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For flexibility in the career field, Is criminal justice or public administration (specialized in CJ) a better major?

#career #future #experience #criminaljustice #publicadministration #politicalscience #socialscience

future experience criminaljustice politicalscience socialscience publicadministration
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Ken’s Answer

The answer really lies within yourself and is determined by which career area is best suited for you. You will know which is more appropriate as you get to know yourself better. Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .

Ken recommends the following next steps:

Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
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John Christopher’s Answer

As I understand your question both of your topic questions are for a career in government services. Careers in Criminal Justice go directly into fields such as law enforcement, corrections, and courts. Public Administration goes further into government services, defined more as a leadership role in the tax payers eyes. Be careful how you quantify your goals, looking into a double major is the step I think you are trying to avoid, how ever it might be a better choice if you want more flexibility in your career option. A major difference in Public Administration and Criminal Justice Administration is Management and Enforcement, respectively Public Administration is managing change with in the administration like a businessman, while criminal justice deals more with innocence and guilt parties being managed within a specific means of justice. I took Criminal Justice Administration during my Bachelors Degree study. The course was very interesting and included sections for both juvenile and homeland security management systems, as well as local, county and state jurisdictions. Their are very interesting topics and lessons to be researched and studied with in the histories of both Criminal Justice and Public Administration career fields. Well worth the effort and research. If I where you I would look into your question with more detail and stop by a local magistrate’s office or the county court house and make an appoint to speak with some persons already involved in the career field you have in mind. It will definitely, after school is paid for and finished, be well worth the effort and time. Learning after high school is learning as an adult, it takes plenty of preplanning and goal setting just to get use to the change in social rules and the social manners of new peers. Time is money, and well worth it as a college student, proper goal setting, proper goal planning, and habituating the same student behaviors over and over again are an important step in removing obstacles from your path to graduation.
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