Where can I find reliable information about what careers are in demand? Answered
Where can I find reliable information about how likely I am to get a job within certain fields? I know I want to work in criminal justice/ law enforcement and currently I am planning on studying criminology and psychology. My main problem is that out of my two top schools the one I believe is better only offers sociology. From my limited knowledge I believe having a specialized degree like criminology as to sociology is likely to get you a higher paid job but I don't know how in demand criminal justice careers are. My worry is that I'll be unemployed after I graduate and regret picking the school I'll go to because as I mentioned the school without a criminology major is my favorite.
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2 answers
On this list, there is no demand for criminology or criminal justice however Cybersecurity is #2.
I know this is to be true because I'm aware of a recent graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology who majored in this and had 10 job offers approaching 6 figures for an undergraduate degree.
https://www.mydegreeguide.com/best-college-majors/
On this list of top 23 put out by indeed.com, Criminal Justice is 18th
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/majors-in-demand
On Kiplingers top 25 lists, Criminal Justice does not appear.
According to CF, Criminology ranks 66th out of 384 Majors they track.
https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/criminology/rankings/most-popular/
I don't think it a particularly popular major compared to Computer Science, any kind of Engineering, Nursing or Business degree. I also think when something is not too popular, you should think about getting a Masters's Degree that so you can differentiate yourself from the many people that only have an undergraduate degree. That will give you more flexibility because if you can't find work in the private sector, you can teach and make a very good salary. Also, if the better you are at it and more educated, you might get recruited by the NSA, CIA or FBI, or DHS.
Since being great at criminal justice requires great psychological insight into the workings of the mind, I recommend going to the best school you can get into and studying psychology if the criminology major is not available.
Good luck.
A good starting point is the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which provides data on projected job growth. You just need a general idea of the career, however, as they won't give you projected growth for an entire field. For example, here's the page for Police & Detectives: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/protective-service/police-and-detectives.htm
This post has some popular career options for criminal justice majors: https://blog.collegevine.com/should-you-major-in-criminal-justice/
Without knowing your exact career goals, it's difficult to say which degree will be better. You will also need to consider the ROI of the school itself and its reputation. For example, it could be better to go to the school without the criminal justice major, if the school is more highly ranked.
Hope this helps, and best of luck!
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