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Why cops shouldn’t Major in Criminal Justice It is not your imagination. It’s reality. Law Enforcement agencies around the country are shifting towards requiring a college degree as a condition for hiring. Do you want a promotion? It’s no longer how many people you arrest – it’s what degree you possess. This phenomena has resulted in officers going back to school for B.As, M.As and PhDs. There is an easy ways to get your degree. You can major in Criminal Justice. You know it by heart. You eat it, sleep it, work it, live it. Why should you avoid this route? Well there are several reasons. Everything you ever needed to know about law enforcement – you already know from the academy and working the streets. A Criminal Justice program in college will not teach you anything new. As a matter of fact, you will get more discouraged sitting in class with 18 year old Tommy who will ask the teacher to explain the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony five different times. You will get bored. You will fall asleep, especially if you go to school right after a 10 hour shift. The road to the degree will seem much longer than you thought. Do you really need to spend 6 months studying the way a trial takes place? Regurgitating on what constitutes a burglary? Learning that jails don’t really work? C’mon – you already know it. Law enforcement is a tricky field. You may be the top cop for 15 years but one incident, one screw up, one mishap can end your career in an instance. What are you going to do then? What good is your Criminal Justice degree? Can you go work for IBM, INTEL or MERRIL LYNCH with this degree? NO! - They want math, computers, finance, marketing…. not court information, felonies, and Miranda. Major in something that will help you when if you quit, get fired or retire. Business and computers will always be around. The need for people with this knowledge will always exists. Don’t be left out. Do the right thing. Do not major in Criminal Justice. The WebMaster

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