- Preparing for a law enforcement Career
- Types of Law Enforcement Jobs
- Explorer Programs
- Police Auxiliary/Reserve Programs
- Criminal Justice Schools
- Finding a Law Enforcement Job
- Planning Your Job Search
- Law Enforcement Agencies
- Job Openings
- Recruiting Events
- Law Enforcement Associations
Types of Law Enforcement Jobs
Law enforcement jobs can be categorized into three different groups, uniformed enforcement, investigative, and professional services. Uniformed enforcement would include local police officers and deputy sheriffs, state troopers, and Federal Protective Service officers and U.S. Capitol Police. Investigative jobs include detectives, special agents and criminal investigators. Professional services jobs include crime lab personnel, intelligence analysts, and investigative assistants.
Preparing for a Law Enforcement Career
Three main areas in preparing for a law enforcement career are education, work experience, and personal characteristics. Become familiar with the different types of law enforcements jobs and what each requirement is. Programs which may be of benefit to you in personal learning and gaining experience are:
Criminal Justice Schools
There are various degree programs including criminal justice, police science, and law enforcement. There are also 2 year associates degrees and 4 year bachelor degrees. It is helpful to learn what the education requirements are for the types of jobs you are interested in, along with what majors are either required or suggested. The following is a list is criminal justice degree programs including online programs
Recruiting Events and
Law Enforcement Job Fairs
Are you a Criminal Justice Student
or Police Explorer Member?
Join our Criminal Justice Students' Round Table and
get the opportunity to ask questions of local, state, and
federal law enforcement officers.
Finding a Law Enforcement Job
Planning your job search will help you focus your efforts on the jobs you really want. Steps to take include:
Determine what type of job you want.
Decide if you have any geographic limitations on where you are willing to work.
Learn which agencies have your desired positions, and within your geographic area.
Talk with agency personnel.
Look at agency websites for hiring information.
Job websites.
Recruiting Events.
Periodically review job and agency websites for openings.
More about Planning Your Job Search
Law Enforcement Agencies
Learning about the variety of law enforcement agencies will help in preparing you for your law enforcement career. For a list of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, click on the following:
Law Enforcement Job Openings
There are numerous law enforcement job positing websites. For a list of websites, including tips on how to use them, click on the following:
Law Enforcement Associations
Associations can be a great source for establishing contacts, learning about different types of jobs, and knowing of job openings. For a list of law enforcement associations click on the following:
