Cracking the Code of a Criminologist
What does a criminologist do?
Here's a brief look at the daily responsibilities and qualifications for those looking into jobs in the criminology field.
The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the rate of positions in the criminal justice industry will continually increase over the rest of the decade. These positions range from police officers, criminologists, detectives, and forensic sciences technicians. Have you ever thought about being a criminologist but needed more insight of what this position really does? Well, you're in luck! Here is the breakdown of what criminologists really do.
Daily Responsibilities
Criminologists are a part of the study of sociology. They are responsible for studying the social behavior and characteristics of the public. This position analyzes how different factors may influence people to deviate from what is considered normal or predict patterns and motivational reasons behind certain deviant behavior. The daily workload or responsibilities of a criminologist relies on the volume of employees. Some days they might go to a crime scene, speak with the suspect who has committed the crime, and help law enforcement determine the criminal's profile. A profile can include psychological and social concerns, past crimes or arrests, and different factors that led them to commit the previous and current crimes. This profile will help law enforcement with the motives of the criminal. A good portion of your early career days might be lab-centric and logging data to be used in investigations. Criminology heavily utilizes research and analysis, working with both federal and local law enforcement.
Qualifications
The minimum qualification to enter the criminal justice industry is a bachelor's degree. The majority of employers seek candidates that have a master's degree or advanced degrees for specialty positions like criminology. After you complete your education, it is highly recommended that you take advantage of internship opportunities. The internship experience will be important for future positions by giving you entry-level knowledge. After starting a position as a criminologist, new hires are expected to pass a licensure exam before beginning their work.
Career Path
An entry-level criminologist or a junior criminologist will mostly collect data, proof reports, and perform computer-related work. When you have gained a few years of experience, you will have greater responsibilities and increase your chances of earning an actual "criminologist" title. Responsibilities may include more field work and management of junior criminologists. Promotion within this industry, some employers require a graduate degree. Oftentimes, criminologists use their training to enter the police force or FBI.
At Colorado Christian University, we offer an associate's, bachelor's, and master's in Criminal Justice. This degree program not only qualifies you for a criminologist position but a variety of other positions at federal, state, and local levels. CCU's bachelor's program prepares students to go into the police force, probation officer, security officer, homeland security, or corrections officer. All of our programs and degrees are taught with a Christian worldview. This specific program allows an understanding for justice from a biblical view. You now have all the clues to piece together the solution for a making Christ-centered difference in the field, a Criminal Justice degree at CCU.
References:
Projected changes in the labor force. (2013, December 01). Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2013/article/labor-force-projections-to-2022-the-labor-force-participation-rate-continues-to-fall.htm
Colorado Christian University does not guarantee any job placement as a result of earning this or any other degrees offered by the university.