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Entry level jobs for Criminal Justice majors

S

SirChadwick

Diamond Member
My fiancee is about to finish up her 4 yr degree at a University where she's majoring in CJ w/ a minor in Sociology. Her internship w/ the University police ends on Friday and she'll be looking for a job in Atlanta (wanting to start in Dec/Jan). The problem is that she has no idea what she wants to do.... with the exception of becoming an Animal Cop since she's obsessed with that show on Animal Planet. But those jobs are barely existent to my knowledge. So my question is are there any decent paying entry-level jobs for her out there? Anyone have experience in this field that can give any leads? She really doesn't want to work for the state police and I'd hate to see her go that route to be honest. She'd really like to get in with the GBI, but its damn tough nowadays. It's already getting stressful for us both considering we're getting married next year and she's making the move to ATL with me. I just want to see her succeed and get off on a good foot.
 
Police Force.

Compared to everything else, thats an entry level job.
And it opens doors to other places. Makes her more desirable for the FBI.
And so many cities need cops it wont be hard to get picked up for the academy.
 
A good friend of mine became a probation officer but didn?t like locking people up for the same things he was doing after work (smoking pot). He now works as a juvenile detention counselor because he can try to help kids. He is trying to get into law school now.
 
Well here's the thing guys... she's 5'4", very attractive, and comes across about as innocent as you can. It's so hard for me to see her around dominant male officers and I don't know how anyone is going to take her seriously. It's like Jodi Foster in Silence of the Lambs, except not near as manly.
 
Originally posted by: SirChadwick
Well here's the thing guys... she's 5'4", very attractive, and comes across about as innocent as you can. It's so hard for me to see her around dominant male officers and I don't know how anyone is going to take her seriously. It's like Jodi Foster in Silence of the Lambs, except not near as manly.
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Going into the police would teach her how to be tuff with her sweet little self.

But whatever she wants.

I'd recommend counciling like the guy above mentioned.
 
She was considering doing Offender Counseling also. Is this an entry level job that she could obtain? I'd feel much better with her doing something like that rather than being out on the streets.
 
She could sell drugs. That's what a friend of mine is doing (she's a criminal justice major). :frown:
 
Originally posted by: SirChadwick
Originally posted by: Ryan
She could sell drugs. That's what a friend of mine is doing (she's a criminal justice major). :frown:
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A contradiction within itself. Gotta love it.
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In her words, she's doing it so she can beat the system :roll:
 
Originally posted by: SirChadwick
She was considering doing Offender Counseling also. Is this an entry level job that she could obtain? I'd feel much better with her doing something like that rather than being out on the streets.
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Not a bad job. Doesn't always pay too well

Court Clerks, management jobs in Parole, Probation, and Prison always tend to be okay money.

**EDIT**
Since you are saying entry-level. I am guessing it si just a Bachelors? In which case, you could be a parole, probation, police officer. There are administration jobs and support staff jobs, but administration and mangement require experience and credentials, and support staff jobs can be technical jobs (IT...). Clerk jobs though are less techinical.
 
Originally posted by: SirChadwick
I don't expect her to bring hom 40k+ with her first job... just something around 28-30 would be nice.
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Depending on where you live, even that may be asking a lot for a first job.
 
She's also always talking about how she wants to be an investigator, but doesn't want to start out as a cop. It didn't really make sense to me b/c I thought you had to work for the state police or something similar before becoming an investigator. She gets upset with me whenever I mention this as she thinks I'm putting her down... so I've just been quiet about it lately.
 
Originally posted by: shortylickens
Originally posted by: SirChadwick
I don't expect her to bring hom 40k+ with her first job... just something around 28-30 would be nice.
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Depending on where you live, even that may be asking a lot for a first job.
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I'm in Atlanta, GA so I don't think its entirely too much considering the cost of living here. I make around $45k w/ my first IT job and I feel that is fair. I'd just like for both of us to have a decent living... neither of us are high maintenance or need the fancy things in life.
 
Originally posted by: SirChadwick
She's also always talking about how she wants to be an investigator, but doesn't want to start out as a cop. It didn't really make sense to me b/c I thought you had to work for the state police or something similar before becoming an investigator. She gets upset with me whenever I mention this as she thinks I'm putting her down... so I've just been quiet about it lately.
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Forensic scientist or FBI is the only other options I know of other than police officer for investigator, and both those require a lot more credentials or at least training.

If she wants to do that, she better actually try to find out what her options are for an investigator.
 
FBI = previous law enforcement experience + accounting/law degree + impeccable background + very physically fit + outstanding communication skills.

Miss one of those components, and it's over before it started.
 
One of the big entry level jobs for CJ students is loss prevention. Damn near every major retail establishment has a loss prevention department.

<--- has a CJ degree but is a systems admin 😛
 
Originally posted by: jbourne77
FBI = previous law enforcement experience + accounting/law degree + impeccable background + very physically fit + outstanding communication skills.

Miss one of those components, and it's over before it started.
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Not entirely true, I had no prior law enforcement experience and they were interested in me.
An accounting degree will get you in.
A foreign language mastery will get you in.
An advanced CS degree will get you in.
 
Originally posted by: SirChadwick
I don't expect her to bring hom 40k+ with her first job... just something around 28-30 would be nice.
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Very reasonable IMHO. She has no aspirations of her own?
 
Originally posted by: bunker
Originally posted by: jbourne77
FBI = previous law enforcement experience + accounting/law degree + impeccable background + very physically fit + outstanding communication skills.

Miss one of those components, and it's over before it started.
Click to expand...

Not entirely true, I had no prior law enforcement experience and they were interested in me.
An accounting degree will get you in.
A foreign language mastery will get you in.
An advanced CS degree will get you in.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I had a friend who double majored in Criminal Justice and Computer Science, went to work at IBM, hated it, tried out for the FBI and made it. While he wasn't Lance Armstrong, he was fit enough but that was the toughest part for him. The FBI Academy is demanding too and there were a couple dropouts.

According to him, the FBI is actively recruiting people with CS degrees and people who have foreign language skills.
 
Originally posted by: SirChadwick
Originally posted by: shortylickens
Originally posted by: SirChadwick
I don't expect her to bring hom 40k+ with her first job... just something around 28-30 would be nice.
Click to expand...
Depending on where you live, even that may be asking a lot for a first job.
Click to expand...


I'm in Atlanta, GA so I don't think its entirely too much considering the cost of living here. I make around $45k w/ my first IT job and I feel that is fair. I'd just like for both of us to have a decent living... neither of us are high maintenance or need the fancy things in life.
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Well, if she's going to work in the corrections department (i.e. a government job), I believe I remember the entry-level positions making somewhere in the low- to mid-20's; a Master's degree raises that to the high-20's, possibly low-30's.

I looked into a LOT of those jobs myself two years ago (along with positions at DFACS and the like), and that's about what they all paid.
 
Originally posted by: AmigaMan
Originally posted by: bunker
Originally posted by: jbourne77
FBI = previous law enforcement experience + accounting/law degree + impeccable background + very physically fit + outstanding communication skills.

Miss one of those components, and it's over before it started.
Click to expand...

Not entirely true, I had no prior law enforcement experience and they were interested in me.
An accounting degree will get you in.
A foreign language mastery will get you in.
An advanced CS degree will get you in.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I had a friend who double majored in Criminal Justice and Computer Science, went to work at IBM, hated it, tried out for the FBI and made it. While he wasn't Lance Armstrong, he was fit enough but that was the toughest part for him. The FBI Academy is demanding too and there were a couple dropouts.

According to him, the FBI is actively recruiting people with CS degrees and people who have foreign language skills.
Click to expand...

That is actually quite interesting, since I have a CS degree and I have criminal justice experience. I might go back to school though for something else in a few year, but it is good to know I have other things I can consider.
 
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