College...

L

Lost In Shuffle

Joined
May 2, 2005
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Well I'm going to be goin to college soon and am interested in a law enforcement/government type career... What majors should i go for to get into that kind of work? (FBI, CIA, Military, Law Enforcement, Protection services...) Just curious...

Thanks,
D
 
You interested in anything Forensics?

I've just completed a 3 year Forensic Science course. Last exam yesterday (still got a mock court room appearance to do though). I found the course to be very interesting. Don't know what it'll be like in the US but here i learned bits of everything. Fingerprinting, DNA, Crime Scene Processing, and analysis of all sorts. I guess in the US it'd be even cooler with all the stuff you got there.

Throughout the whole 3 years i never really got bored. It was always something different. My previous degree was in Actuarial Science and after 3 years of Math/Stats I really wanted to just get out of it.

By the way, i even got to see a post mortem examination.
 
Lost In Shuffle said:
Well I'm going to be goin to college soon and am interested in a law enforcement/government type career... What majors should i go for to get into that kind of work? (FBI, CIA, Military, Law Enforcement, Protection services...) Just curious...

Thanks,
D
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If you want to be FBI or CIA I'd suggest Law, Accounting or some sort of technical field i.e. Computer science or the like. Ditto for the military. What I probably wouldn't do is get one of those criminal justice degrees. Had a roommate that did that and he had a hard time even getting on the local police force.
 
If you want a career in government at a high (not grunt) level, you should plan on going to law school and should probably get your Bachelor's in Political Science with a strong computer science minor.
 
If you're interested in a basic law enforcement degree. A degree in criminal justice with an emphasis on law enforcement is offered at most universities. I suggest talking with the advisor at the college of your choice. They will be able to provide you with the specific options for the school.

-Rob
 
Even rather podunk-y police departments now want at least an associate's degree. They might not state it on the requirements, but it will give you a leg up.
Almost all departments in this area require a bachelor's degree for sergeant, and a masters for lieutenant.
 
My older brother is doing the same exact thing, cept he's current military. He's majoring in some history and government subjects.
 
Lost,

There's good advice here. One more point, from an old liberal arts grad (and Big Ten faculty member). Don't think you can blow off the basic readin', writin' and 'rithmatic they're going to want you to take. Try to soak up as much as you can. You will be amazed, ten years out, how much of this comes into play day in and day out.

Best of luck,
Mike
 
Here's the basics for the CIA clandestine service:

bachelor's in poly sci or international relations or similar
or
bachelor's in chemical, nuclear, and I think electrical engineering
plus
really high grades, clean record, foreign language skills, etc.
 
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