What can I do with a degree in criminal justice?
In recent years, career opportunities in fields linked with criminal justice have shown steady growth. While some jobs do not require a university degree, many do, and a degree almost always improves a person’s chances for promotions and other career advancement. Because the criminal justice program at SIUE rests on a strong academic foundation, a wide variety of occupations will be accessible to its graduates.
There are a wide range of other positions that include working to prevent crime and delinquency, working to repair lives that are touched by crime, and so much more. You can see a partial listing of the variety of jobs open to you below.
Additional Resources
For further research on employment opportunities, this resource profiles nearly 75 criminal justice career options.
Looking for your next job? USAJOBS is a great place to start looking and applying.
Here are 101 Resources for the Criminal Justice job hunt.
Law Enforcement
- Police Officer
- Dispatcher
- Border Patrol Agent
- Crime Scene Technician Crime Lab Technician
- Community Policing
- Police Administration
- Customs Agent
- Detention Officer
- Detective
- Sheriff
- Gaming Enforcement Officer
- Gang Crimes Investigator
- Jailer
- K-9 Handler
- Water Patrol
- Forensic Scientist
- Narcotics Officer
- Polygraph Examiner
- SWAT Officer
- School Liaison
- Psychologist/Psychiatrist
- Undercover Officer
Courts/Law
- Arbitration
- Prosecutor
- Public Defender
- Defense Attorney
- Bailiff
- Background Investigator
- Court Clerk
- Court Reporter
- Law Clerk
- Legal Research
- Paralegal
- Victim Restitution Programs
- Process Server
- Sentencing Analyst
- Courthouse Security
- Judge
- Magistrate
- Attorney
- Probation Officer
- Parole Officer
- Bondsman
Corrections
- Correctional Officer
- Correctional Counselor
- Juvenile Detention Officer
- Juvenile Worker
- Psychiatrist/Psychologist
- Health Systems Administration
- Food Service
- Correctional Administration
- Vocational Specialist
- Transport Officer
- Personnel
- Trainer
- Recreational Specialist
- Public Relations Officer
- Community Corrections Worker
- Probation and Parole Officer
Federal Agencies
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
- U.S. Secret Service
- U.S. Marshall’s Service
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF)
- U.S. Custom’s Service Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS)
- U.S. Border Patrol
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
- U.S. Postal Inspector’s Service
- Department of Homeland Security
- U.S. Department of State
- U.S. Mint Police
- Government Printing Service Police
- Central Intelligence Agency’s Special Protective Service
- Federal Bureau of Prisons
- Federal Probation Officers
- Department of Agriculture Investigator
- Department of Labor Investigator
- Military Police
- Military JAG Corps
- Environmental Protection Agency
State and Local Agencies
- State Highway Patrol
- State Agency Investigators
- State Fire Marshall
- Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff
- Municipal Police Officers
- Detectives
Additional training and certification may be required after securing employment in law enforcement as well as federal, state and local agencies.
