Professional Career at Criminal Justice - Research Paper Example

Criminal Justice Several opportunities exist for the that hold a graduate degree in the field of study of criminal justice. There are opportunities in the public sector in which the students can get recruited in the different governmental institutions, as well as, there several job prospects in the private sector. The private sector organizations hire a handsome number of degree graduates in criminal justice. This paper presents the research work made on the field of probable career opportunities that would be open to the students like me and my peers, and which specific field of occupation would suit me best to pursue my career. The opportunities in the public sector are available in a threefold way. These can be broadly classified into local level opportunities, State level opportunities and the Federal level opportunities. In the private sector also, the employers hire professionals in the categories mentioned, for the different legal issues that they face in course of action of their businesses. The types of possible occupations are mentioned below: Private detectives and investigators The demand or private investigators is on the rise in the present decade more than any time in the past. This is the result of tremendous development of the technology and the extensive use of the internet. The organizations are frequently facing fraud cases and are becoming victim of cyber criminals. The celebrities of the modern era are in need of security from professional bodyguards. The duty of the private detectives and investigators is to find “and analyze information about legal, financial, and personal matters” (What Private Detectives and Investigators Do, 2012). They are entrusted with the responsibilities of making background checks on people; trace missing persons investigate cyber crimes and offer protection to celebrities. Forensic Psychologists The forensic psychologists apply psychological principles in the criminal justice system in the process of working together with judges and other specialists of the legal system so as to “understand the psychological findings of a particular case” (What Psychologists Do, 2012). The possible areas of specializations are the family, the civil or the criminal court. It has been estimated from research that the employment opportunity of the forensic psychologists is set to grow by 22 per cent (What Psychologists Do, 2012) in the next decade. This expected rise is greater than the average of all other occupations. Paralegals and legal assistants The employers in the private organizations, just like the government institutions, are likely to hire large number of paralegals and legal assistants. They would do this in order to increase the efficiency of the legal services pertaining to their business It is less expensive to hire legal assistants than lawyers. These professionals do various tasks to provide support to their attorneys. They preserve and arrange files, conduct legal research as well draft the documents of various cases. They work to assist the lawyers practice for “hearings, trials, and corporate meetings” (What Paralegals and Legal Assistants Do, 2012). While law firms are the largest recruiters of paralegals, the big corporate firms are hiring good number of these professionals. In this sphere formally trained professionals with some prior experience bag the best job opportunities. Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists With the guidelines becoming more flexible with the passage of time, the judges get greater opportunity to consider the cases before sentencing the offenders to prison. The offenders are put on “alternative forms of punishment” (Job outlook, 2012), such as probation. The professionals work with the offenders that are placed under probation instead of being sent to prison and monitor them so as “to prevent them from committing new crimes” (What Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists Do, 2012). It is their responsibility to keep the offenders out of trouble and make them meet certain requirements. Continuous growth in the pattern of judgments that put greater number of professionals on probation or parole services would create a greater demand for these professionals. Police and Detectives Police officers are assigned to a patrol area in which they are responsible to protect life and property. “Detectives and criminal investigators” (What Police and Detectives Do) collect facts that would help them to investigate about possible crimes. One crucial reason behind huge opportunities in this department in the local level is that, these professionals are offered low salaries compared to the other occupations. This leads to a big number of the employees to leave the job for other opportunities. However, in the state and the federal levels, the pay packages are quite high and the competition is also steep. Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers These teachers teach courses in various subjects of “criminal justice, corrections, and law enforcement administration” (Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, 2012). There are possibilities of conducting research works along with teaching. These professionals find opportunities in junior colleges, professional schools, universities and other training schools. My choice of career and future prospects The field of my study has given me relevant exposure in the subjects of human psychology that helps me relate to the crimes that are committed by the offenders. I have also had the opportunity to speak to the correctional treatment specialists that deal with the offenders. This opportunity has equipped me with the first hand experience of understanding the roles and responsibilities undertaken by the probation officers. Hence the role of probation officers would take me ahead to advance in my career. Conclusion Given my depth of knowledge of psychology and the understandings of the intricacies of the perpetrators’ thought process during the time of committing the crime, that I would gain by working with them for some time as a probation officer, I shall have the opportunity to become a criminal psychologist and work independently as a counselor to the offenders. Although this is a divergence form the kind of career that I want to pursue in the immediate future, the opportunity would remain open for me to opt for a different branch of career after gaining useful experience from my immediate occupation. It is a distant goal in my career to work independently as a counselor, which I would cherish pursuing at a later point of my career. References Bureau of Labor Statistics, retrieved on January 21, 2013 from http://data.bls.gov/search/query/results?cx=013738036195919377644%3A6ih0hfrgl50&q=justice+inurl%3Abls.gov%2Fooh%2F Read More