Benefits of Degree

[citizen12]

My local community college offers a Criminal Justice Degree (an Associate's) and I'm wondering which fields this degree qualifies a person to work in. Would a person with a degree in Criminal Justice be more likely to be hired as a law enforcement officer than a person without the degree?

[CPL1897]

It will not "qualify" you for Law Enforcement. ANY degree will help you to be more desirable to a agency, however I would recommend a degree which you can use outside of LE due to the field being very competetive and difficult to get into.

[Switchback]

A CJ degree will NOT make you any more marketable than any other degree. As CPL897 already said, in addition to not being required to LE, a CJ degree is not necessarily real useful outside of the field. So, don't go getting a degree on it, thinking it will make you more marketable in LE.

Now, with that said, a 3.5 gpa in CJ will be more useful than a 2.1 in psychology. Study what you find most interesting. You will tend to get better grades and many jobs just want a degree of some sort (both in LE and out).

[Jim1348]

Like many posts on this board, it depends on what area you are referring to. Here in Minnesota, where I live and work, the Minnesota POST Board requires a certain amount of pre-service education prior to becoming a sworn officer. Essentially it is an associates degree. If you wanted to split hairs, I suppose you could take just the absolute minimum number of classes without getting an associates degree, but you would be so close to having an AA/AS that most people just do that as a minimum.

Now, that having been said, competition is fierce for jobs in Minnesota such as police officer, deputy sheriff, state trooper, and conservation officer. As a result many, perhaps most, of the new coppers getting hired now have at least a BA/BS degree.

But back to your specific question, an AA/AS criminal justice degree can help in getting jobs like police officer, correctional deputy, etc. To help put things in perspective, lets say you are applying for a job as a non-sworn correctional officer or community service officer. If you and one other candidate are otherwise equally qualified, but you have a degree in criminal justice, but the other candidate does not, there may be a good chance that the degree will give you the edge.

However, real life being what it is, you may find that other candidate is a brother-in-law to a person higher up in the organization. I guess the bottom line is don't focus on the minimum, but rather strive to go beyond the minimum. In some area that might mean that knowing a second language would be helpful. In other places getting certified as an EMT would be desirable.

One other thing worth at least looking into is the police or sheriff reserves in your area. Often times join that can get you some helpful experience and open the doors to networking. You might find that some agencies like to hire from their reserves.

Here is an example of how someone worked their way up:

-Start taking college classes.

-Get hired on county park patrol (part time/non-sworn).

-Get AS/AA degree.

-Get hired full time as Correctional Deputy for the same county.

-Get BA/BS degree.

-Pass state POST licensing exam and become eligible to be licensed as a peace officer.

-Become full time sworn deputy sheriff for the same county.

Every place is going to differ, but that is an example of someones career path in my county.

[retdetsgt]

But back to your specific question, an AA/AS criminal justice degree can help in getting jobs like police officer, correctional deputy, etc. To help put things in perspective, lets say you are applying for a job as a non-sworn correctional officer or community service officer. If you and one other candidate are otherwise equally qualified, but you have a degree in criminal justice, but the other candidate does not, there may be a good chance that the degree will give you the edge.

Wouldn't matter one iota in the metro areas here. Some agencies require a degree, some don't, but those that do couldn't care less what the degree is in. If they did, I suspect they would prefer something like computer science over a CJ degree. It's nice to have someone bring something to the table that not everyone and their dog has.

Oregon only requires a high school diploma or GED, agencies can up that if they wish. When I came on, it was 2 years of college, but if you didn't have it, you could be hired with the understanding you get that within the first 5 years of employment. I know of only one person that lost their job because they didn't. For a while in the 90's, we required a bachelor's degree, but that was later dropped to either 2 years of college or 3 years active military service.

Also, nepotism is pretty rare in Oregon with the possible exception of small, rural agencies. I've known of a couple of guys who didn't make it who's fathers were command personnel in my department. The passed everything, they just didn't score high enough. To be hired here, you better score at least 95 out of a possible 100 on combined written/oral exams. We, and most agencies around here hire on strict civil service rules to make sure there is no good old boy antics at work.

[1depd]

For getting a job outside of LE a criminal justice degree is about as helpful as a high school diploma, in my experience. Minor in CJ absolutely, but major in some other area of study. Be ready to explain how your degree applies to LE. They might ask. LE is one of the jobs that want a degree because they want a degree. One is not required to actually perform the job, like a doctor, lawyer, or accountant. You have to be above you competition to get the job. If they have degrees you have to have a degree.

In one area I worked not long ago one agency required a 4-year degree while everyone one else either 60 credits or 3 years military service. The agency that required the degree did not maintain that requirement for long. They didn't offer anything more than any other agency in the area. Many of the officers hired at that agency soon left. Many of those who left cited threquirementnt for needing the degree for leaving. As can be expected if the entry level position required a 4-year degree higher levels required higher degrees. These people were not eligible for LT without a Masters degree. The rest of the agencies required either a 2-year or 4-year degree for LT. So in order to promote they had no choice but to go to other agencies.

[Tweak]

I recently changed my major from Liberal Arts to Criminal Justice at my community college because when I spoke to a cop, he said if my major is criminal justice, the department will pay 80% of my college tuition. Which is great for my family considering what we go through financially. (we have our ups and downs, but not paying for college would be a huge boost). Now, another reason I'm getting CJ is because I am not too smart in area's of math and science (I'm a musician, go figure lol). So I hope to move up to the ranks when I become a LEO. Maybe detective or a lieutenant. That being said, I also plan to go to law school and get my law degree so I can be a criminal lawyer in the future. I'm pretty sure I can do all that with any degree, but seeing how I would save a ton of money, and actually like what I'm doing, I kinda see it as a win-win situation. Now, I just gotta tell my dad I plan on becoming a cop and hope he doesn't start an argument lol.

[retdetsgt]

I would get it verified that they would pay 80%. That particular department might, but even then as budgets get tighter something like that would be dropped. I wouldn't pursue a CJ degree just based on that. And if they do, you can bet you will have to sign you life away for quite a few years working there or have to pay it back.

As been said a few hundred times on this forum by experienced cops, it's best to get something that you can fall back on if you dream of LE doesn't pan out for some reason.

[Kimble]

I recently changed my major from Liberal Arts to Criminal Justice at my community college because when I spoke to a cop, he said if my major is criminal justice, the department will pay 80% of my college tuition. Which is great for my family considering what we go through financially. (we have our ups and downs, but not paying for college would be a huge boost).

You might want to look into that further and see if you can get something in writing than simply taking something said verbally. That officer may be accurate, but he may also be accurate in that the department will only give tuition reimbursement to those already hired (i.e. tuition assistance instead of reimbursement). Also, with the economy still in the dumps a benefit like that may have existed previously but not be available currently. I would definitely suggest doing further research before you cash all your chips in on a CJ degree in hopes that a department you don't currently work for will hopefully pay you back one day for it.

[Tweak]

A very good point. The thing is I've also asked my college if that information was accurate. They said the department does pay for the institution. They didn't say what percent, but they do. I may be rushing into this a little bit, but like I said, nothing else interests me nor am I really academically proficient at it. That being said, can I double major with CJ and economics? Economics was my first choice to major. It would be great if I can double major. In all honesty, I'm not sure how double majors work and I might need to take that up with my adviser. Here's the thing, I plan to transfer from my community college to a 4 year college. The application from my department comes out in May 2013. So, let's assume I pass all the tests and the background checks and get hired from my department. Let's say the academy starts in the fall (since the test is in the summer). So by the spring of 2014, I should be a full LEO. Now, do I apply for the 4 year college then, or wait till I get my associates at my community college? Keep in mind I will be working AND being on duty. I heard many cops do that.

[Kimble]

That being said, can I double major with CJ and economics?

Only your college can answer that question.

[retdetsgt]

I got my bachelor's and graduate while working full time as a cop. Be prepared to do nothing for at least 4 years but work, study, attend class and sleep now and then. It's not something I'd recommend.

[Tweak]

Right, and I'm pretty sure community colleges don't offer double major, but I'm pretty sure the four year college I plan to probably do. Thanks

[Tweak]

@retdetsgt's- To be honest, I kinda do that now lol. I'm not a very social person so I wouldn't be loosing anything. I'm okay with just working, studying and MAYBE sleeping if I ever get the chance. Plus, I'm sure I'm going to be doing this for more than 4 years when I attend law school. And I'm thinking Columbia law so my hands are full for the next 7 or 8 years lol

[retdetsgt]

@retdetsgt's- To be honest, I kinda do that now lol. I'm not a very social person so I wouldn't be loosing anything.

I hate to keep sounding negative, but if you're not a social person, LE is not the job for you. Being able to interact and communicate with people is a HUGE asset in this job. If you don't like being around people, you will hate this job and not be very good at it. The best cops I've ever worked with were gregarious and outgoing.

Heh, if you want to get into a school like Columbia Law School, it's important to have a good vocabulary and know the difference between "loosing" and "losing".