Sadly, I was removed from my room with my previous roommate, who always judged my decision to pursue a career in communications and liberal arts. So, I no longer have the fun introductions to my CI blog.
Luckily, the roommate they moved in is Pre-Med. She will not have to worry about sharing a room with someone who is choosing an easy pathway to studying Liberal Arts. With amazing post-grad career options.
As someone whose friends grew up exposing them to criminal minds, it seemed to be the trend at the time to study criminology. Criminal Minds had everyone wanting to enter the FBI, travel the world, and save lives. Whenever I found out that there was a major where I could make my criminal mind’s dreams happen it was a solid possibility for 15 minutes before I remembered that I did not want a risky career. Criminology studies the psychology and the sociology behind why criminals make the decisions that they make. Forbes describes studying criminology as, “A bachelor’s degree in criminology provides an introduction to criminological research methods, criminal behavior theories and the criminal justice system. Criminology majors develop strong critical thinking and research skills applicable in various criminology jobs. They also explore the use of statistics in crime prevention, ethical issues, forensic psychology and other subjects related to the criminology field.”
The career path takes special people with tough skin, but the payout is a job that will keep you on your toes and will never be boring. So, what is the career path of someone who obtains a criminology degree? One could enter the field of being a criminal profiler, detective or a criminal investigator, probation officer, correctional officer, or forensic scientist.
This career path serves a mission, protecting your community from criminal behavior, and making the community safer. Criminals often attack innocent civilians, and even if you are not saving a life every day, stopping theft positively impacts the community.
Criminology is a risky career, but it has high payoffs. According to the “Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS.gov), those working as police or detectives earned a median pay of $67,290 per year in 2020. For those who decide to work as a private detective or investigator, the median 2020 pay was $56,320 a year. Both of these career paths offer outstanding growth and earning potential.” (https://www.geneva.edu). There are many career opportunities for growth in criminology. Criminology also means that you will likely be working with the government, and that means that your career will be steady.
As research season embarks on the Schreyer Scholars and they are presenting their thesis and research projects at conferences, I have noticed an uprising in criminology research. It is a complex and incredibly intriguing topic, one scholar researched the effects of the death penalty on criminal behavior. There are a lot of gray areas in the field of criminology that allow a lot of areas to research.
The courses also relate to political sciences, offering the opportunity to pursue a career in law. Limestone University claims, “As a Criminal Justice major, you learn about the tenets of criminal law and the history and philosophy of constitutional law. You explore the theory and practice of corrections along with the processes and procedures of the U.S. court system. This knowledge can set you up for success in the classroom and the courtroom.” (https://www.limestone.edu/blog). Criminal law is important in creating our public defenders and lawyers who represent those convicted of crimes. The ABA believes that an undergraduate degree in criminology is the perfect pathway for going to law school, but even if law school is not your passion or the pathway that you would like to take, there are many high-paying jobs through the government which makes this pathway the perfect choice for those who hope to leave a mark on society.
After curating this blog, I do want to pursue a career in criminology. I found this research incredibly interesting, and this degree has the most potential for different career fields in the College of Liberal Arts. If I were to change my major, this would be such a cool option.
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/criminology-major-overview
https://www.limestone.edu/criminal-justice
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/education/law/pre-law-majors/
https://criminologycareerstoday.com/is-criminology-a-good-or-bad-major-for-law-school-applicants/