I currently have an associates degree in Industrial Electronics form a technical college. I have always wanted to go on and get a 4 year degree and now that I have just about got my fiance through graduate school I am thinking about going back myself, possible a change in work as well. I work in industry and on the verge of being burnt out. I am thinking of going into law enforcement full time, as I currently have an application in for a reserve LEO slot pending a training class slot. All my friends and former roomates for years are cops, and having been around it for a long time, it has somewhat gotten in my blood.
For LEO’s, what would be the best degree to go after? I know that everyone goes with criminal justice, but would I not be better off doing something a little different to not be like everyone else?
Would a psychology degree be a better option? Any help would be appreciated.
A CJ degree won’t hurt, and a psych minor would help, but IMHO forensics it a pretty hot field right now, and several colleges are offering degrees if that’s something you might be interested in pursuing during your career. With your current degree in Industrial Electronics, you might want to consider a computer forensics degree if you think its something you might have an interest in. Besides your career in law enforcement, computer forensics & digital investigations are very good fields to be in. They’re specialized, many cops are intimidated by computers and online investigations, and the field is only going to grow over time as more and more areas in our lives go online and digital. You would also have specialized skills that would carry over back into the private sector after retirement (computer forensics/e-Discovery, etc).
Dont bother with CJ unless you are 100% sure you are gonna go into LE and get hired for sure, otherwise a CJ degree is a dime a dozen
When i started doing private sector work i was amazed how many had gotten CJ degrees w/ an eye on LE and it never happened so they are stuck with a useless degree out in the world.
Get something usefull you can use if LE doesnt work out
If you want to become a police officer, the agency who hires you will train you in all the relevant cop stuff you will need. Generally the advice these days is to get a degree in something besides CJ that could be useful. The FBI, for instance, looks for people with accounting degrees, language degrees, computer science, and other non law or LE related degrees.
Great advice here. I got a BA in sociology (with a minor in CJ) and went on to get a masters in CJ, just to go on to become a probation officer for the local county. Hated that BS. Got out in less tahn 2 years. LE hiring was frozen to minimal in this area 12-13 years ago and I moved on to another field…Will always wonder if i’d have been happier getting into LE, but that’s another story…I have to STRESS that other than it has shown prospective employers that I can learn (at least my grades were up there) the actual degrees did little to help me. An MBA would have served me much better on the masters level and a basic business degree would have been a good idea for my BA…Doing it all over again today, I’d be looking into a 5 year masters in accounting.
On a side note, a degree will never hurt you and something is better than nothing. Don’t get hung up on what degree (at first). Start with the basic requirements. Once all of those are out of the way decide on what your major will be. Starting the whole process is going to be the hardest part IMO.
Some good advice here. You’ve already shown you can handle highly technical material, which a lot of people can’t. Computer crime is probably only going to increase and a lot of police depts are looking for people with experience in that field.
it was always recommended to me to get a AD in criminal justice and continue with a BS in business. PDs are businesses, afterall, and if the LEO thing doesn’t work out, you’ll have a degree that can be used for something.
my problem was that I wasn’t sure what i wanted to do. my military career had been cut short and i had chapter 30 voc-rehab- they literaly paid me to go to school to study anything i wanted, so i just started studying sociology with a criminal justice track. i finally hopped off the sociology and changed to criminal justice, thinking there wasn’t much else for a guy like me to do than become a cop… during 3.9 years of studying under LEOs, riding with LEOs, etc, i decided police work was NOT for me… knowing a degree in criminal justice would do me zero good, i just quit. so now i have no degree, and would basically need to start all over.
i will say that studying CJ, at least for me, busted the doors of LE wide open- i impressed the shit out of guys with my knowledge of the Oregon Criminal Code, i had several instructors recruiting me fairly aggressively, had several letters of recommendation… GREAT networking, great education. i have no doubts i would have been hired, and have no doubts that had i not studied CJ i wouldn’t have had half the chance i had.
A degree in public administration is pretty versatile and a good building block for other sectors and different management levels. You can then go on and get a master’s in public admin in a variety of disciplines that could serve you well. I taught some masters courses to public safety folks down in Palm Beach and they were getting theirs for a number of reasons.
If you get on with a good agency you’ll find that you can get your education covered as well as increases for each additional degree. Take this with a grain of salt though as every agency is feeling the economy right now.
The good news for you is that there is a huge round of COPS grants being funded that should help agencies bring/keep folks on for the next three years until the grant expires. I’m planning on funding two hires next fiscal year.
IMO English degree or computer science honestly. English because getting people who can write and speak articulately and intelligently are harder and harder to come by. Computer science because with the ever growing technology demands computer whiz people. Honestly CJ is kind of a worthless degree unless you get into the corrections, juvenile, and probabtion aspect. Not to knock anyone down with that degree but the majority of things you need to be effective will be taught at the academy and OJT. Granted it won’t hurt but it won’t give you a pass go collect $200 through any agencies academy. I am currently pursuing a CJ degree because it’s the only thing that interests me. As also mentioned before learning a second language will benefit you enormously. Spanish, Arabic, farsi, korean, chinese etc etc As long as you are proficient it will definitely do well for you. Best of luck. Remember make yourself stand out from all the other resumes and candidates…Having a four year degree is pretty much the standard these days. Especially if you want to go Federal (which I hope to do). Again this is just my opinion if anyone disagrees, I can respect that.
you don’t need a degree in english- which will get you a job no where- to learn how to write a good report. completion of first year writing and a good police report writing class will do that. if not, you’re a lost cause anyway.
Accounting. Like some others said. That way if you end up not liking LE work you can get a good job elsewhere. Not to mention you can get a FED job with the FBI. I wish I would have gotten an accounting degree. You will learn what you need to know on the job not at school. Good Luck either way. ACCOUNTING.
Public Administration is another decent option in that vein. The exact course content varies from institution to institution, but in general it’s designed to be a management degree for those in the public sector that deals with issues unique to government work like government budgeting and finance, grant writing, contracting, legal and judicial intervention into the operation of government agencies, etc.
A number of bigshots in military and LE circles (and government circles in general) have masters degrees in Public Administration.
