Criminal Justice: The Unethical Cash Cow

[publius2k4]

It's always nice to hear from someone who has actually worked in the criminal justice field. They know the deal. Police officers will be the first ones to tell you not to major in CJ because you think it'll give you an advantage. You have to think about what you're going to do with the degree if you can't meet the requirements of law enforcement agencies, if you become injured early on in your career, or if you end up hating the job. A lot of police officers burnout within 10 years.

It annoys me to no end when people criticize those studying psychology and sociology and present criminal justice as the more practical option for employment. The vast majority of jobs one can get with a CJ degree one can also get with a sociology or psychology degree. Probation and parole will happily take psychology and sociology majors. They are often listed as preferred degrees along with CJ. Over 90% of law enforcement and corrections jobs only require a high school diploma or GED. CJ majors have to go through the academy like everyone else. There are very few jobs in which criminal justice majors have an advantage over psychology and sociology majors.

Exactly. In my agency, all that matters is your certification. They could care less about your education.

If there is an open position, they weed through the applications to see who is already certified for that position because it means the agency will not have to invest any money to send that applicant to their respective academy (police or corrections). If one applicant has a masters degree in criminal justice, and another applicant has a GED and is already certified, the agency will hire the individual who is certified first.