Things I Need to Know for Choosing Criminal Justice as a Career

There are other options than a police officer in the criminal justice field.Siri Stafford/Lifesize/Getty Images

Choosing a career can be an overwhelming task because your decision requires time and dedication. Consider your personality and interests when thinking of your options, and do your research prior to investing years and money into the career. Choosing criminal justice as a career provides plenty of choices.

Job Options

Criminal justice encompasses many different avenues for you to pursue. It is important to know what your options are before you decide whether you want a career in criminal justice. Carefully decide if you want to be a police officer, probation officer, forensics investigator, or if you want to work at the local, state or federal government level.

Job options in the criminal justice field include becoming a legal nursing consultant, a police officer, private investigator, legal secretary, forensic psychologist, probation officer or paralegal.

After you have a good idea of what is out there within the criminal justice field, take a look at what each job entails. Narrow down what sounds best to you and consider the environment you are required to work in, the amount of physical labor that is involved and the risk that is taken each day if you are out in the field. Forensics investigators have less of a risk and fewer demands on physical labor than an undercover FBI agent.

A paralegal is responsible for most of the legal work that is done outside of the courtroom. Probation officers are responsible for administrative work as well as monitoring, investigating and reporting the cases they work on. Forensic psychologists work with criminals and other criminal justice personnel. Police officers have clerical and physical demands, some of which might be life-threatening.

After you have settled on your top choices for job options, separate each one to see what type of education is required. Some positions require only an associate's degree, while others require a bachelor's degree or higher in addition to the specialized training you will receive. Consider the educational needs and whether you can handle the workload.

Depending on the location and position you are applying for, a high school diploma is the minimum that is needed to become a police officer; most officers are trained on the job. Other positions, such as a forensic psychologist, require at least a master's degree as well as a license. For a position as a probation officer, a bachelor's degree is usually required.

Knowing how much the average person makes in the position that you are interested in might have an impact on your decision. For some people becoming a police officer sounds interesting at first, but when you realize that the median police officer's salary as of May, 2008 was $51,410, this might not seem as though it is worth the risk.

The income for some positions vary greatly and are directly dependent on your education and the size of the employer. For example, as of May, 2008, the median income for paralegals ranged from $44,480 to $58,540. The median annual wages for probation officers as of May, 2008, was $45,910.