Criminal Justice Career

[svivit]

I'm completely in the dark about what i should do out of high school in order to get into the Academy and get a job. I know that i may not want to be an officer but a detective. I am still in high school, and wondering where i can go for the classes i need and everything. Any tips?
what do i do?
are there certain classes i need to take if i wanted to be a detective for a particular area?
And finally.. there are so many Police Academys and i know that the Santa Clara Police Department barely ever hires rookies, so where would i apply to a Police Academy, and or, where could i get a job?? i've lived in Santa Clara all my life..

[gabe a.]

As your questions are fairly vague, I'll tailor my response equally vague. Go to college and get a degree in something you enjoy. Most agencies will hire an applicant without a degree, but if you want to advance, a degree will help you achieve that.

Stay out of trouble, you're coming out of your "young and naive" days, and will have to explain slip-ups with the law, to your perspective employer during the interview process.

You'll have to work the road for at least a couple years if not far longer, so if you don't want to work in patrol, then you may want to consider a different route to attain your goal of working in investigations.

The best advice I can give you is to figure out where you want to work (i.e. FBI, local, wherever) and ask them what they look for in a potential hire, maybe even see if you can volunteer with that particular agency.

Good luck!