Career Opportunities in Criminal Justice

Career Opportunities in Criminal Justice

The criminal justice sector has been experiencing rapid growth in the last decades. Most countries, especially the United States, have been heightening on immigration and other legal issues in recent years. This focus has seen the federal government pay dedicated attention to law enforcement. The Criminal Justice Degree Schools (2020) reports that careers in criminal justice are expected to grow in the next years with more departments to be created to accommodate law enforcement needs. In the US alone, there are more than three million individuals employed in the criminal justice sector. Criminal justice is a broad field that deals with almost every issue touching on the law. In the          United States, criminal justice is subdivided into homeland security, law enforcement, academia, legal services, and private security. An individual with a degree in criminal justice can work as a CIA officer, Homicide detective, or ICE agent (Tontodonato, 2020). Other opportunities in the field include forensics accountant, forensics psychologist, criminal scene investigator, Information security analyst, and criminal investigator.

List of Criminal Justice Career Opportunities with a Bachelor’s Degree as a Requirement

Bailiff in the legal sector

Bailiffs are responsible for establishing and ensuring order in court when trials are underway. Under some conditions, bailiffs may be expected by the court to have training in paralegal (Criminal Justice Degree Schools, 2020). Depending on the duty of the officer, a bailiff may hold either a diploma or two to a four-year degree in criminal justice with a specialty in criminology or other law enforcement related fields. The bailiffs earn an average annual salary of $44,900.

Air Marshal under Homeland Security

In 2001, DHS introduced TSA. The Transportation Security Administration deals with airline security. Air Marshal Service is an institution under TSA that protects air crafts, passengers, or crew against attacks (Criminal Justice Degree Schools, 2020). The institution comprises of armed undercover agents and law enforcement officers who are in charge of maintaining the airline securities. The position requires a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. The annual salary for the air marshals is $50,000.

Border Patrol Agent under Homeland Security

Border patrol agents are in charge of enforcing laws and regulations guarding the movement of people or goods into the United States. The borders are in Mexico, Canada, Florida, and Puerto Rico. The officers manage illegal entry into the state and protect US citizens against human trafficking (Criminal Justice Degree Schools, 2020). Border patrol agents also secure the borders to prevent drug trafficking in the country. The position requires a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in Homeland Security or Criminal Justice. The annual average salary is $36,972.

Correction Treatment Specialist

The specialists in this sector work in the prison system. The US prisons are designed in a way that secures the inmates while providing them with the necessary skills they will apply when they become eligible for parole (Criminal Justice Degree Schools, 2020). Correctional Treatment officers, in collaboration with the case managers, are responsible for identifying the suitable educational programs for the inmate and train the inmates. The minimum qualification for the position is a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with a specialization in sociology, human services, criminology or psychology. The average annual salary for the specialists is $54,080.

CIA Analyst-Homeland Security

CIA agents regularly collect data on the safety of the state. The CIA analysts are in charge of comprehensively analyzing and interpreting the data collected by the field agents (Criminal Justice Degree Schools, 2020). The analysts are tasked with connecting every single piece of information provided to provide Homeland Security with valid comprehension used for decision making regarding the security of the nation. The minimum qualification for the post is a bachelor’s degree. The annual average salary for the analysts is $75,000.

DEA agent-Law Enforcement

DEA agents are responsible for the investigation of drug law violation investigations. The focus for the agents is on companies manufacturing drugs, growing, and distributing the drugs across the United States (Criminal Justice Degree Schools, 2020). The minimum qualification is a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. The annual average salary is $54,460.

Forensics Accountants-Forensics

Forensic accountants are responsible for examining business records and tax to ascertain irregularities. The irregularities are used to establish criminal law cases (Criminal Justice Degree Schools, 2020). The accountants often work to prove the occurrence of corruption, financial crimes, and embezzlement. The requirements are a minimum of a degree in business, forensic accounting. An advanced degree in Criminal investigation suffices in most cases. Their annual salary amounts to

Careers in Criminal Justice that Require Master’s Degree

Correctional Officer Supervisors

The roles of the supervisors are to monitor and supervise the works of correctional treatment specialists. They assign duties and cases loads to the direct reports. According to the Criminal Justice Degree Schools (2020), correctional supervisors’ salaries averages at $ 62, 500.

Police and Detective Supervisor

The officers are responsible for evaluating, scheduling, arranging for, and providing training to their direct reports. The supervisors also ensure that the police officers are motivated in their work and, in some cases, manage other personnel like technicians (Criminal Justice Degree Schools, 2020). They earn an average salary of $87,910 annually.

 Criminal Profiler

A criminal profiler is trained in the field of forensic science. Their duties include establishing evidence that is correlated with the profiles of suspects of various crimes (Criminal Justice Degree Schools, 2020). Criminal profilers also work on crime scenes to ascertain whether the scenes have been tampered with. Their salaries average to $38, 200 annually.

Criminologists

Criminologists are trained in crime and the causes of a crime. Criminologists study crime and provide law enforcement officers with recommendations on the way forward (Criminal Justice Degree Schools, 2020). Criminologists often focus on a crime committed at a communal context rather than an individual context.

References

Criminal Justice Degree Schools. (2020). Careers in Criminal Justice.

Criminal Justice Degree Schools. (2020). Ten Jobs You Can Get With a Master’s in Criminal Justice Degree.

Tontodonato, P. (2020). Goals, Expectations, and Satisfaction of Criminal Justice Majors: Implications for Faculty, Students, and Programs. Journal of Criminal Justice Education.