career advise

[KO NYY23]

Hello-

I will be graduating college in late May with a bachelor's in Management of Information Systems (MIS) with a concentration on Info. Sec. I also will have a minor in Justice & Law. Obviously with this said, I have a strong interest in both computers and the law. At this point I definitely want to combine the two and acquire a job within the law enforcement field dealing with computers (ie: cyber crime, etc). Basically I want to represent the law in some fashion and have the gun, badge etc. It will be an honor to do so.

I looked at the FBI a little bit. The turnoff for me is the fact that they can place you wherever they want. I currently live in CT. They could place me in an office across the country if they want to, and that doesn't sit well with me.

I need advise on which direction to take. Which agencies should I look at?

Thanks

[Tim Dees]

Almost any law enforcement agency is going to require you to work in the basic job for several years before you get a shot at working something like computer crimes. That means working patrol or corrections in uniform, most of the time. It may take years to work into an investigator position, and there is seldom any guarantee you will get there at all.

I also suspect that you will find that your MIS education is not going to be that much help in bootstrapping your way into a computer crimes investigator job. Most of the specialist investigator positions require training in computer forensics, and that has to be constantly updated because of changing technologies. Whatever you might know today will almost certainly be obsolete by the time you get a crack at a computer case.

Go for a law enforcement job if you want, but understand that you will almost always be doing the basic mission at the outset, and maybe for years to come.

[Mirrain]

As Tim says, we all start somewhere. Even while I can't see any reason why you wouldn't later be moved (most places require minimum 5 years on patrol before you can "apply" for specialized). There is a chance they may not move you into that division or have the work you want to do...if it's handed off to the feds.

If that doesn't really turn your crank, I imagine you would have a lot of opportunities in the private sector outside of law enforcement. Banks, credit unions and other larger corporations are willing to pay a small fortune for asset protection. I'm not familiar with your education but judging by the sounds of it, you'd fit well in that sort of thing as well.

[PhilipCal]

Career Advice

If you go to work with a Federal or State law enforcement agency, moving around is pretty much a part of the picture. Even a large city such as L.A., New York, Chicago, etc can assign you to a station that involves a pretty long commute. As noted, state and local agencies will require you to work in uniform at the beginning of your service. While I generally recommend a degree, or at least a major in a field other than CJ, I agree that computer forensics is the field you need to study in. The technology is changing rapidly, and seems to do so almost daily. Two things at the end of the discussion. You have to make the decision. You have to pay your dues, whatever choice you make.

[PensFanCOP]

I think everybody pretty much hit the nail on the head. You will most likely need to apply for a larger department to obtain that type of specialized job.