Criminal Justice Careers

A criminal justice degree is key to advancement and professional development in the field and will help prepare you to work in the fields of policing, courts, law, and corrections, as well as with a wide variety of crime-related populations.

The career in criminal justice field is very wide in scope. For people who like to be active and work in the field, a criminal justice degree is the perfect foundation for a career as a police officer, state trooper, private investigator, or even secret service officer. If keeping order is more your style, consider a career as a bailiff or corrections officer.

• Judges, Magistrates, and Other Judicial Workers Careers Judges, magistrates, and other judicial workers apply the law and oversee the legal process in courts. They preside over cases concerning every aspect of society, from traffic offenses to disputes over the management of professional sports to issues concerning the rights of huge corporations.
• Paralegals and Legal Assistants Careers While lawyers assume ultimate responsibility for legal work, they often delegate many of their tasks to paralegals. In fact, paralegals-also called legal assistants-are continuing to assume a growing range of tasks in legal offices and perform many of the same tasks as lawyers.
• Police and Detectives Careers People depend on police officers and detectives to protect their lives and property. Law enforcement officers, some of whom are State or Federal special agents or inspectors, perform these duties in a variety of ways depending on the size and type of their organization. In most jurisdictions, they are expected to exercise authority when necessary, whether on or off duty.
• Lawyers Careers Lawyers, also called attorneys, act as both advocates and advisors in our society. As advocates, they represent one of the parties in criminal and civil trials by presenting evidence and arguing in court to support their client. As advisors, lawyers counsel their clients about their legal rights and obligations and suggest particular courses of action in business