Except things that specifically require other kinds of degrees like lawyers) would seem relevant. Also some kinds of things that are closer to social work (e.g. working with people in halfway houses or such), working for non-profits or NGOs that deal with criminal or at-risk for criminal behaviour populations. This could be anything from service to the actual population to grant writing etc.
The other approach she could take is to think instead about what skills she developed (interacting with people in difficult situations? writing? data analysis?) and look at occupations that use those skills even if they aren't applied to criminal-related things.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:23 PM on April 7, 2011
Anything in law or law enforcement (Except things that specifically require other kinds of degrees like lawyers) would seem relevant. Also some kinds of things that are closer to social work (e.g. working with people in halfway houses or such), working for non-profits or NGOs that deal with criminal or at-risk for criminal behaviour populations. This could be anything from service to the actual population to grant writing etc.
The other approach she could take is to think instead about what skills she developed (interacting with people in difficult situations? writing? data analysis?) and look at occupations that use those skills even if they aren't applied to criminal-related things.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:23 PM on April 7, 2011
What was you friend's reason for doing a criminal justice degree in the first place? What is she interested in?
There are a bunch of things that are possibilities, really. Criminal justice policy is an obvious option – working for local/state/federal government departments that have some sort of criminal justice function. Working as a clerk in a court. Working in treatment or intervention programs (some of these jobs require counselling qualifications, but there are many related roles that don't). Doing some sort of criminal justice intelligence work, such as for a police department, which over here at least are often civilian jobs. There are actually heaps of civilian jobs associated with police departments (primarily as a cost-cutting measure, but that works in your favour if you don't want to train to be a cop).
But, again, it all sort of depends on what her interests were in going into criminal justice in the first place.
posted by damonism at 6:24 PM on April 7, 2011
There are a bunch of things that are possibilities, really. Criminal justice policy is an obvious option – working for local/state/federal government departments that have some sort of criminal justice function. Working as a clerk in a court. Working in treatment or intervention programs (some of these jobs require counselling qualifications, but there are many related roles that don't). Doing some sort of criminal justice intelligence work, such as for a police department, which over here at least are often civilian jobs. There are actually heaps of civilian jobs associated with police departments (primarily as a cost-cutting measure, but that works in your favour if you don't want to train to be a cop).
But, again, it all sort of depends on what her interests were in going into criminal justice in the first place.
posted by damonism at 6:24 PM on April 7, 2011
My sister has a Masters in Criminal Justice and while a lot of the people who she graduated with were either going on to be policemen or prison employees, there are a lot of other opportunities to be working at various governmental levels. Of course everyone wants to be a profiler, but you can do computer forensics, work in a crime lab, do other work with police/guards or just bring that background to other jobs, as sharding says. My sister is in middle management in the Massachusetts Crime Lab and mostly likes her work. She's doing more admin stuff than things that use her degree, but she has a stable job working for state government, that is safe and at the same time very very interesting.
posted by jessamyn at 6:25 PM on April 7, 2011
posted by jessamyn at 6:25 PM on April 7, 2011
I know a lot of people that became officers in the military with that degree.
posted by empyrean at 6:59 PM on April 7, 2011
posted by empyrean at 6:59 PM on April 7, 2011
I work at a the domestic violence shelter. My direct supervisor-- who sadly just left us to get married & move to another state-- is a CJ major. Her position here was as Women's Coordinator. She'd originally applied, if I recall correctly, for our legal advocate position (which has been held by two CJ majors, and an education major).
In fact, my previous supervisor was also a CJ major, our last executive director was a CJ major, and one of our work-study students is about to graduate with a CJ degree.
posted by ElaineMc at 10:51 PM on April 7, 2011
In fact, my previous supervisor was also a CJ major, our last executive director was a CJ major, and one of our work-study students is about to graduate with a CJ degree.
posted by ElaineMc at 10:51 PM on April 7, 2011
The vast majority of law enforcement and security jobs don't require college degrees. People with degrees are usually sought after by the court system (parole officers, juvenile intake officers, victim/witness coordinators) or by larger police departments that have separate operations divisions (for instance, a degree might be an advantage for someone applying to be an administrative lieutenant or internal affairs investigator).
posted by amyms at 1:31 AM on April 8, 2011
posted by amyms at 1:31 AM on April 8, 2011
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posted by elsietheeel at 5:39 PM on April 7, 2011