Criminal Justice or other degree?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by eilla05, Jan 15, 2011.

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  1. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member

    Sorry this is long :wiggle:

    I had pretty much decided that I was going to get my Masters degree in Criminal Justice because I have finally after much soul searching decided I want to work with those involved in the legal system. This has always been a huge interest of mine so much so that in the very beginning I was just going to get my degree in law but then decided to go for paralegal education and go to work. Of course I changed my mind and now I wonder if that was the best decision (but this is a whole other topic) I thought at that point I would work within non profit agencies etc.

    In any case I am still leaning toward a degree in Criminal Justice but I am wondering if another degree would suit my needs just as well or better? My interest lies on the psychology side for example rehabilitation or forensic psychology. However I am also very interested law and would absolutely love to work in a family law firm or agency that offers assistance to low-income families or even those who simply just can't afford the high cost of an attorney. By nature I am drawn to the helping professions and this is what will and does bring me the most joy.

    After all this does a degree come to mind that you feel best fits my needs? Of course keeping in mind the parameters I posted above.

    Rules are that it must be 100% distance learning but it can require 1-2 on campus visits. I would prefer it cost 25k or less and I would prefer to finish the degree as quickly as possible but no more than 2 years prefer 1-1.5). I also like shorter term periods (8weeks) but would consider long terms for something that interested me.

    At this point I believe counseling and social work are out considering that there are not really any distance learning programs.

    Okay long post is officially over :silly:
     
  2. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    This is simply inaccurate. If you scan our sticky threads you'll see there's one dedicated to Masters programs in Psych/Counseling.
     
  3. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member

    I have viewed the sticky and ill go take a look again ;) but I am not interested in psychology at the graduate level simply because psychology unless is counseling psychology does not interest me. As for counseling via distance learning there are only a few programs that are CACREP accredited and they cost well more than I am willing to spend at this point. If it were up to me id just spend the money and enroll but my husband has nixed that idea at this time :) and hey I love the guy and don't want a divorce over a Masters degree :)

    I will go have a look at the sticky again though as its been a while!
     
  4. MISin08

    MISin08 New Member

    I'll admit that magazine rankings are hardly scientific, but at the undergrad level, CJ frequently appears near the bottom in terms of graduate salaries. Is it different for postgraduate? A recent job posting in my department (fraud detection) that asked for a CJ masters starts at $46K. The candidate who got the job has "some college" and 15 years experience. I know, sample of one, but it does seem like a counseling psych degree would be more widely useful.

    Phillip
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 15, 2011
  5. major56

    major56 Active Member

  6. Graduate CJ programs vary so widely in their focus & content that it's difficult to predict how one-- without further details-- might open doors.

    Locally, I see nonprofits involved as contractors in many of the "nontraditional" justice programs-- drug court, veterans' court, juvenile court ADR programs and the like. The counseling or direct service side of these programs are overwhelmingly staffed by social workers, LPCs, and other folks with specific therapeutic backgrounds and credentials. However, somebody needs to write the grant applications, handle QC or monitoring issues, run the outreach programs, and work as liaison to the funding agency or other stakeholders; those jobs might be good fits for folks with a broader CJ education (or, for that matter, business administration or public administration grads.)

    Depending on your locale & the agency's emphasis, government juvenile justice agencies commonly have "direct care" probation/parole officers or counselors who don't necessarily have the classical Social Work / Counseling backgrounds or credentials. Your long-term employment stability, pay, and benefits are likely to be better, if those factors are important.
     
  7. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member

    Thanks for that info and thoughts! I have spent the last two days browsing online programs and careers trying to find just the right fit for me! I keep coming back to either social work or counseling as the perfect fit for me, but I have agreed with my husband to pursue this degree once we stop moving around with his job (in 3-4 years). For the time being I am hoping to get a Masters in either something that will be useful or just something that could be very interesting and fun for me. Obviously if it is the latter it would need to be fairly inexpensive.

    Why does choosing your Masters have to be such a hard process!
     
  8. perrymk

    perrymk Member

    I'm going to share with you two stories.

    1. I took flying lessons one summer when I was in college (B&M in the late 80s). My flying instructor was also a student and aspiring to be an airline pilot. I asked him what he was studying. I was thinking management is always a good, languages might be helpful, even humanities to better appreciate the sites he would one day visit around the world. He told me he was studying CJ. He said that to get into airline flight school one needed a degree but it didn't matter what the degree was so people typically chose the easiest. That was either CJ or poly sci. (I'm not saying I agree with his assessment of rigor; I'm only relaying what he told me.)

    2. I am now employed as a crime lab analyst and occasionally teach a class to law enforement officers. During a break I was discussing education with the LE training coordinator. She told me that a degree is usually required and she's surprised people think a degree in CJ will impress anyone. She said the reason people study CJ is that it is easy. It doesn't impress anyone. She much preferred almost any other degree. Public admin, languages, English, computer science, etc.

    If it interests you then by all means study CJ. But if usefulness is a criteria my experience suggests you might want to look elswhere.
     
  9. b4cz28

    b4cz28 Active Member

    As a long time narco officer I have what do you want to do in in the justice field other than make no money at all. You don't even need a masters to do 99% of anything in CJ, courts, juv probation, adult probation etc.................
     
  10. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member

    hmm something to think about for sure. I wasn't getting the degree to impress anyone though, mainly to learn more about our legal system and various other topics of interest such as victimology and general criminal behavior and my interest was to hopefully find work in prisoner rehabilitation or something similar. Thanks for the thoughts though. I actually made a pro's and con's list of the 4 degrees I have it narrowed to and CJ has the least amount of pros!
     
  11. perrymk

    perrymk Member

    Just to clarify, when the LE training coordinator and I were talking about impressing someone we were referring to potential employers.
     
  12. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member

    I find it hard to believe that if your trying to get a job that deals with the Criminal Justice field I can't think that a degree in Criminal Justice will hurt you it might not be a degree that someone sees and goes oh criminal justice... but I can't think its going to hurt you.
     
  13. b4cz28

    b4cz28 Active Member

    If you work in a CJ field a degree in CJ will help you. Its crazy to say other wise.
     
  14. perrymk

    perrymk Member

    I work in a crime lab. The reality is that applicants with degrees in CJ don't get very far in a crime lab. The only jobs they are qualified for are the ones that require a degree in any field. For us that is typically evidence tech. That is putting boxes on a shelf, logging the info into a computer. It's an important job but its usually considered lower level and not usually what the freshly minted CJ degree holders had in mind.

    I deal with law enforcement and lawyers regularly as part of my job. I am not aware of any jobs that require a degree in CJ specifically. I'm not saying there aren't any; just that I haven't heard of them.

    Also, I didn't say it would hurt you. I relayed that it won't help you beyond simply checking off the box that says you have a degree. A competing applicant with a more desireable degree will fare better.

    Rather than take my word for it, check with some human resource departments or persons involved in hiring in the criminal justice/law enforcement fields. Ask what is required and also what is desired. I know at least one training coordinator, who is involved in the hiring of new detectives, who would rather see a more useful degree.
     
  15. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    So then, just out of curiousity, whar type of degree might be seen as being more useful?
     
  16. perrymk

    perrymk Member

    The ones mentioned to me for law enforcement include:
    Management/administration of almost any type is usually looked upon favorably. Computer science, or anything showing a solid understanding of computers in general is good. English is good as most fields require a lot of writing and the ability to communicate effectively is desirable. Of course language skills are always useful, especially for law enforcement.

    From personal experience, to work in the lab one typically needs a chemistry or biology degree, depending on what area of the lab one is in. Some specialties may require a different background but chem and bio are the typically sought after degrees for lab work. Forensic science degrees are scrutinized as some are science degrees useful for the lab, some are little more than warmed over CJ degrees and not so useful.

    Again, don't just take the word of one person, especially if that one person is just a screenname to you. Find the person in charge of hiring for the positions that interest you and ask what they think.

    EDIT: keep in mind the motivation of the person you are asking. An HR person is probably your best source of info. A guy on the internet with nothing to sell can give you something to think about. A school might be interested in getting students so have a different motivation.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 19, 2011
  17. b4cz28

    b4cz28 Active Member

    The Lab and Patrol are two different beast. How would a CJ degree help you in the Lab? It won't....It will help you if you work in Law Enforcement. Classes like Report writing, Intercultural communications, constitutional law..Etc makes up a CJ degree. Which is meant to be used by people in Law Enforcement. As a former Police Officer I can tell you a CJ degree will open doors for you!!

    Let me call my former Chief.....


    "Hey Chief it's Cody. If someone was getting into leo or some other cj job what degree should they get?"

    "CJ...why? What are you up to?"

    "Nothing just asking for a cat on my board. So if you had two people you wanted to promote to let’s say…. sgt, one with a Spanish degree and one with a CJ degree who has a better chance?"

    "The one with a CJ degree...."


    That's pretty much how the convo went; I can't say what was said after that I think I was annoying him. He heads 30-45 man public service unit, so he might know what degree officers and other staff need.

    It just blows my mind that someone can say that anything but a cj degree is looked for.
     
  18. perrymk

    perrymk Member

    You and I have very different experiences and I hope this helps the OP make the right decision for him/her.
     
  19. Student_Rex

    Student_Rex New Member

    I met many people with a CJ degree who has gotten far. I met higher rank officers from police academy down here, and all they care about is any degree for entry.(Although preferably, CJ, Psychology, and Social Work) I met another person, who is a youth social worker at some local elementary school. He told me he got his degree in CJ. I'm actually trying to finish up my CJ bachelors degree , than a master's in psychology. I have met people who have gotten far as a Masters in CJ and taught at local CC or online. In my opinion, If you like the major of CJ, I suggest you do it man. You don't want to be working in a field you don't enjoy. I'm pretty sure, if your applying for a law enforcement position, they will take a CJ degree over let's say business or child education? Lol.
     
  20. sideman

    sideman Well Known Member

     

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