How to Start a Career in Law Enforcement

Law enforcement careers run the gamut from working for city or state institutions to federal ones. They also include all manner of personnel required to enforce the laws, from the legislators who create them, to the police who enforce them, and the attorneys who prosecute them. Some law enforcement careers require a minimum of education and experience. Others require more specialized training and skills.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Evaluate your interests and personality to determine which law enforcement career best suits you.

2. Use the internet to learn more about various law enforcement careers. Words to search would include the obvious such as "law enforcement careers," as well as "judges," "lawyers," "attorneys," "paralegals," "police," "detectives," "forensic science," "correctional officer," "probation officer," "private detectives" and "investigators."

3. Talk to a school guidance counselor, career counselor or life coach for information on various law enforcement careers and for help identifying which ones would be appropriate for you.

4. Expect to go to school. It may not be college, but careers as a correctional or police officer usually require attending an academy prior to hiring.

5. Decide if you want to seek a bachelor's degree or a secondary degree and whether you can afford it. Some careers require more education than others. A lawyer is one such example. First, you have to go to college, then on to law school. That adds up to at least seven years of school and as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars for tuition and books. If you decide that's too much time and/or money, consider other options, such as becoming a paralegal instead.

6. Determine if you already have special skills that could be used for a specific job. Maybe you have a degree in accounting or are fluent in another language. The FBI is always on the lookout for people with such skills.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep both your legal and credit record clean. A felony conviction automatically disqualifies you for obtaining most law enforcement jobs. Bad credit can also hurt your job acceptance chances. Many employers feel more comfortable hiring people who are responsible with money.

• College degrees that are helpful to a career in law enforcement include criminal justice, law enforcement or administration of justice.

• Don't expect to just decide on a career and expect to start working in it the next day. You might have to go back to school for specialized training. Also, when you do apply, the application process can take as much as six months or longer.

• Don't expect it to be like it is on TV. Sometimes law enforcement jobs are portrayed as being more glamorous, exciting and easy than they really are.

Resources

• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Government Jobs
• State and Local Government on the Net
• Transportation Security Administration
• USDA Forest Service
• United States Coast Guard
• U.S. Customs and Border Patrol
• U.S. Department of State Careers
• U.S. Postal Inspection Service
• United States Department of Justice