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Students with criminal justice degrees have an extensive array of careers open to them coupled with immense opportunities for growth and progress. Criminal justice incumbents earn among the best salaries and compensations in the country.

Individuals with degrees in Criminal Justice find entry-level job positions in:

 Probation departments
 Corporate security firms
 Financial investigation office
 Parole agencies
 Drug and firearms agencies
 Local, state or federal police and sheriff departments
 Immigration departments
 Correctional institutions
 Secret Services
 The Department of diplomatic security
 Private detective companies
 Federal air marshal agencies
 Transportation agencies
 Cyber Crime Cells
 Customs Department, and many others

Given such a wide range of choices you have to decide on what subjects interest you, how adventurous you are and what kind of career appeals to you, whether you like desk work more than field work, whether you want jobs with more safety than with jobs where there is a large element of personal risk and so on.

Based on these criteria you should select what type of career you want and then what degree would make you the best qualified for that particular career choice.

For example, if you love working with children and juveniles, think of getting a degree that focuses on juveniles. If you are more interested in prison management you should opt for a degree that focuses on correction management, and so on.

Main thing is: if you are not already employed you should first zero in on a career choice and then find the right type of degree that will qualify you for that particular career choice.

For those already employed, the most important criterion, of course, will be what kind of on-the-job training you have already received so far. You should always pick a criminal justice degree where you will get the most credit for your training.

Similarly, if you are already in a job and feel that a particular type of degree will help your career to advance in that particular job, you should opt for that. For example, if you are already working in a forensic lab, getting a degree in forensics should be just right for you.

Ultimately your choice of which particular type of criminal justice degree you should get should depend entirely on your choice of career and not on other extraneous factors such as cost or convenience or whatever.