BS in Criminal Justice=More Oppurtunities?

[sava]

Quick question to you LEO's.

I have 4 semesters left until I get my degree, and am excited to get into this career. I've been chasing this dream since I graduated HS, and and more anxious than ever to finish my education and start making $$$.

Will getting a BS increase my chances of becoming a LEO, or will it be pretty much the same as the guy with a HS diploma?

Being that the economy is slow, many departments have put a freeze on new hires. My professors say that a degree helps, but I want an opinion from some active duty LEO's.

Does your department put a high emphasis on college educated recruits?

Promoting up is easier with a degree, correct?

Thanks for your service, your sacrifice, and your time.
-Stan

[SoCalDep]

It will increase your chances of being hired, often result in higher pay, faster POST certification (Intermediate and Advanced), which will often result in more pay, and allow additional opportunities. I have heard (unconfirmed) many departments will not promote people without college degrees.

Especially in light of the current economic situation, I would strongly encourage you to get your degree. It will give the economy time to improve and better your chances.

[TenSeven]

I would strongly encourage you to get your degree.

100% agree! Finish your degree, then get in the profession.

[retired]

I agree with the others, but would add that if you are able to switch it to another major do so. Most local depts. don't care for the CJ degree and you will learn a lot of that material in the academy.

A degree in English, Public Management Public Administration, would probably be much more helpful as means up in any local lea you hire with.

There was a member here sometime ago (2009-2110) who said a CJ degree would be beneficial for Federal Le jobs. He was a Fed and spoke from experience.

If it is too late to change your degree, just do well in it and perhaps consider Federal le as a job choice also.

Good luck.

[RollingCode3]

I agree with the others, but would add that if you are able to switch it to another major do so. Most local depts. don't care for the CJ degree and you will learn a lot of that material in the academy.

A degree in English, Public Management Public Administration, would probably be much more helpful as means up in any local lea you hire with.

There was a member here sometime ago (2009-2110) who said a CJ degree would be beneficial for Federal Le jobs. He was a Fed and spoke from experience.

If it is too late to change your degree, just do well in it and perhaps consider Federal le as a job choice also.

Goo luck.

+1. I have a BS in Criminal Justice. It is useless

[CaptMike]

in my Dept. a HS diploma starting pay is about 33k and you top out at 40k. A BA will start you at 43k and you don't top out. You can continue to promote all the way up the ranks. The only thing I would suggest iis to start a Masters Program immediately after finishing your BA. Reason is that there are alot of people that have BA degrees and are out of work. If you don't have something more in your background such as being a Mlitary Veteran, previous Law Enforcement experience or a Masters degree, you won't stand out in the crowd of BA degrees. A Masters in Public Administration is a degree that most departments like and it is not a difficult degree to complete. Good luck to you.

[fullrearview]

It will increase your chances of being hired, often result in higher pay, faster POST certification (Intermediate and Advanced), which will often result in more pay, and allow additional opportunities. I have heard (unconfirmed) many departments will not promote people without college degrees.

Especially in light of the current economic situation, I would strongly encourage you to get your degree. It will give the economy time to improve and better your chances.

Many won't hire unless you have a degree either...

[non sequitur]

To BS or not to BS

A college education certainly won't hurt your future LEO career. Unless, of course, all you did in college was smoke pot and ditch class.

In my experience as an FTO, college-educated recruits write better reports and are a little faster are the uptake when it comes to learning new laws, old laws, Dept. policy & procedures, etc.

However, some of the most pro-active and street-savvy cops I've worked with over the years were high school dropouts with GEDs. Ironic, isn't it?

I have a college education. It looked good on my resume and I do get paid a little extra but did it make me a better street cop? I like to think so.

[1-M-42]

Finish up at school. The generation of us cops that are just retiring or preparing to retire are probably the last that could succeed with just a HS education. It took me nearly 30 years to get my degree after starting on the job back in 78. Do it now, you won't regret it.

[Samuelx]

Quick question to you LEO's.

I have 4 semesters left until I get my degree, and am excited to get into this career.

Only 4 semesters left and now you're asking? Try to look/think/plan farther ahead.

I've been chasing this dream since I graduated HS, and and more anxious than ever to finish my education and start making $$$.

Really? It's all about the $$$? (What about start "taking bad people to jail" or "helping the community" or "working side by side with other members of the thin blue line" or something like that?) You might make $ or $$. I wouldn't count on making $$$. If I wanted to make $$$, I would be doing something different.

Will getting a BS increase my chances of becoming a LEO, or will it be pretty much the same as the guy with a HS diploma?

Depends on the hiring requirements for a particular department. Some require a college degree, some don't. If no one is hiring and people are getting laid off in LE, how much do you think a BS in CJ is going to help you find something else to do?

Being that the economy is slow, many departments have put a freeze on new hires. My professors say that a degree helps, but I want an opinion from some active duty LEO's.

Check the hiring requirements of the agencies/departments you're interested in - call their pre-employment/backgrounds units and ask.

Does your department put a high emphasis on college educated recruits?
Nope.

Promoting up is easier with a degree, correct?
Again, depends on the department. Some require it, some don't. Can depend on how high up you are trying to go. IME, I would say it's more about Who You Know.

Thanks for your service, your sacrifice, and your time.
-Stan

If it's not too late, I'd recommend switching to another major - something that will give you a plan B. If you want to make big bucks, I would look for something different, maybe something internet related - start a new youtube, ebay, facebook, online poker site, porn site, something like that.

Some of us get paid "ok" - I know some LEOs who are barely making double digits an hour (in other parts of the country). Have you heard about how many of us have been killed in just the last month, month and a half? NONE of those guys/gals were being paid enough...

IMO, if you concentrate on other aspects of the job, other than pay, you will probably last longer and be happier. IF you've already decided on LE as a career, I'd recommend writing out an ideal schedule of what you'd like to accomplish/learn/experience and where'd you like to be in 5, 10, 15, etc years. Don't forget to look into Fed positions too...

[Baconator]

If you can't get a job in LE, do you have something else you can use your degree for? I ask because it is really tight right now in the LE field, and if the only thing you can use your degree for is LE then you might be stuck. I think having a degree is always good, but you need to have a backup plan as well.

[sava]

Thanks for all the responses.

I'm not into this for the $$$. If I was, I would have pursued my original plan of being a Civil Engineer. I have a passion for Law, and enjoy helping my community. This degree is a stepping stone into the real world. Once I have a degree, I'll apply for every position open and see what happens.

My plan has been to work local LE so that I could stay close to the family. My major goal is to end up working Federal LE(DEA, FBI, CIA, NSA, DHS, ect.) I've been considering many different options, and if I don't get a job locally, I will apply to the Federal level. Being fluent in 2 other languages other than English will help on the state, and federal level. Worst case scenario, if I cannot land a job anywhere, I will go into the Military, attend OCS and do my time as an officer. After my service, I will once again attempt to land a job on the state or federal level.

Another option I have, and this one will probably be the most logical, is to attend law school right after graduating CSU. That is my so called back-up plan if the LE deal doesnt work out.

[BoJackUSMC]

One advice is dont reply on too much education in order to get hire. What I mean is dont take out huge college loans in order to get masters degree or Ph.D and end up not having a job and cant pay off your college debts. I know many people with BA degree on CJ, psychology, and art major. They thought having master degrees will help them out, but they just ended up with more college debts and more stress. I believe BA/BS certain degree is more than enough to stand out and land you in a good job. If you cant get hire and you want to go back to school, try looking at ROTC program or national guard. In fact, I noticed you go to CSU, they should have ROTC program for sure. I know because I also go to CSU and ROTC army recruiter always call me or email me once every month to make me sign up for the ROTC program. They will help you pay for your college up to some amount and give you free allowance too.
I am glad I can attend school for free because of my military service. I will probably graduate with BS accounting degree with less than $5,000 college debt or my own pocket money.
This is my third year as college student and I still do not have any debt or took out any loans. Even more, I still have one more year left on my GI Bill and its tax free. Use all the resource you can find and use it for your advantage. Good luck and let me know if you end up joining military service so I could say "Thank you for serving our county."

[Bryan16]

CRJ is the worst degree to have in my opinion. Many departments prefer a more "rounded" applicant; one who has been exposed to a variety of subjects other than CRJ. Look at a few dept's websites and you will find majors such as sociology, economics, business, English, foreign language, etc. as desirable. What makes it worse, if you decide law enforcement isn't for you, a CRJ degree will likely not serve you well in other fields.

It's far better than none at all! The law school route afterwards sounds like a good idea too.

[sava]

CRJ is the worst degree to have in my opinion. Many departments prefer a more "rounded" applicant; one who has been exposed to a variety of subjects other than CRJ. Look at a few dept's websites and you will find majors such as sociology, economics, business, English, foreign language, etc. as desirable. What makes it worse, if you decide law enforcement isn't for you, a CRJ degree will likely not serve you well in other fields.

It's far better than none at all! The law school route afterwards sounds like a good idea too.

A CRJ degree will flow into Law School better than any other.....