So You Want to Be a Criminal Justice Major?

Abstract

This paper outlines the information I have discovered while researching what I would use my degree in Criminal Justice for. This information is presented from my point of view involving this information, and may not directly reflect any other perspective.

So You Want a Criminal Justice Degree

The amount of people studying criminal justice has increased exponentially since the events surrounding September 11, 2001. These events even launched a whole new set of agencies and positions involving the many aspects of criminal justice. What have not changed are the requirements for employment with many of these agencies. With this in mind let us take a look at some of those requirements so we may evaluate the impact of a criminal justice degree on possible employment.

On the federal level most of these jobs are the same or extremely similar in requirements. This is due to the fact that they are all considered federal positions and therefore must meet federal guidelines for employment and pay scale. The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency), TSA (Transportation Security Administration), DHS ( Department of Homeland Security), and every other agency with three letters, just to name a few are all paid on what is called a GS (General Schedule) scale. What this means is that each position is rated on its level of difficulty and responsibility and then the employee is chosen based on their ability to fulfill these needs. With that in mind these agencies have a variable grading system that decides how much a particular employee will get paid for a certain position.

The majority of the positions that require a degree, or equivalent experience, start at the GS-5 level. A GS-5 is basically an employee with 2 - 3 years of specific work experience or an associate’s degree. A GS-7 is equivalent to 4 - 6 years of specific experience or a bachelor’s degree. GS-9 is essentially 6 – 10 years of specific...