Advice for a student about to graduate?

[mburtt]

Hey all,

I have about a month left in my junior year of college at Indiana State University, and will have a Bachelor's degree in Criminology with a concentration in Law Enforcement and Evidence when I graduate. I'm just looking for some insight/career advice. I grew up in Greenwood, Indiana and would preferably like to stay in central Indiana, but will go wherever the jobs are. The thing I'm having a hard time deciding is whether to pursue corrections or police work. Being in Terre Haute, I'm close to the federal penitentiary and will be doing an internship there during spring semester next year, but I also have friends and family that have spent time with the state police and can't say enough good things about the time they spent there. Regardless of whether I pick corrections or police work, my ultimate goal is to work on a federal level. My mentor has spent 12 years working for Homeland Security in Indiana and I also have an Uncle that spent 17 years with the Secret Service. Any insight on which field or specific departments have advancement opportunities, or just personal opinions are greatly appreciated!

[Jim1648]

What we think really doesn't matter. Doing the internship will be good. it should put you in a position to know more about whether that is the path you want to go down or police work. When you write about police work and the federal level, I suspect that you already know that most federal law enforcement agencies are taking radio call and going on domestic calls. Most are oriented towards investigations.

You might want to consider looking into a police reserve agency to volunteer at. If they allow ride alongs, and many that have police reserves do allow reserves to ride along on patrol, you will have some additional experience to help you choose.

Different things motivate and interest people. I found out, at a pretty young age, that I don't like being inside all day every day. I really like being "out and about". You, on the other hand, may find that working with inmates really motivates you. You really won't know, though, until you get a bit more experience. Now get to it!