Career Compass: Criminology
Alright, so you finish your degree, pass your exams with flying colours, look stunning in your grad photos… and then what? Get a cool and exciting job of course!
In this week’s Career Compass we’ll be focusing on Criminology, and will explore some of the more unconventional career options that you could choose to pursue once you’ve finished your degree!
Curious about getting involved with our Criminology program? Take a look at admission requirements, learn more about the program, and sign up right here!
In Criminology (or any other Arts field) but aren’t sure to start with your job hunt? Get in touch with the wonderful folks on our Arts Work Experience team!
Criminal Investigator
If you got into criminology to help people using new knowledge and skills, working as a criminal investigator is a common option for you if you’re interested in working directly with law enforcement agencies.
After you’ve learned all about crime, criminal motivations, and how investigations are conducted, you’ll be qualified to get involved with law enforcement and help solve some crimes. The job requires you to gather and interpret evidence, organize surveillance, work with the victims of crime and their communities, and follow through with apprehending suspects.
It’s understandable why many wouldn’t want to take a job that involves analyzing the gritty details of crime scenes or being a part of the law enforcement system, but if you’re motivated and willing to explore further training options after university this is a role where you can do a lot of good for society as a whole.
Here’s an example of a past job posting with the Government of Alberta!
Probation Officer
Exploring the nature of crime, learning how the criminal justice system works, and gaining some methods of rehabilitating those who have been incarcerated sets you up perfectly to become an empathetic and well-equipped Probation Officer.
This job isn’t like the one you’ve seen in the movies though, thankfully it’s not all about chasing down and punishing clients who stay out after curfew. After all, with around 1300 Parole Officers employed by Correctional Services Canada, we‘re thankful that the job is actually focused on rehabilitation and reintegrating past offenders back into society.
Although addressing violations of court orders is still undoubtedly a part of the job, you’ll spend most of your time getting to know offenders to better understand their goals, life circumstances, and needs before and after they’re released from prison to ensure that they can live peaceful, happy, and fulfilling lives. This role is a good opportunity to make the “correctional” system live up to its name rather than simply punishing past offenders and leaving them to their own devices once released from custody.
Here’s an example of a job posting with the Government of Alberta!
Reporter/Journalist
Although slightly more abstract of a suggestion than some of the others on this list, getting an Arts degree gives you the necessary training in research, professional/creative writing, and background information required to be a successful journalist.
Getting a Criminology degree makes this even more appealing as you’ll have the necessary knowledge about crime, criminal investigations, and the justice system needed to make timely and factual reporting about events as they’re happening in your community. Local, provincial, federal, regional, and global-scale reporting opportunities are always available, and if you found a particular area of study to be interesting to you while acquiring your Criminology degree, there are most likely plenty of cases that arise every day that need proper investigation and reporting that will relate directly to it.
This isn’t to mention the writing, source reviewing, and interpersonal skills that you’ll gain while getting a Criminology degree. All those essays you’ve created over the years might finally come in handy with a profession that often requires a ton of research, drafting, and review before delivering a final perfect product.
Private Investigator
If you’re not interested in working directly with the criminal justice system but want to use the same knowledge and skills required to be a Criminal Investigator, this path may be for you!
Having a degree in criminology can open many doors into a private investigator practice if you have the willingness to branch out and build a clientele for your business, and usually prepares you to better conduct investigations on behalf of your customers. Anything from personal disputes to working as a contractor for big companies or government agencies is possible in a consultant role such as this, and depending on how established you become even more options can arise depending on the demand for your unique services.
If working independently to perform background checks, conduct surveillance, interpret evidence, and more sounds like a rewarding career then consider becoming a Private Investigator or working with a firm that already exists!
Here’s a more detailed description of the career, and how to get started if it’s for you!
Penologist
Penology (n): a branch of criminology dealing with prison management and the treatment of offenders.
Although the job title is rarely “penologist”, penologists spend their time on the job observing, analyzing, and reporting on the conditions faced by inmates in the correctional system. This path usually requires Criminology graduates to return for a master's degree to specialize deeper into a field of study of their choosing.
Individual inmates, facilities, and administrative bodies have different needs and resources to meet them, and no two situations will be alike. Your job as a penologist is ultimately to use your education and training to improve the correctional system for everyone involved, keeping in mind stakeholders such as surrounding communities, law enforcement institutions, government bodies, and the inmates themselves.
Like some other unique opportunities for Criminology graduates on this list and elsewhere, this kind of role (whatever the job title may be in the end) gives you the chance to do some real good for society as a whole, and especially for the communities that are impacted by the Canadian criminal justice system.
That’s all for this week, folks! Thanks for joining us for the first post in our new Career Compass series.
Want us to put together an article like this for your program? Vote for it to be featured next in our Career Compass poll!
