Fema Employment

Am I limited to becoming a cop with a Criminal Justice Degree?

I am a criminal Justice major in NYC, and am noticing that the deans and faculty are trying to push all of the students to join the NYPD, instead of seeking a federal job. My heart is really set, however, on a federal job like the ATF, Secret Service, or FBI, but i hear they are very selective and hard to get in. Do most Criminal Justice majors simply become police officers, or do many move on to Federal jobs, or private security?

Public Comments

1. Apply anywhere you want. I suspect the deans are either fans of the NYPD or former NYPD officers.
2. Your going to school in NYC, of course they are going to promote the NYPD. If your grades are good, you should apply with the FBI, ATF, Secret Service or where ever you want.
3. WIth a CJ degree you can go into probabtions, corrections, for the FBI get a degree in accounting, thats where believe it or not they need the most people, that and linguists...
4. No they do not. There are many possibilities. I chose the field of Corrections and have been extremely happy for 13 years.
5. They are pushing NYPD because they are likely past NYPD and NYPD really offers a more diverse career experience then fed work. There are more chances to do more things with the NYPD than with any fed agency. Did you know that NYPD has a better intelligence unit in most of Europe than the FBI? Most of the criminal justice majors that went to college with me never went into any law enforcement work. I was a history major. I'm in the Midwest
6. If you are truly empassioned, consider law school with a concentration in criminal law. That will remove much of your competition immediately. I wouldn't suggest this unless you are within the elite. [By elite, I mean acedemic elite, not physical elite]. Although it will mean another three years of hard work & serious competition--if you have the drive, acedemic ability, and a flawless criminal history, you could do yourself (and the country) a real favor.
7. I believe that most of those jobs your interested in you have to become a police officer first and work your way. My daughter wanted to be a homicide detective and was told she had to be a police officer first and work her way to homicide detective which discouraged her a great deal
8. there is no gaurentee that you can become a police officer period. a degree only helps you be a little ahead of others