Criminal-Justice careers are now among some of the hottest careers of the 21st century. The increasing complexity of safety and welfare has created more challenging crimes which, in turn, have created an increase in the need for specialty criminal-justice careers. The influence of the latest TV shows, movies, and even the news all sensationalizing criminal-justice careers have caused an increase in the desire to pursue an intriguing career in criminal-justice.

Hot Careers in Criminal-Justice

Today’s criminal-justice professional must have specialized analytical and interpersonal skills and an extensive knowledge of modern technology. In addition to careers in law enforcement such as police officer, private investigator, security officer, and immigration agent, the following criminal-justice careers are among the top currently searched on the Internet.

Economic Crime Investigation – detect credit, tax, and related crimes such as fraud, corporate crime, and computer crime in a number of settings, and combat internal and external threats within private corporations and government agencies.

Crime Scene Investigation – technician: safeguard the crime scene, sketch and photograph the scene, collect and preserve potential evidence samples to be used by the lab in reconstructing the crime; analyst: identify the crime and criminal while taking into consideration the legalities that must be followed for it to hold up in court, understand the processes involved, and later, testify in court.

Forensic Anthropology – analyze and identify human remains in criminal cases

IT-Network Security/Computer Forensics – investigate and identify sources of data theft and security breaches often threatening our national security and our citizens’ daily lives.

Homeland security – protect citizens and critical infrastructure on local, state, and national levels to the greatest extent possible by preventing and investigating acts of terrorism, natural disasters, and other catastrophic events and emergencies.

There are many different ways to go about getting a degree nowadays. Usually people had to go to local colleges to get degrees. However, thanks to the internet, people are able to get online degrees in less time than it might take at a local college. One such degree that people are now looking for online is the criminal justice degrees. These are very popular degrees, that now can be found online at many different schools. Of course, before you go rushing off and joining the first school that offers you criminal justice degrees online, there are a few things that you should know. These are things that we are going to talk about today, that could just aid you in finding the best overall school for you.

You have to remember, when looking for criminal justice degrees online, that you always run the chance of running into an untrustworthy site. These are sites that offer online degrees, but not accredited online degrees. To put it simply, getting an online degree from a non-accredited school is just about as good as printing up your own degree and saying that you have a degree in criminal justice. It is something that just does not work! Thus, when looking online for criminal justice degrees, you have to get them from schools that are accredited. It is not hard to find out if a school is accredited, and normally, they will have it listed some where on their site.

The next thing that you have to do, is find an online school that offers degrees in criminal justice. Just like local colleges, not all online colleges are going to offer the same courses. However, criminal justice is a pretty popular field to get into, so you should not have a hard time finding an online college that does offer these course. However, when you do find a school that is offering these online course, you have to make sure it’s a good school to attended via internet. Just because a school is accredited, does not mean that it’s a good school. The best thing that you can do is to actually look around for reviews on that school. See if you can find any forums that talk about that site or any online review sites (for online colleges), and see what people have said about it. After all, there is no point in attending an online college that is not going to help you achieve your goal.

Pretty much, what it all comes down to, when looking for criminal justice degrees online, or any kind of degree online, you just have to check into it before you jump the gun. Be sure to also check and see what kind of courses that you are going to have to take to get the online degree. A lot of different colleges require that you do different things. You may be able to find an online college that has you taking all the courses that you like. This would make getting your criminal justice degree a lot easier and a lot more fun!

There are many different ways to go about getting a degree nowadays. Usually people had to go to local colleges to get degrees. However, thanks to the internet, people are able to get online degrees in less time than it might take at a local college. One such degree that people are now looking for online is the criminal justice degrees. These are very popular degrees, that now can be found online at many different schools. Of course, before you go rushing off and joining the first school that offers you criminal justice degrees online, there are a few things that you should know. These are things that we are going to talk about today, that could just aid you in finding the best overall school for you.

You have to remember, when looking for criminal justice degrees online, that you always run the chance of running into an untrustworthy site. These are sites that offer online degrees, but not accredited online degrees. To put it simply, getting an online degree from a non-accredited school is just about as good as printing up your own degree and saying that you have a degree in criminal justice. It is something that just does not work! Thus, when looking online for criminal justice degrees, you have to get them from schools that are accredited. It is not hard to find out if a school is accredited, and normally, they will have it listed some where on their site.

The next thing that you have to do, is find an online school that offers degrees in criminal justice. Just like local colleges, not all online colleges are going to offer the same courses. However, criminal justice is a pretty popular field to get into, so you should not have a hard time finding an online college that does offer these course. However, when you do find a school that is offering these online course, you have to make sure it’s a good school to attended via internet. Just because a school is accredited, does not mean that it’s a good school. The best thing that you can do is to actually look around for reviews on that school. See if you can find any forums that talk about that site or any online review sites (for online colleges), and see what people have said about it. After all, there is no point in attending an online college that is not going to help you achieve your goal.

Pretty much, what it all comes down to, when looking for criminal justice degrees online, or any kind of degree online, you just have to check into it before you jump the gun. Be sure to also check and see what kind of courses that you are going to have to take to get the online degree. A lot of different colleges require that you do different things. You may be able to find an online college that has you taking all the courses that you like. This would make getting your criminal justice degree a lot easier and a lot more fun!

There are numerous criminal justice colleges to select from. They offer different kinds of programs to those who wish to pursue this discipline. You have a wide range of options, so it is definitely worth outlining the criteria you will use to choose the right one.

Choose the right school for you in line with the degree you want to pursue. If you want to earn an associate’s degree, you should look for a community college or another post-secondary education school that offers such programs. If you want to earn a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree, you need to focus your attention on the liberal arts colleges and universities.

The next factors to consider are your individual circumstances. Do you have a job that you need to keep? Do you have small children to look after? Can you afford to move to another town to study? There are many criminal justice colleges that offer flexible training courses that can match the requirements of those who need to attend classes when they are free from work and to those who cannot afford to move. You can readily select to have evening or weekend classes instead of going to school full time. You can also consider only educational institutions that offer only online training. This option will allow you to study where you want, when you want and for how long you want.

The teaching quality, the available learning resources and the quality of education in general are also important criteria to base your choice on. It is a good idea to narrow down the range of criminal justice colleges that fit your main criteria and research each one in greater detail. Learn more about the instructors, the qualifications and experience. Find out whether you will have access to a library, to online materials and to different facilities necessary for your training, such as laboratories. It is also recommended to find out more about the graduates of each school. How did they do in comparison to students from other schools? How many of them got a criminal justice job after graduation? What are their positions? How much are they earning?

You need to focus on the actual educational program next. Check whether all fundamental subjects will be covered in the program. These should include criminology, law, psychology, sociology, social studies and political studies. The programs usually include forensics as well. There are many specialization classes to select from, so if you want to specialize in a discipline, such as criminal detention, for instance, you should look for the precise course. Check how much special training you will get and whether it will be sufficient for qualifying for the position that you want.

Last, but not least consider the cost of education in the different criminal justice schools. The tuition fees for a program can be between $10,000 and $30,000 per year. In general, irrespective of the cost of education, you may want to look for financial aid in advance. Grants and scholarships are readily available from the Federal government as well as from local governments and institutions, which are part of the criminal justice system.

If it isn’t your inherent sense of justice, then a healthy dose of CSI and Law and Order on television has surely inspired a whole generation into taking up Criminal Justice as a career. But a degree in this field is not a vocational course that can be completed in a few weeks. However, on the brighter side, it is possible to opt for an online criminal justice masters degree and move forward in your career. An online Masters Degree can be completed in two years like any other degree and can cost anywhere between as less as $6000 and as high as $100,000 depending on the scope of the course and resources provided.

An online criminal justice Masters Degree can give you not only a better scope in career but also a career that can be socially and personally very satisfactory. However, this field of crime and justice is not everyone’s cup of tea and one has to have the ability to handle the effects of working so closely with criminals and seeing the after effects of crime. A one to one session with your school counselor on the matter may clear up any doubts and allow you to make an informed decision.

If you have decided that you are suitable, then by opting for an online criminal justice Masters Degree, you will be joining the criminal Justice system of your country, and are responsible for protecting the public and bringing justice to the victims of crime. Starting from police who patrol the road, to crime scene investigators, attorneys, parole officers, judges, CIA, FBI – you can serve at any stage and agency, but the basic responsibility towards upholding justice will be the same.

An online Masters Degree program can also be used to have a socially meaningful career where you can teach criminal justice, work with juvenile offenders, work on rehabilitation of offenders into society, counseling for victims, rehabilitation of abuse victims or drug addicts. It can be hugely satisfying to know you are able to contribute to society through your job.

While it’s popular perception that a online Masters Degree may not be as good as doing in at a school or institute, there are actually a number of advantages in doing it online. First and foremost, it can offer you a lot more flexibility in terms of course schedule. Considering a large number of those opting for an online criminal justice Masters Degree are professionals already employed, the flexibility of choosing when and what to study is a major advantage.

Moreover, with the advancement of technology, even online criminal justice Masters Degree courses provide almost equal hands on experience as any institute. Many online courses provide one on one interaction between students and instructors online, which is not often possible in a school with many students. With a fast internet connection and a capable home PC with a webcam, you can convert your home into virtual classroom, negating all the arguments against an online criminal justice Masters Degree.

In schools the course is tailored to fit a whole batch of students of whom not all may be of the same caliber. While taking an online criminal justice Masters Degree, the course can be modified to suit the student’s caliber and approach, addressing the student’s personal concerns. With an online criminal justice Masters Degree, it also means you can learn when it’s the best time for you.

It also allows students to pursue more than one subject at a time. For example a law student can pursue an online criminal justice Masters Degree in the side, thereby enhancing his or her career prospects incredibly. Moreover, many professionals pursue an online criminal justice Masters Degree while they are actively employed as law enforcement officers or social workers etc, thereby helping them add a new direction to their career or a promotion.

The career prospects following an online criminal justice Masters Degree is innumerable. To name a few Law Enforcement (Detective, Sheriff, US Marshall, Probation Officer, Crime Scene Investigation, Forensic Psychology), Government (CIA, FBI, Customs, DEA, Homeland Security, INS), Private Investigator, Coast Guard, correctional officer, social workers etc. For those who do not like to be in the middle of action there are numerous options like social worker, correctional officer, counselor, psychologists etc.