Applied for a department once and didn’t pass the interview. I think my answer swayed the interviewer. He asked “what did you do to prepare for a career in LE?” I honestly didn’t know how to answer that since I actually hadn’t done anything substantial TO prepare. I’m thinking of going back to school to get my AA in CJ but I’ve been seeing a lot of people talking about how pointless this degree is and it has been second guessing it. I want to get my AA in CJ Incase that question does come up again in any department when in the hiring process.
Why are CJ degrees considered “useless” what degree did some of you get prior to LE?
r/AskLE
Comments
Get a psych degree. “My degree in Psychology was obtained with the intent of adding tools to aid in negotiations between myself as an (officer, deputy, trooper) and citizens who may have negative views of law enforcement personnel. It will also hopefully allow me to understand all other people better, so I am a better co worker and a more understanding and effective member of the team.”
Search CJ degree here, youll get 1million of the same answer. It doesnt help you in LE bc they teavh you what you need in academy. At best you get a tiny leg up on academics in the academy, but the time and money of the degree isnt worth it.
It doesnt have any applicability outside of LE, so when becoming an LEO doesnt work youre screwed and wasted time and $$$ for a useless degree.
“I honestly didn’t do anything to prepare…”. I think we’re done here.
There’s an art to interviews, practice and learn to sell yourself. These could be responses or things to do to prepare you for LE without a CJ degree.
I took a criminal justice class.
I went on a ride along.
I spoke with officers from different departments about the job.
I took on more responsibility at work by taking a role that had me dealing with the public.
I went to school for English to help me write and communicate clearly.
I went to school for accounting to help me better understand financial records, as i read about the impact of fraud and how difficult it can be to investigate.
I went to school for photography after my criminal justice professor complained about poor photos losing a case in court.
I became a EMT/paramedic to have skills to help someone in an emergency situation, as a officer I know I would likely be first on scene…. possibly the only help for an hour or more in a rural area.
Most don’t require a degree, but I say go for STEM or some sort of psych degree
I have two. Psychology and mathematics.
School of hard knocks/life.
Because it’s useless. It will teach you everything you’ll just learn in academy, it doesn’t make you stand out against other applicants with degrees just because it’s CJ, and if law enforcement doesn’t work out then you’re stuck with a degree that has no other value in any career.
I think people in this sub are sometimes too hard on CJ or Criminology degrees. I agree that the academy and FTO are going to teach you more than the degree can along with the fact that other degrees that are more broad might help you with plan B’s…
That said I think if you were to stick through and move into admin positions as you age it’s going to look a lot better on paper compared to someone else. While hands on experience is more valuable, I think for promotional opportunities on paper stuff can be talked about quite a bit.
For example I guarantee that in general the vast majority of Patrol Lieutenants or Captains went to college for CJ, Criminology, or Sociology.
In this day and age too even if you need a plan B a 4 year degree in anything will be significant outside of STEM which is a little more picky about your studied emphasis.
They add little value to your career besides checking a box for executive promotion, report writing, and some academics. I got an associates in IT with the idea of being marketable in the event that LE doesn’t work out. I also got it because cyber/technical investigations tends to escape most cops
Most of what you learn in criminal justice classes will be covered again in the academy. Get a degree that can get you a different job when you get out of law enforcement.
I have a CJ and it helped me during the academy a little bit. But there’s a lot of people who drop out of LE or don’t make it or just change careers. A LOT. They’ll wish they had other degrees
CJ degrees are not preparation for a career in LE.
NO. DAMN. CJ.
I have a bachelor’s in criminal justice with a second major in political science. I also have and emphasis (minor) in criminal law. I can tell you first hand The only thing the degree is good for is my education incentive because I have a degree. It does nothing and didn’t actually prepare me for anything practical in this job. If I got injured and couldn’t do the job again I would have to go back to school and get a masters in a different field.
Now, that being said, back when I was in school The only reason I stayed was because I was interested in the topic. If it comes down to a CJ degree or no degree then it’s better than nothing. But if I was smart I would have got my degree in literally anything else.
As someone who made the mistake of getting a CJ degree:
I have no background issues other than a single red light ticket which I went to traffic school for. No DUIs, no misdemeanors, no drugs or alcohol use. With that said it still took me 26 applications to get hired on by a PD (Granted I went for dispatch which is more competitive), but my point is my degree did bum squat in the hiring processes. Now I recommend going for a 4 year because many agencies provide additional pay incentives for 4 year degrees. But get it in something you like or something useful outside of LE.
YMMV but most upper division professors I had hated what I wanted to be (at the time I wanted to go for patrol). A ton of them were on board the abolish police/prisons train and it only got worse after 2020. I imagine a few desks at my alma mater probably still have dents from me banging my head on them.