I want to become a Police Officer, but I want to go to four year college first.....?

Question

What would be a good major to get that would allow me to be successful as an officer, but also have something solid to fall back on if need be?

Answer 1

First, I'll start by telling you that I'm a senior in college, a 7-year combat veteran in the Army, and a part-time (going to be full time once I graduate) cop. So, I have quite a bit of life experience under me that has helped guide my path.

Honestly, you can pick any major and still be a successful law enforcement officer. While criminal justice will give you a good overview of what you might encounter as a cop, it will leave you absolutely NOTHING to fall back on. My personal advice: don't major in it.

First of all, if you needed an outside education to be a good cop, then half of our cops wouldn't make it and there wouldn't be such a lengthy academy for many law enforcement officer positions. NY State Troopers have a 6-month live-in academy. So, what I'm trying to say is... everything that you really need to know in order to be a good cop is going to be taught to you in the academy and then you are going to learn it first-hand on the job.

Which brings me to my second point - you can have all of the education in the world and study and write about all of the law enforcement issues and cases that you want. Nothing - absolutely nothing - can take the place of experience. As a Soldier, I was always top of the class in training exercises. But once I went to combat, a lot of it went out the window. I'm not saying that training and preparatory knowledge isn't good for you - it's awesome. I'm saying that you shouldn't put all of your eggs in that basket, because experience on the street is going to be what makes you what you are as a cop.

So, back to the college thing... no matter what you pick, your writing skills are going to improve. That's just college. You go, you learn, you write papers, rinse and repeat. It's inevitable. So, if you like English, then go for it. But if it's not your cup of tea, then steer clear and don't worry about it. The writing will come.

I agree with the person who suggested the sciences. They are great for investigators and such. And if you like them, then by all means, go for them.

Personally, I would like to suggest a degree in management. It will definitely help your writing skills, should give you opportunties for real-world application, can be directed towards many different fields, will help develop your ability to think outside of the box, and will help your leadership skills which will allow you to be more confident (absolutely necessary for a cop!). These skills can both help you with your complainants and with your fellow officers, which is beneficial if you're looking to move up the ranks into leadership positions. And, most importantly, it is definitely something that you can fall back on. There is no job in the world that you can't apply a management degree to. Management is all about making decisions in the best interests of something greater than yourself - and that's a skill that everyone could use more of.

Best of luck!!

Answer 2

I would recommend picking any major that you want to study in college; and if you choose to, minor in Criminal Justice. Because law enforcement officers deal with a wide variety of different situations, any course of study would be appropriate for law enforcement. Consider your long terms goals and be considerate toward the fact that you may only spend up to 40 to 50% of your career on patrol working odd hours. Once you have a family of your own, you are going to want a weekends off, 9 to 5 assignment. A course in scientific study would be very appropriate if you eventually want to become a CSI or a detective. If you want to study business administration, then that would help you become a manager for a police department and you could have your own business on the side. You may want to go to law school and become a judge or prosecutor after you retire from law enforcement. Anything is possible, but so long as you keep exercising your brain through your studies, you stay one step ahead of the bad guys. Don't forget, bad guys go to college too, just so they can be smarter than cops.

Answer 3

Criminal justice would be good but it doesn't give you much to fall back on if you change your mind. Police officers need good critical thinking and interpersonal skills. You could consider psychology, sociology or English. Pretty much any major would work though as I don't think you need a specific educational background to become an officer. Consider your other interests and pick something you think might be a good fall-back option.

Answer 4

Criminal Justice, but make sure you're focusing a lot of attention on your writing skills. An officer who's great in all other areas will kill his career if his writing skills aren't top notch.

I worked part time at a police academy... the agencies hiring officers as they graduated from our program reviewed our files quickly to see what their education level was... but they'd read every word of every report written while in the academy.

Answer 5

Consider:

Psychology (Later get your masters in Crim. Psych?)
Biology
Chemistry
Physics

(you can always minor in CJC (Criminal Justice/Criminology))

Believe it or not, (I know I'm right) the above would be very beneficial to you in law enforcement. Even more so if you eventually went into investigations. And remember, you'll be able to retire (in most places) in 20 years (it comes quick). With 20 years LE experience and one of the above degrees, there are good retirement jobs. (Forensic Lab Technician- (any of the natural sciences)) (Accident reconstruction - (physics))...etc

Answer 6

Many officers have degrees in the social sciences (ie sociology, psychology, anthropology, etc.), however you should study any major that you want to study. Any type of college degree will assist you in the long run. Best of luck to you!

Answer 7

English. Your writing skills stink! Written communication is the cornerstone of law enforcement.

Answer 8

Criminal Justice

Answer 9

criminal justice would be a good major.