Schools, Please help a future Brother of the Police Force

[thejuice80]

I'm going to school right now in Minnesota for Criminal Justice at N.A.U. I might switch schools to enter the "Law Enforcement" program. Just wondering if anyone could do it all over again, what would he/she do diffrently? I've heard many diffrent opinions on this matter, some with-out certain creditials that make me feel at ease. Any help will be greatly helpful. I don't want to waste time or money, I'm 30 right now, and want to work hard to do what I have to do to be a cop asap. I really don't see myself wanting to do anything other than to be a cop, with that said, if I for some reason don't make the cut, would having a degree in CJ help me as a "Plan B" approach? V.S. going through the law enforcement program? Talking to schools about this matter is like talking to a car salesman. To be honest, I havn't met anyone in the administrative office I truly trust at school about this matter. In the end they all want students money hehehe.

Thank you,
Justin
P.S. Be safe out there

[retdetsgt]

Hi Justin,

Search Criminal Justice programs here and you will find that they are of no more help getting a job in LE than a degree in biology. In fact the biology might work out better for you. It's the education they want and CJ is not a top priority.

Good luck.

[Legoate]

Hi Justin,

In fact the biology might work out better for you.

My degree is actually in Biology. Using my academy class as an example- every person in the academy had a 4 year degree. I'd guess that 90% of them had degrees in areas other than CJ.

It's my opinion the CJ majors ended up being the crappiest cops from my class. There were also several 4 year CJ majors that couldn't make it through the academy.

Study whatever interests you, do well in college, and keep your nose clean. That's all a department cares about.

Recent story: I was buying some stuff at CVS pharmacy when the clerk said something odd to me. I didn't really hear what he said so I just ignored him although I could tell he was waiting for a reply. He repeated what he said, and I still had no idea what he was talking about.

So I told him, "I have no idea what you are talking about". He repeated it again, then let me know he was about to graduate with a degree in CJ and couldn't believe I didn't know what he was talking about. I told him "you'll have to excuse me, I've never taken a single criminal justice class and in nearly 10 years of police work I've never heard of that so it must not be important".

He then quickly switched topics and wanted to discuss the "labeling theory related to intercity gang members". I decided it was better just to get in my car and leave.

[thejuice80]

Funny story legoate! Well, thank you guys for taking the time to help me out! I guess I'll find something that really interests me other than CJ. Thanks so much, I don't want to be "That Guy" at the CVS store hehehe. Just wondering if there are schools better suited or look better than others as far as the hiring process goes? Or is it just about the degree I'll get. This has helped me a lot, thank you and be safe out there.

[DeltaV]

To be honest, I havn't met anyone in the administrative office I truly trust at school about this matter. In the end they all want students money

At least you've realized this. Most students never figure this out, especially if they're not going to one of those for-profit schools.

As others have said, it's meaningless what your degree is in. The important thing is that you do well in school. Having a 4.0 GPA in a criminal justice program will look better than having a 3.0 GPA in a biology program, and vice-versa. If you're interested in becoming a federal agent then your major can be more important depending on the agency. Unless they changed things, I think the DEA is the only agency that actually lists criminal justice as a preferred degree.

[retdetsgt]

Being old, I can give you some history on CJ degrees.

In the early 70's, the feds decided that if cops were educated, they wouldn't beat up people so much. So for a short time, they had a LEEP program that would pay the tuition of any cop who wanted to go to college. Seriously. And it didn't matter where, if you were accepted into Harvard, they'd pay it. The only catch was that you had to stay in LE for 5 years.

Well, when that came out, colleges and universities immediately began scrambling to come up with something they thought cops would like. So they put together a hodgepodge of classes, some psychology, some sociology, a business class or two and called it either Criminal Justice or Administration of Justice. I got a couple of years paid for, but had no interest in that conglomeration so I stayed in sociology. The feds didn't care what kind of classes you took nor the type of degree you were pursuing. Basically, that degree was nothing more than a come on to attract cops so they could get federal dollars.

I can't speak for anywhere else, but the community college here does have a two year program that really includes some police related classes such as forensics and the like. Whether those credits are transferable, I have no idea, probably not because they're not offered at any of the 4 year universities in the area.

[Kimble]

Justin,

You've been given some solid advice as far as your question, so I won't add to what's alread been said on that point, but I do want to bring up one other point that if it were to come up during an interview would likely not bode well for you. Namely your calling yourself a "future brother of the police force." Maybe so, maybe not, but labeling yourself a title that should be earned is typically not seen favorably by those who've already worked hard to earn said title. You may be able to walk into a US Marine recruiting office and get away with telling them you're a "future Marine" because they're next pay check depends on their making recruitment quotas, but it wouldn't fly with any other Marine.

Not saying this to be rude or to offend you, but we look for mature candidates to fill our ranks due to the responsibilities that come with our authority. Calling oneself a "future cop" screams "wannabe" instead of "professional." Just something you may want to consider while pursuing this career.

[thejuice80]

I'm sorry Kimble, didn't mean to offend anyone on here. Kimble I respect your thoughts, I have spent many hours reading everyones threads and a lot of them you had very good info. Thanks for the link about accredited schools, very helpful. I guess now that I think about it, I would be kinda pissed if that was someones heading on their thread as well, after all the hard work to become a LEO, I don't have the right to say that on my heading. I didn't put to much thought into that when I wrote the heading. Sorry again.

Be safe out there

[Safety Steve]

I have a Physical Education degree! Never have coached a day in my life, but I want to be a Coach when I grow up!


Be Safe.

[retdetsgt]

I have a Physical Education degree! Never have coached a day in my life, but I want to be a Coach when I grow up!

You got a degree in Recess! Cool!

[marinepilot]

My degree (that took me 20 years to get, mind you!) is in Aviation Management. That's about as far away from the LE field as I think you could get!

[Kimble]

I'm sorry Kimble, didn't mean to offend anyone on here. Kimble I respect your thoughts, I have spent many hours reading everyones threads and a lot of them you had very good info. Thanks for the link about accredited schools, very helpful. I guess now that I think about it, I would be kinda pissed if that was someones heading on their thread as well, after all the hard work to become a LEO, I don't have the right to say that on my heading. I didn't put to much thought into that when I wrote the heading. Sorry again.

Be safe out there

No harm done.

[oscarmitre]

An aspirant seeks to identify with his/her chosen occupation and wishes to relate to current and former practitioners. And we're coming down hard on the person? Way to put them right off I would think. The Justice League this ain't. The reality is that just about anyone can become a cop if they have the basic requisites and the desire to do so, we're not an elite and it's about time we stopped thinking we are. An aspirant shouldn't have to feel as if he/she has to kowtow to the practitioners, a tip of the hat from an aspirant should not be dismissed. Good luck Juice, don't be too awed when you find yourself in the ranks and remember, as I was told by a wiser man than me many years ago, it's what we do, not who we are.

[Kimble]

An aspirant seeks to identify with his/her chosen occupation and wishes to relate to current and former practitioners. And we're coming down hard on the person? Way to put them right off I would think. The Justice League this ain't. The reality is that just about anyone can become a cop if they have the basic requisites and the desire to do so, we're not an elite and it's about time we stopped thinking we are. An aspirant shouldn't have to feel as if he/she has to kowtow to the practitioners, a tip of the hat from an aspirant should not be dismissed. Good luck Juice, don't be too awed when you find yourself in the ranks and remember, as I was told by a wiser man than me many years ago, it's what we do, not who we are.

You have your opinion, I have mine. Like always, ours differ again.

[retdetsgt]

The reality is that just about anyone can become a cop if they have the basic requisites and the desire to do so,

Maybe in some places, but here we had over 300 applying in a window of 7 minutes. Before there was a cut off number, we would get over a thousand applications every time we opened it up. I would imagine that at least half of that 1,000 (probably more) had the basic requisites and we rarely hire more than 50 a year, usually about 30-35 though.

But I can't speak for the rest of the world.