Criminal Justice Careers

A degree in criminal justice will prepare you for criminal justice careers in the following areas:

Local law enforcement:

• Park police
• County police
• Juvenile Justice Centers
• Sheriff Department

State law enforcement:

• Crime labs
• State Crime Commissions
• The Court System
• Attorney General Offices
• Narcotics Bureaus
• Liquor Control Boards
• State Police

Federal law enforcement:

• Department of Defense
• Department of Homeland Security
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Department of Transportation
• Federal Trade Commission
• Veterans Affairs
• Customs Agency
• Immigration and Naturalization Service
• Food and Drug Administration
• Office of the Inspector General

Private sector law enforcement:

• Insurance companies
• Private detectives
• Safety officers
• Security patrol officers

The amount of education you need depends on your criminal justice career goals.  To prepare for careers in criminal justice, you can pursue a certificate, an associate's degree, or a bachelor's degree.

As always, remember that you can often get a criminal justice degree online, to balance your education needs with your work and family.

There are also advanced degree options for jobs such as forensic scientist, or for those wishing to teach in criminal justice degree programs.

The most common types of criminal justice programs are:

• A certificate provides training in a specific area of criminal justice by educating students to be crime scene technicians or other specialized fields. Students who obtain certificates usually use them as the building blocks for a future criminal justice degree. In addition, students who have degrees in unrelated fields can use certificates to develop specific skills that will help them make a successful career change into a specific criminal justice field. 

• An associate's degree takes two years to complete and teaches fundamental criminal justice skills while groundings students in the liberal arts and sciences. Associates degrees might emphasize technical skills that will help graduates embark on successful careers in local or state law enforcement. Most police departments require new recruits to have completed some college training. You may be even more appealing because your associate's degree credits could transfer to a four – year college for a future bachelor's degree.

• A bachelor's degree provides in-depth training for students who want to find entry-level positions in federal agencies, or who would like to increase their likelihood of being promoted in a police department or private company. Students who have completed their associate's degrees can begin a bachelor's program to expand their career opportunities. In addition, bachelor's degrees can prepare students for master's programs in criminal justice.

Depending upon your specific interests, you can choose from a range of criminal justice specialties, including:

• Criminal Justice (certificate, associate, bachelor): A certificate or degree in criminal justice will provide you with the technical and analytical skills that new employees need. These programs focus on topics such as crime, justice and the legal system. Criminal justice degrees include classes on legal studies and political science to help you become familiar with the criminal justice system. In addition, these programs teach you important communication skills that will enable to excel as part of a team of criminal justice career professionals.

• Crime Scene Technologists (certificate, associate): Crime scene technologists work at all levels of law enforcement and in legal or medical examiner's offices. Crime scene technologists (or technicians) become skilled at analyzing and preserving crime scenes by learning proper evidence recovery, collection and storage techniques. In addition, programs teach crime scene technologists to become effective communicators, since many need to present their findings in court.

• Terrorism/Security Management (certificate): This certificate will be useful to those who currently are working in criminal justice careers and individuals who would like to begin new careers in criminal justice. Employees with training in terrorism will find a range of new career opportunities as this field continues to grow. Students will learn about modern-day terrorist techniques and will analyze response plans and security proposals.