Children often dress-up as a superhero for fun, pretending to save the world. Aside from the red capes and supernatural powers, real life superheroes do exist. As a child, you may have known what a superhero was, but did you really know what crime was? Did you know how dangerous neighborhoods and schools could be? Maybe you did, maybe you didn’t; but today you do and now it’s time to do something to control crime.
By earning a criminal justice degree, you can live out your childhood dream and a criminal’s nightmare. There are many areas of criminal justice that you could possibly find a career in after earning a criminal justice degree. Become an FBI agent or a security guard. What about a detective or a fraud investigator? Often times, criminal acts go unnoticed when they shouldn’t. There are so many crimes that happen right before our eyes; in our neighborhoods; affecting our loved ones. With a criminal justice degree, you may not put a complete end to violence, but it’s a start. Some criminal behavior deals with finances and others deals with juvenile cases. There are so many different sectors of criminal justice that you could choose from. You have options with a criminal justice degree. Check out this list of careers from payscale.com and find which careers you can explore with a criminal justice degree and how much you could earn.
Before completing your criminal justice degree find out which career you’d enjoy working in. If you feel strongly about preventing crime in schools, you can become a security guard. Or, pursue a career in forensics and analyze crime scenes, behind the scenes. A great way to find out what interests you most is to shadow a professional. You can do this by contacting local professionals. Most professionals would love to help you because they remember when they were first earning their criminal justice degree. They’ll give you a clear understanding of what it’s like working a day in their shoes. Who knows, this person may open up doors for you after graduating with your criminal justice degree. Not only will you learn the skills needed for the job, but you will also discover if the career interests you or not. Because many careers in criminal justice can deal with sensitive material, it is important to know how much you can handle. Could you work on a crime scene? Could you put your life at risk to save others? These questions aren’t meant to scare potential criminal justice degree seekers away, but these questions instead are meant to prepare students for what a career in the field could deal with. A ride-along with a professional could easily answer these questions so you’ll have a clearer understanding of what your career will really consist of.
Another way to build skills and gain experience in the field is to volunteer. There are many opportunities to volunteer your time while earning your criminal justice degree. You could volunteer to walk students home from the library, a program most large colleges and universities have. You could join clubs that deal with criminal justice. Many colleges and universities organize clubs for particular majors. Ask other criminal justice degree seekers what they’ve done to prepare for a career in the field. If you can get a hold of Batman, Superman, or Spiderman- more power to you!