Before going for a degree in any field, it is important to consider the current potential of the job market. Some degrees will always provide you with good employment opportunities and criminal justice or a degree in criminology is generally a good choice these days. The reason is that a degree in criminology will help develop such impressive communications and analytical skills that will make you valuable for employers both inside and outside the conventional justice sector.
Know What Criminology Graduates Do
A degree in criminology is usually a good way to secure an employment without having to go through an extensive job hunting process. In fact, statistics show that most criminology graduates take no more than six months after finishing the course to secure a job. About 13% of these graduates opt for social and welfare professions. They usually choose to work with offenders and handle issues related to the probation service. About 11% of those fresh graduates usually go into education and caring jobs, whereas 15% of these graduates choose to go for higher studies.
Several Jobs Directly and Indirectly Related to Criminology
Before delving deeper into the details related to the jobs that you could secure, it is important to understand what criminology actually means. It is worth mentioning that though criminology and criminal justice are complimentary fields of study, they are by no means interchangeable. Criminology involves getting familiar with the law enforcement and criminal justice system. As a criminologist, you will have to deal with a wide range of topics related to crime. You will not only be studying and identifying the cause of crime, but you will also be explaining the social impact of that crime.
Criminologists conduct their research about every conveyable aspect of deviant behavior. Some of the most common areas of focus are location of crimes, frequency of crimes, types of crimes, causes of crimes, individual reactions to crime, social reactions to crime, and government reactions to crimes. It means your degree in criminology will help you learn several skills, and these skills will let you secure a job in different sectors. For instance, you can choose to work as a community development worker and your job will be to help communities improve the quality of life, build links with other agencies, raise funds, mediate in matters of conflict, and so on.
Similarly, you can choose to be a probation officer, prison officer, police officer or a youth worker as well. Interestingly, there are several jobs indirectly related to the knowledge you gain during your criminology course. You can be a local government officer, social researcher, housing officer, adult guidance worker, solicitor, and more.
How Much Education You Need for a Career in Criminology?
An important thing is that you don’t always need college education or even past work experience to start a career in criminology. You can sometimes find lucrative jobs in criminology without specific education, but in some cases, or jobs, you just cannot go any further without a degree in criminology. You have to select your major carefully. It is so because sometimes different degree programs are closely related, like in case of criminal justice and criminology that are interchangeable if you want to become a police officer or want to secure a job in the academic or research realm.
For some jobs, you will need advanced degrees in criminology. You may have to complete a master’s degree in criminology if you want to be a criminologist or forensic scientist. With a criminology major, you can start a career as a private investigator, security specialist, or even an insurance fraud investigator. In case you want to pursue careers in psychological careers, you will most likely have to complete a PhD to earn credibility and find success.
The bottom line is that crime leaves an impact on every aspect of society, so it is possible to find a job with a degree in criminology in almost every industry. Just be sure to select a major after considering what you’d want to do with your degree in criminology. And of course, you need know where to go to find good jobs – you can visit your state, municipal, federal, and county websites and even focus on law enforcement agencies and investigative bureaus for updates.
About the author: Michael McPherson is a graduate student from Boston University, freelance blogger and a regular contributor at topreviewstars.com.