What degrees should I get?

[EDSLocklear]

I am a High School Freshman, but am already preparing for college. I want to become an Arson Investigator, and am thinking of going to college for a degree in Criminal Justice and Fire Science. Is this all I will need, or are there other degrees I should pursue? Thanks ahead of time!

[retdetsgt]

Skip the Criminal Justice, it won't do you any good. Go for chemistry and fire science.

I don't know about other places, but here arson investigators are fire fighters who are promoted into it. We have about 600 fire fighters and less than a half a dozen arson investigators though.

I'm not sure how many BATF agents actually work arson, but I suspect it's a small minority. They're also responsible for firearm investigations.

[DeltaV]

Same here. In most places it's actually rare for the police to conduct the arson investigations, although many states have statewide fire marshal bureaus that conduct investigations without actually performing traditional firefighting duties. That said, those usually aren't entry level positions. Our arson investigators are firefighters with sworn law enforcement authority. Although they are employed by the fire department, they are actually assigned to the police department and work out of our major crimes bureau attached to the homicide squad. Our homicide detectives work alongside them on any case that involves death or serious injury.

Within the fire department the arson investigator positions are pretty competitive. There usually aren't all that many of them, and there are a lot of people who want them. My college (Eastern Kentucky University) has a major in arson & explosion investigation. I believe it's only one of a few colleges in the country with such a program. If you can't find anything that specific then focus on fire science and getting hired by a fire department.