Help Me Out Here!

[Jomel]

Im planning on going to college (Florida International University) next year and I want to study Criminal Justice. The thing is, though im sure I want to study Criminal Justice, I dont know what career in criminal justice.

Can anyone break down for me (maybe a link) of the career opportunities in Criminal Justice?? Im not interested in being a judge or an attorney or a security cop. Im more interested in the criminal investigations (detective) or the regular type of cops that are found in my area that arrest who ever is not following the law. What i want to know is, if i want to be a detective, for example, how do I get there? Where do i start out? Im already goin to college but I just want to be clear with all of this.

Thanks In Advance.

[tunlrat]

If all you want to do is work for a city police department, then a bachelor's in CJ is fine. Then again ANY bachelor's degree will be good. The reason is that the police academy will teach you everything you need to know about your state's & applicable Federal laws (4th amendment--search & seizure, etc, etc.) You're taught this because as a peace officer, you will not only enforce municipal ordinances & state laws, but some Federal laws as well (albeit, not too many).

In my former department, if you wanted to be a "****" so to say (police jargon for detective), you had to do your time in patrol. How long depends on the size of your particular dept. Although GENERALLY (especially because of your degree), they say you can take the sergeant's exam after 3 or 5 years, and even if you ace it, the reality is your dept. is looking for people with some more seniority (I'd say AT LEAST 6 or 7 years in). It is also probably a good idea to get into at least one specialized unit before taking the sergeant's exam to broaden your experience in order to beat out your competition in the promotion process. I know what you're saying: "so what's the difference between sergeants, dicks, & first line supervisors?" Well, there really is no difference. When you pass your sergeant's exam & if the promotion panel chooses you, you get your "gold shield." From then on, it will be determined where you will go. Either you go to your detectives' bureau, CID, or whatever your dept. calls it & become a "junior" (brand new) detective, or go become a first line supervisor in some other unit like patrol, jail intake, police academy, yada yada yada.

I have a CJ degree. Since this is a "Federal" questions forum, I have stated previously that if I could do it again, I'd probably major something in something else & minor in CJ only because I have Fed aspirations. Like I said earlier, if you plan on retiring from a city PD, then any bachelor's degree will suffice. Have I babbled enough already? :cool:

ps
Being a city cop is pretty much one of the few things you can do with a CJ degree. Therein lays the problem; it is too general a major. Think about that before you spend thousands of $$ for a degree.