Possible Career with online degree?

[Dragon]

Yes I am about go into my second semester at this public university. I have not made any contacts yet really because I haven't taken any classes my field because of registration issues. That will be solved this coming semester though and I will be trying to talk to my professors a lot. I do have other contacts that work in the city police department that are willing to help me out, but I still need some more course work under my belt before I can apply for an internship on my own. Hopefully by next year though I will be ready.

[rebel100]

Yes I am about go into my second semester at this public university. I have not made any contacts yet really because I haven't taken any classes my field because of registration issues. That will be solved this coming semester though and I will be trying to talk to my professors a lot. I do have other contacts that work in the city police department that are willing to help me out, but I still need some more course work under my belt before I can apply for an internship on my own. Hopefully by next year though I will be ready.

Go meet the professors now, is there a "law enforcement club"? If your not able to land a volunteer or internship at the PD try the Sheriffs Office, the local Emergency Management office, etc...You need to get creative.

Go do the FEMA PDS and FEMA 100/200/700/800...they will all be required eventually anyway and it gives you something to put on the resume and talk about in cover letters.

[Dragon]

Ok. I will look into all that. Thanks so much rebel!

[Prloko]

Awesome feedback guys. I've just been doing some browsing in statistics and research about people being hired with online degrees. I think the most recent research I found was in 2010 or 09 and they did say that Online degrees are becoming more popular, but hiring managers are still biased about half the time.

The recruiters and connections I could get from being at my public university is probably the biggest reason I'm staying right now. In my degree plan, there are two internships at government facilities. I don't know how I could get into good internships or make good networks without a public university. Local Police departments do allow you to apply for internships yourself, but I really don't know how they judge candidates.

Any body have any thoughts on how the big three would hold up in trying to land an internship?

The Big 3 are colleges that are oriented toward adults who already have jobs, so they aren't about placement. If you need to get your foot in the door, I know my best bet when starting out was using people I knew. I had a friend who had a friend in HR who helped me land my first coporate job (b4 I joined the military). Get yourself out there, make calls, join professional organizations, join linked-in, talk to your college career department, get friends and families to cash in "favors". It's how the world works.

Another great thing to do is volunteer. Some people volunteer at the local hospital or a non-profit doing office work. That's real work experience whether you're getting paid or not. Sometimes, someone in that org will leave or retire and you can step right in. It also makes you look good to employers and grad schools.