College Degree!

[Tony1081]

I have been doing alot of thinking lately. Wanting to go in the field of law enforcment has been a somewhat recent thing for me. At first, I thought i could just go to the police academy and then hopefully try to become a LEO, but in the back of my mind, I always felt like that probably won't be good enough. I feel now that, without a college degree(preferably a B.A. degree) the chances of getting a good police officer job are slim to none. I think that most(almost all)departments now days want you to have a degree of some sort. And I don't mean that they require one, they WANT YOU or WOULD LIKE YOU TO have one. I think just the police academy and a high school diploma are the MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS and the people who alot of times don't make the "cut" now days because they are competing with other applicants with a higher education. I have friends who have recently become police officers. All of them have a B.A. degree. One got on with a department near me. They hired 5 guys. All had a degree. I don't want a degree in CJ because in my opinion, it doesn't open alot of doors and even more importantly, it doesn't, once so ever, guarentee you a job in LE. What Im trying to say is, if you don't get the job as a cop, a CJ degree is almost worthless.(again this is the way I see it) But I would like to get a bachelors degree of some sort of field. I do feel that time, because of age, is closing in on me to become a cop also. I wish I knew the importance of a college degree a little earlier, especially when it comes to law enforecment. I still have time in other fields of study, but when it comes to LE, I feel that time is running out. One guy told me this."Just go to the academy" "Why are you worried about a college
degree? It's not going to help you get a job as a cop" Well dude, it must, if everyone I have talked to now had one when they got a job as a cop. And as far as the academy goes, your certification is good for only one year. So if you don't get a job as a cop in one year, a job that is difficult to get in the fisrt place, well that alot of money down the drain now is it. Im not saying that I can't become a cop without a degree, but with one, I think it would open alot more doors. Without one, I think it's going to be pretty tough.

[K9 Police]

Grab your degree, make sure its not Criminal Justice.

K9

[Spee-Dee]

Grab your degree, make sure its not Criminal Justice.

K9

Agree!

My cousin in Alberta did some two year police academy course and tried to get a job. He couldn't and now he's back there again trying to get the four year course. $20 says that he still won't have a job after that because he's about a wheel-barrow of bricks short of a full load. He lacks common sense and can't make his own decisions.

Sometimes luck can be on your side and you can get a job in LE without a BA, but there's no guaruntees and education is mighty expensive to throw away on a very limited course.

Keep your options open, because for all you know, you could get a job in LE and find out you hate it.

[Da Po-po]

I have a B.S. degree in Police Administration with a minor in Political Science. I am 2 classes from a M.S. in Criminology. I have come to find in my time, that it isn't so much the type of degree as much as it is that you have one at all. This has been true in more fields than law enforcement. There is so much more involved in a college degree program than the major core classes. The idea is that you have a well-rounded education. There are very few career fields that don't require a great deal of specialized training once you get there, so the degree program isn't all that important. The factor that does come into place more so is your GPA and that the degree is from a legitimate accredited institution, and not some obscure accreditation. An example is the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools which accredits both universities I have attended one of them being Florida State University. Not trying to brag, just passing along the info. since some on-line and mail-order degrees don't hold water due to lack of accreditation. Get your degree and good luck!