Criminal Justice Degree: Worth It?

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I graduated in 2024 with an undergraduate and 2025 with a masters in criminal justice & ethnic and gender studies (laugh all you want - if you don't think race and gender intersect with crime, you're crazy. plus it was interesting.). So far out of school, I've worked as a domestic violence advocate, loss prevention, and now I'm a crime scene cleaner. it's a crazy lifestyle that i will probably be leaving to return to domestic violence advocacy while I work on a paralegal certificate but if you can handle it, the experience I've gotten is insane. I would love to get a doctorate and be a professor someday or somehow break into forensic genetic genealogy

I have 12 years of Army experience ranging from Infantry, Petroleum Supply Specialist, and now currently serving as an Army Recruiter. My plan is to retire from the military and earn at least a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. Depending on how much schooling I still have left in me after that, I may even push further and make it a major career path after retirement.
The reality is that careers in these fields value both education and real-world experience. That is where military service gives people a serious advantage. By the time I retire after 20 years, I will have leadership experience, management experience,
recruiting experience, operational experience, and a degree to back it all up.
That combination makes someone extremely marketable and competitive in today’s job market.

On top of that, I will still have my military retirement pay and medical benefits, so pursuing another career afterward will honestly be more about enjoying the work than chasing a paycheck. That is why I tell people the military can be a life cheat code if you use it correctly. A lot of people overlook the opportunities because they only focus on the hard parts, but the long-term benefits are massive if you stay disciplined and plan ahead.

Even my Army recruiting certification and training alone carry serious weight professionally. The amount of leadership, communication, sales, counseling, and administrative skills recruiters develop is no joke.

Honestly, it almost feels like an associate degree by itself with how much experience comes with it.
My advice to younger people is simple: join, gain experience, mature, build discipline, and let Tuition Assistance and the GI Bill pay for your education instead of drowning yourself in debt. Use the military as a stepping stone, not a dead end. Then once your degrees are complete, you can always branch out into other career fields later if your interests change.

I have 12 years of Army experience ranging from Infantry, Petroleum Supply Specialist, and now currently serving as an Army Recruiter. My plan is to retire from the military and earn at least a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. Depending on how much schooling I still have left in me after that, I may even push further and make it a major career path after retirement.
The reality is that careers in these fields value both education and real-world experience. That is where military service gives people a serious advantage. By the time I retire after 20 years, I will have leadership experience, management experience, recruiting experience, operational experience, and a degree to back it all up. That combination makes someone extremely marketable and competitive in today’s job market.

On top of that, I will still have my military retirement pay and medical benefits, so pursuing another career afterward will honestly be more about enjoying the work than chasing a paycheck. That is why I tell people the military can be a life cheat code if you use it correctly. A lot of people overlook the opportunities because they only focus on the hard parts, but the long-term benefits are massive if you stay disciplined and plan ahead.

Even my Army recruiting certification and training alone carry serious weight professionally. The amount of leadership, communication, sales, counseling, and administrative skills recruiters develop is no joke. Honestly, it almost feels like an associate degree by itself with how much experience comes with it.
My advice to younger people is simple: join, gain experience, mature, build discipline, and let Tuition Assistance and the GI Bill pay for your education instead of drowning yourself in debt. Use the military as a stepping stone, not a dead end. Then once your degrees are complete, you can always branch out into other career fields later if your interests change.

So I am AD Army right now, but when I get out I am thinking about majoring in criminal justice and minoring in forensics so I can apply for the FBI after college, and through internships I'll complete while in college out in Maryland with the FBI. Thoughts?

I work in health insurance and want to get into SIU investigating medical fraud.

This is why I dropped and changed majors. Most or all CJ jobs don’t require a BS in CJ. Thinking of getting a health degree just in case law enforcement doesn’t work out

ve r y fo r su r e th a n x 🥎⚾️⚽️🏀🏉🏈🏸🎯🏓

Most people getting this are criminals themselves which always makes me laugh. Useless

I do first responder photography and out of the probably 1k+ officers I’ve met about 90% of them said “I regret going for the degree”, “It’s a waste of money” or “Don’t go for the degree” most said if you just wanna be an officer not federal just get the ACT 120 and most departments will take you at least in my state (PA) that has the most PD’s in the country with 1,280 something currently and most around my area in not expensive areas start at 66k and after 5 years it’s 106k+ so it’s tempting for me to continue doing computer forensics degree like I am now then get my ACT 120

Im only getting a BA in Criminal Justice since I've been working in law enforcement since I was 18, I am now almost 31. Only reason I'm going back to school is because I have extra time for it due to a promotion and wanting to go federal (FBI or U.S Marshals).

I’m a Criminal Justice major with a concentration in Human Services. I graduate in a few months.I want to work in Child Protective Services but there are so many options with the potential to make 6 figures. I’ll most likely go to law school later. It’s not the prettiest/wealthiest degree, but it’s very stable. Then again, I was raised in poverty so it’s easier for me to deal with those type of people. If you’re not from that environment I wouldn’t recommend it.

This degree is beneficial for individuals planning to enter law enforcement and those who are already in law enforcement positions.

Graduated in 2023 with a bachelors' in criminal justice. Am now watching this, where am I going? :')

I will have mine next year 2026

I’m interested in forensic the Michigan state police is hiring at the moment

pls do a forensics science one, or forensic biology /chemistry. My plan is to get a bachelor’s in biochem then a master in forensic science idk tho😅

aiming for FBI AGENT

With that being said....

No, I majored in Criminal Justice Administration and graduated back in 2021 the degree isn't the worst out there, but it isn't worth it most police departments in my area (I live in the Chicago land area btw) only require an associate's degree or just 60 credit hours to work for most Police Departments some others don't require a degree. It's better off to get a minor or double major in something else as a backup plan if you decide not to get int CJ Field or can't for whatever reason. I've had guest speakers come in and even most of them would tell you to not get a CJ degree it's better off getting a degree in (Accounting, Business, Human Resources Management, Computer Science, Science) or anything else will give you a better leg up then somebody with a CJ degree so many people have this degree too so it wouldn't really help with standing yourself out from the crowd.

Marine Here since I can go to school for free I plan to come out to be a police officer the degree is just a bonus is it worth ?

Prison guard, ouch! Executioner...loll...

Yes

I am new on there's

I am there's ❤️ for classes as well , alll video as well v homeschooling as well

People get CJ degrees and other unmarketable degrees for 2 reasons: 1) They want to appease their parents. 2) They washed out of STEM or some other rigorous discipline.

Good god…I don’t know. I don’t care about a lot of money. Maybe something with the court house that’s not psychotic