Not to beat a dead horse..

[Nick331]

I know it has probably been asked one million times, and I apologize if this thread pisses anyone off. I have been accepted at numerous schools in New York and Florida. I want to become a New York State Trooper, and will accept nothing less than that. It is my dream and goal. Now, I really want to be interested in my studies at college. From what I've taken in High School, business classes do not interest me. I'm usually bored and losing focus while taking business courses. My career choice is law enforcement. I want to know if I am making the right decision by choosing Criminal Justice. I've gone over the course descriptions and it really seems to interest me. I'm probably answering my own questions here, but a little reinforcement can never hurt, haha. Anyways I have a meeting with the Troop G recruiter for the New York State Police so I should probably pose the question to her as well. Once again, sorry for beating a dead horse.

[Switchback]

Study what you enjoy. Your grades will be better if you are interested in it... and, generally, LE does not care what your degree is in.

[Bowtie_guy]

[retdetsgt]

I agree with Switch. Good grades are more important than the major. I would advise you to not take criminal justice though. Goals are important and good, but you need a backup plan and a CJ degree is very limited in what you can do with it.

There's an old saying, "If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans". Sixty three years of living has taught that is right. You never know what lays in store for you. I never planned on being a cop, I wanted to be a mechanical engineer when I got out of high school. Lotsa things happened and here I am today.

Keep something in your back pocket in case the NYSP doesn't pan out. You never know what will happen in the next few years.

[Nick331]

I agree with Switch. Good grades are more important than the major. I would advise you to not take criminal justice though. Goals are important and good, but you need a backup plan and a CJ degree is very limited in what you can do with it.

There's an old saying, "If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans". Sixty three years of living has taught that is right. You never know what lays in store for you. I never planned on being a cop, I wanted to be a mechanical engineer when I got out of high school. Lotsa things happened and here I am today.

Keep something in your back pocket in case the NYSP doesn't pan out. You never know what will happen in the next few years.

Thanks for that sgt. I appreciate it everyone for the quick response and nice pictures haha, I was expecting something along a horse and some bats. I kind of made the mistake of putting all my eggs in one basket so to speak. I idolize the Troopers and what the uniform symbolizes. It means the world to me to be able to put that uniform on and that stetson. It seems like it would be so hard and crushing to never become a New York State Trooper. Of course I'm not expecting to get on with the NYSP right away, but I expect to end up retiring from the New York State Police. Yeah, I'm stubborn. Sucks. Haha. I think I'm going to end up majoring in CJ and minoring in another course, not to sure which. I'm just way to interested in CJ and I feel like it will help me to focus on studies I am interested in! Thanks everyone again.

[DylanB.]

I have two uncles and a cousin who are all State Troopers in Pennsylvania. New York runs their ship in a similar way. I once asked them what i should study after high school if i wanted to apply to the state police and they told me to avoid criminal justice. When looking through applications the recruiters don't care if you have a degree in criminal justice or a degree in bio chemistry.
Choose a major that sets you apart from the other applicants. Not criminal justice.

Side Note: My uncle told me a story of a kid he was recruiting who made it to the academy and then blew his knee out half way through. He is no longer able to become a trooper. This individual is 29 and is now at home living with his parents because he can't get a job. Guess why? Because he only has a degree in criminal justice! Something to keep in mind.
Dylan-

[retdetsgt]

Side Note: My uncle told me a story of a kid he was recruiting who made it to the academy and then blew his knee out half way through. He is no longer able to become a trooper. This individual is 29 and is now at home living with his parents because he can't get a job. Guess why? Because he only has a degree in criminal justice! Something to keep in mind.
Dylan-

Exactly. Criminal justice programs, IMO are just a conglomeration of courses thrown together. In the 70's, the depts and the feds wanted cops to be college educated and colleges scrambled to come up with something they could call CJ. So they took some a bunch of classes already established, put them together and that's what they called it.

I admit that I took sociology, which is basically useless too, but I was already a cop and had ideas of teaching after I retired. But all the classes in that field has helped me by giving me a better understanding of how groups of people react and work together. But there were times I wish I'd had some computer science training and when I was assigned to drugs, organic chemistry would have been a huge help.

I also know of people who dreamed of being a cop and do great until they get to the physical exam and something like a congenital heart problem is found that they never knew they had. There are no guarantees in life regarding anything.

[Kimble]

No one ever pays attention to the sticky threads... sigh. :(

http://forums.realpolice.net/showthread.php?t=44734

[businessmanph]

You should not just limit yourself to becoming a New York State Trooper. What if you do not get in? The process is not easy. Sometimes you need more than one shot at the process. You remind me of myself when I was attending SUNYA. I thought I wanted to become a NYST but, I doubt it will happen with my score. I recently enrolled in a CA police academy, as a non affiliate. Getting sponsored by a PD is hard. If I were you I would major in business.

[dkl1986]

If you find it interesting, study it. simply having a four-year degree is a plus. it shows a number of things (ability to stick with something long term, strong reader, wrtier, etc). If being a NYSP is your goal, don't let anyone talk you out of it. Yes, many things can arise that aren't expected and there's a chance you can't get in.

Always have a back-up plan and NEVER limit yourself. Some people say, "Don't study CJ, it's useless." I call BS on that. LOOK into different CJ programs. For my program, I've taken classes in English, History, Sociology, Psychology, Pre-Law, and Public Administration. It's a well-rounded degree, at least where I go to school. They don't teach me how to be a cop, but rather how to read, write, and think critically and to also get a wide-base of knowledge in the CJ system and the many different social and political monsters that surround it.

Cliffs: Get a degree, study what you find interesting, do your research, have a back-up plan, and listen to what your heart tells you.

Good luck!

[carterfsmith]

If you find it interesting, study it. simply having a four-year degree is a plus. it shows a number of things. If being a NYSP is your goal, don't let anyone talk you out of it. Good luck!

I agree with all of the above. I've been a recruiter and looked at a variety of degrees and it's rare that one could distinguish you from another with a different degree. If you were to choose a degree for the "difference factor" you would need to 1) do well at it and 2) hope it impresses me, the recruiter.

I'm also a college professor, and my CJ students are prepared for much more than CJ. If they did not like CJ, they would be in misery for 4 years (and they would suck at it, too). I suspect it's the same for the other alternatives that would distinguish them from those in CJ.