Occupational Outlook Handbook Homework Worksheet

1. What education and training is needed to succeed/secure employment in this field?

2. Will you be qualified with your current degree or will additional training be required (i.e., certificate or advanced degree)?

3. If there is additional training required, what is your response to learning that information? How do you feel about that?

1.       the education requirement for one to become a detective is a degree in criminal justice and a high school diploma

2.       with my current degree, I will be required to pass in the police training academy.

3.       I have always aspired to take training in the police academy to gain physical skills; therefore, learning that it is an essential requirement makes me enthusiastic.

1. What is the median pay for this occupation?

2. Is that what you’d expected?

1.       According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2018, the median salary for a detective is $81,925 (Westera et al., 2014).

2.       The question of whether that is what I expected is yes. The value exceeds my expectation as per the research I conducted on the career before commencing my degree, which was $62,466 on average for a police detective in 2016.

1. What is the Job Outlook for this occupation?

2. List any external factors that will affect this occupation/industry.

3. How does this impact your interest in this occupation?

1.       The job outlook for a career as a detective is predicted to grow by 5%, which tally’s with most occupations. However, the need for the greater urge of public health may cause a career to exceed the projected growth percentage. Additionally, an increase in population demands a more significant number of trained law enforcement officers, which includes the detectives.

2.       One of the external factors affecting a career as a detective is the lack of cooperation with other divisions. The outcome is that the sharing of information may become difficult.

3.       The issue impacts me as an individual negatively who aims to join the career. However, the law enforcement divisions are putting an effort to ensure the bridge is made smaller, which sounds promising in the profession.

1. List at least 3 duties that people in this occupation do on a daily basis.

2. What appeals most to you? Why?

3. What appeals least to you? Why?

4. Do you have strengths, skills or experience that would be helpful in those tasks?

1.       The duties of a detective include; examining physical evidence, interviewing suspects, testifying in courts before judges, and compiling evidence through suspect observation.

2.       What appeals most to be among the duties of a detective is examining the physical evidence. It is because I have always been eager to determine past events relying on the available materials as evidence. Therefore, becoming a detective will see to it that I achieve the goal.

3.       What appeals least to me about the career is interviewing suspects. The reason behind this is that in most cases, someone says what best fits them, and if the person is consistent, extracting the truth from them may be difficult (Gage, 2010). Furthermore, interviewing a trained suspect maybe even harder.

4.       Being a detective one requires one to have sound judgment, be responsible, and be a person of integrity. As a person, I believe I possess these necessary skills, which puts me in a better position of handling the problem as mentioned above.

1. List a few of the working conditions – hours, location, etc.

2. Based on what you’ve learned through the Jung Typology (MBTI), Values exercise and/or Strengths Finder as well as your own reflection and self-knowledge of what works best for you, how do you feel about the environment of this

1.       The working environment for a detective depends on the agency. The location varies from working in an office to the streets. For federal and state job as a detective, traveling may also be required. The working hours for a detective adds to 40 hours in a week with additional overtime. The position is usually conducted in shifts since security to the public is provided on a 24-hour basis (Saito, 2012).

2.       As a detective, one requires full attention to the job because sometimes one is needed to observe some pieces of information, connect situations, and make conclusions. Additionally, distraction another factor that ought to be omitted in a detective as the job requires on to uncover some information that other people would not. Besides, observation skills are essential whenever it comes to this type of situation. Therefore as a detective, one ought to be very factual extraverts since the career duties exist in a continuum.

List at least 1 professional association connected to this occupation.

Eg. National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA)

An association connected to the detective job is the Georgia Association of Professional Private Investigators (ISPAG).

2.       Corrections supervisor.

3.       FBI special agent.