Ada Alers spent eight years working in the insurance agency industry when she realized it wasn’t really her calling.
“Sometimes you fall into a career not by choice but by circumstances,” says Alers, a single parent of two teenagers who lives in Manchester, Connecticut. “I needed a job.”
After thinking about what would make her feel fulfilled as a person, Alers began testing a career change by taking a couple of community college classes, ultimately deciding to pursue an online criminal justice degree at Bay Path University.
“I find it really fulfilling to counsel people who have had rough times in their life,” says Alers, who expects to graduate in May 2015 and work as a drug and alcohol counselor.
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For students like Alers, getting into an online criminal justice program is only half the battle. Once accepted, online students need to realize that it takes more than a degree to enter the field. For many students, experts say, obtaining additional training and professional development is key to maintaining a competitive advantage in the job field.
“You routinely get hundreds of resumes from candidates who have criminal justice degrees with not much to differentiate them,” says Philip Becnel, the managing partner of Dinolt Becnel & Wells Investigative Group, a private investigations firm based in Washington, D.C. “There still may be jobs for those students, but if you want to investigate at a higher level, you should consider something that sets you apart and that the agency really needs.”
Specializing within your criminal justice degree is one way to stand out among potential employers, says Scott Joubert, director of the criminal justice program at Bay Path University, which offers four criminal justice specialties: terrorism and homeland security, rehabilitation and victim advocacy, emergency management and criminal investigations.
Students should start by looking at emerging trends and specialize in growing fields, such as those that focus on homeland security and emergency management, which provide business skills that can transfer to the private and public sector, says Joubert.
Criminal justice students can also differentiate themselves from other job candidates by obtaining a minor, secondary degree or certificate, experts say. This can mean learning a second language such as Pashto, which is widely spoken in Afghanistan, or earning a certificate in criminalistics, which trains people in everything from ballistic testing to explosives.
Students should also attend conferences, seminars and workshops to gain additional certifications, experts say.
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“A lot of trainings are affordable and under $100,” says Joubert, who spent 15 years working for the sheriff’s office in Massachusetts’s Worcester County before he began teaching online.
For example, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Independent Study Program offers free interactive, Web-based continuing education courses on a variety of topics from emergency management to hazardous materials.
“What puts one student above the rest is what they’ve done beyond their academics,” Joubert says. “Professional development helps students rise above the rest.”
Students should also consider volunteering or shadowing a professional in the field to gain real-world experience and hone specific skills, experts say.
“I recommend getting practical training that hits the specific skill areas for the job you’re trying to get,” says Becnel, who earned his master’s degree in criminal justice online from Boston University.
When choosing how to specialize your criminal justice degree, experts suggest students consider their personality.
For example, Joubert says many police and correctional officers have highly ambitious, intense personalities.
“It takes a certain personality type to get into law enforcement and corrections, but the criminal justice system is so vast, you don’t have to go into police or corrections to be in the field,” he says.
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Students should really enjoy their specialty, since their job after graduation might be narrow in scope, experts say.
While many television shows showcase actors dabbling in ballistics and performing multiple forensic tasks, Joubert says in reality most investigators specialize in one aspect of crime scene investigation and repetitively perform the same task.
“When I explain that to my students they are really surprised,” he says. “It’s an eye-opener for them. I also tell them you also have to be really strong in science, and if you’re not, maybe CSI isn’t for you.”
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Maximize an Online Criminal Justice Degree originally appeared on usnews.com
