And the answer is….What do you want to do? Well, some people know from the time they are very young what they want to do with their lives, but for many it takes a while and a few false starts to figure it out. Here are some starters to help you out.

Careers in the Criminal Justice field can be found at the local, county, state, and federal levels in fields such as Criminal Law, Law Enforcement, Corrections, Juvenile Justice, Investigations, Crime Prevention, Rehabilitation of Criminals, Administration of Justice, Private Security and Loss Prevention, and Criminalistics and Forensic Sciences, just to name a few.
 

You may also want to consider Grad School or Law School. Some students wish to continue their studies beyond the Bachelors Degree for a variety of reasons. Some careers require a Masters Degree or Ph.D.; for others an advanced degree is desirable and enhances chances of higher level careers and promotions. Even if you’re not sure whether Grad School or Law School is what you want, it’s a good idea to gear your undergraduate career with an eye toward the possibility and toward meeting admission requirements. Often students make the mistake of thinking "I already know I’m not going to go to Grad School," but often things change for them and they find themselves wanting to go, but having a more difficult time gaining admission because they didn’t gear themselves toward it early enough.

Much will depend on if you have plans for what kind of career you’re interested in and what they are. Many minors, though, can be easily used to enhance your job or graduate school prospects. Accounting, marketing, business, management, or computer sciences may help give you an edge in careers that investigate or prosecute White Collar Crime. Biology, chemistry, or other natural sciences may help you in the fields of forensics. Foreign Languages are desirable for many careers at all levels of government. A Journalism or Mass Communication minor may be helpful if your career plans take you into dealing with the news media. Sociology, Psychology, and Human Services are helpful for going into helping professions, probation, parole, juvenile justice, etc.

Discuss your career plans, thoughts, and ideas with your parents and your advisor. Visit the Career Center at SJC. Ask other students who may be minoring in an area you might like. Sometimes you’ll take a class in an area that you hadn’t really thought much about, only to discover that you like it, it goes with your CJ major, and you want to minor in it.
 
 

There are several things you can do to optimize your chances of getting into the career or grad school of your choice. Among them are:

• Stay active and get involved in at least one club or organization during the time you’re at SJC. The Criminal Justice Club at SJC offers some great activities and opportunities for CJ majors, minors, or anyone interested in Criminal Justice. There are many other good organizations on campus to get involved in too—take advantage of them. Besides the networking and contacts, employers see active students in a much better light than sedentary ones!

• Take advantage of the many opportunities we have on the SJC campus. The Career Center offers many resources for helping students explore many different occupations. There are books available at the Robinson Memorial Library on looking for careers in Criminal Justice. If you need to sharpen your academic skills, you can visit the Writing Clinic or get tutoring help on campus. Employers are always looking for those who excel at academic and oral/written communication skills.

• Gain career related experience through volunteer work, summer jobs, part-time work (either on or off campus), or internships. Employers value graduates who have combined education and related work experience in the field.

• Value every part of your undergraduate years at SJC and strive to excel in all your classes. Sure, some of your classes will interest you more than others, and you’ll like having some professors more than others too. But when students voice complaints like "This is boring" or "Who cares, it’s just not interesting" or "I’m never going to use this," they’re cheating themselves. You can—and should—learn something from every class you take—even if you don’t like it!

• Do your homework. Check out some of the links below to give you some ideas, and search for others that may not be listed. Networking is one of the best ways to find employment. Ask people you know in an area you’re interested in, make contacts through organizations or associations you may belong to, etc. Check out The Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook in the links below for a good place to start.

• Keep a good head on your shoulders and don’t do anything foolish now that will keep you from a career later on. College is a time when you should be having fun and exploring things on your own, but be mindful of the fact that many Criminal Justice jobs require thorough and extensive background checks, polygraph exams, and a clean record. Making the correct choices now may save you a lot of problems later when looking for a job.

The Police Corps is part of a federal program that pays up to $30,000 in scholarships to students who agree to a four-year commitment to work in a police agency in the state of Indiana. The scholarships can reimburse your completed years of college, or are paid on an annual basis for the remaining years. This web site is for the Indiana Police Corps—if you’re from another state, check to find out if your state participates in the program.

A New and Wide-Open Field that is rapidly becoming one of the more popular Criminal Justice areas. And don’t forget that SJC has one of the leading Forensic Scientists in the country on campus in the person of Dr. Neal Haskell. Dr. Haskell will be glad to talk to you if you leave a message and a phone number at: blowfly@technologist.com