Changing education routes, yay or nay?

[cleantrep]

I am half way done with my associates in Criminal Justice at the local community college. I am not attending now as I don't make enough money with my current income and have decided to focus on getting hired with an agency, then returning to school. I don't feel like it is a wise financial decision to go into debt for an A.A. degree. I thankfully have a department seriously looking at me and looks like this place is where God wants me (sometimes you just know I guess). Once I am hired by said agency and settled in I would like to finish my associates degree in C.J.

Here is where my question comes in, and its two fold. I want to finish my A.A. in C.J. as I feel I have devoted a lot of time and money into it already and I do enjoy the course work. However, is a bachelors in Criminal Justice really a useful degree to be applied to a career in law enforcement or can my time be better spent in another avenue of interest such as business management or public administration?

I would like to, at the twilight of my career, be a chief someday and feel the latter two would be more useful in that arena but would like information from the pros.

Thanks in advance.
Matt

[PhilipCal]

Matt, we do quite a few discussions on this very subject, and the general consensus seems to be that C.J Degrees have rather limited marketability beyond Law Enforcement. We generally recommend degrees in Public Administration, Business, Business Administration, etc. as they could be of more use to you in the event a LE career didn't work out. They can also be very useful for you in a LE career. However, if a degree in C.J. is what you want, then by all means, pursue it. Good luck in your efforts.

[mikeymedic]

Just make sure you still can pursue your degree while handling a full-time LE gig. I am blessed by my administration right now and have been given the time at work to complete some coursework when the airwaves are quiet. There are quite a few agencies that like to see their chiefs with a 4 year degree in CJ but most will take anything that starts with "Bachelors of... in ..." Take the classes that interest you the most; don't waste good $ for a degree that you do not want.