Are Criminal Justice Careers For You?
Guide to Criminal Justice Jobs

Criminal justice careers are fulfilling & stable. Learn if criminal justice jobs are for you, the salaries of careers in criminal justice & degrees needed

If you are interested in pursuing a career in criminal justice, you should first know what you're getting into.

By understanding what to expect from criminal justice jobs--especially in terms of requirements, practice, and pay check--you'll have a better idea of which field you might want to become a part of.

Because, truth be told, criminal justice is a vast world full of a great variety of different professions and specialties.

Criminal Justice Careers Guide

In the sections below, we'll take a look at the different criminal justice careers out there, what they do, how much they pay, what you need to do before you can get one, and where their origins are in criminal justice history.

Introduction to Criminal Justice

Today's criminal justice system is made up of a variety of careers in several different fields, including:

  • Law Enforcement
  • Judiciary
  • Corrections

The people who work in these areas study and apply the laws of today's society and government to bring justice to those who deserve it and keep the peace for everyone else.

Criminal Justice Employment

crime scene investigator taking blood

A CSI Taking Blood From a Crime Scene

How do you go about getting a crime scene investigation, forensics, or criminal justice job?

Criminal justice careers are on the rise, and have been for a while, so the time is right if you're looking to get one.

But how do you do it?

The first step is to get educated.

Many people think this means attending a four-year, campus-based college or university. But you do have options.

One such option is to earn your criminology degree online.

By doing this, you can save money, take your time, stay in your house, create your own schedule, and keep your day job. Obtaining an online degree is the best choice for a middle aged individual looking for a career change.

Find a School!

Think a career in criminology is for you?

Then start here & find a school for you!

Here are a couple of really great online schools you investigate if this idea appeals to you:

  • Rasmussen College
  • University of Phoenix
  • Kaplan University

Detailed Careers in Criminal Justice

Whether you want to be an officer, lawyer, paralegal, judge, corrections officer, or private investigator, you should learn all there is to know about your chosen profession.

Criminal justice careers are complicated and have a variety of requirements.

By knowing all you can about the job at the start, you'll have a much better chance of securing the one you want.

Jobs in Criminal Justice

There are more criminal justice careers than you can possibly imagine. In this article, we'll take a look at several of them, giving you an idea of what they are actually responsible for in the world of Law and Order and what their average criminal justice salaries were in years past.

Among the many jobs to inspect are:

  • Paralegal
  • Private investigator
  • FBI agent
  • Crime scene photographer

Criminal Justice Salary

criminal justice salary

Criminal justice salaries span the entire gamut from just fair to outrageously grand. It all depends on the field in which you'd like to work.

If you want to be a security guard, you can expect to make about the same as a first year high school teacher (on average). I

If, however, you have the ambition to become a prison warden or chief pharmacist, you may be looking at an annual paycheck of over $100,000.

No matter which department or field you choose, however, there is room to advance. As long as you have the drive and recognize your own potential, there's no limit to how high you can climb.

What is Criminal Justice?

The question you probably need to answer before you begin to pursue a career in law and order is this: 'what is criminal justice?'

According to the dictionary, criminal justice is:

'The study and/or application of laws that deal with the behavior of criminals'

This, like the definitions of crime scene investigation and forensic science, is a general description.

That is because criminal justice is such a broad category, involving a great number of departments and fields, that it would be impossible to be more specific.

Criminal Justice Lawyer

Becoming a criminal justice lawyer takes a lot of patience and perseverance.

You have to have years and years of schooling, pay your dues at a private or government firm, and hope that you can get enough recognition to either open your own business successfully or climb the bureaucratic ladder high enough to gain the respect you deserve.

If you are successful as a criminal justice lawyer, though, you can expect to be rewarded handsomely--not just with a healthy pay check, but with the knowledge that you are making a difference in the world.

Ethics in Criminal Justice

csi finds fingerprints

A CSI Finds Fingerprints

The moral philosophy, or ethics in criminal justice, is a tricky concept to understand.

This is because it is, essentially, a system that is based on opinion rather than stone cold fact.

Decisions about whether or not a person's actions are 'right' or 'wrong' are not very easy to keep objective.

In order to help law-makers and law-keepers be objective and stick to a conformist idea of right and wrong, society has created a list of rules and regulations that lay out what we think 'right' and 'wrong' mean in relation to a given activity.

Criminal Justice History

Modern day criminal justice is a system that has evolved over thousands of years across the world.

In this article, we'll take a look at the origins of criminal justice in the ancient worlds of China and Greece, and how those law structures (and ones from Old Europe and Colonial America) have formed the foundation of what we recognize today as Law and Order.

Criminal Justice Glossary

If you are clueless about the many Latin phrases and seemingly alien words commonly used in the world of criminal justice today, you may want to educate yourself.

By reading up on your chosen field as much as possible, you'll begin to create a criminal justice glossary of terms in your mind that will help you secure, keep, and understand the job you choose out of the many criminal justice careers available.

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