What now? (Career problems)

Drakeon

So here's the low down: I recently graduated from College with a Bachelors in Criminal Justice and I found myself kind of wishing I'd picked a different major by the time I graduated, but there were still a few job areas that intrigued me (private investigations for one). However, I just found out that being a Surveillance Investigator for a PI firm did not appeal to me (went on a ride-along today) due to the overwhelming amount of travel and hours they have to commit (for this particular job, it was not uncommon for you to go 1 1/2 to 2 weeks without a day off, working 10 hour days, which seemed like a bit much to me). Also was expected to cover several states and from the looks of it, I'd hardly be home, which was kind of a deal-breaker for me. Anyways, now that I've discovered that, my question is: Where do I go from here?

I don't really want to be a cop or special agent for a federal agency (as they are essentially very similar), so what are my other options out there?

I've been applying to these generic state jobs that only require a bachelors degree + an online exam (which I already took) to get into, but have yet to hear back because I guess I got a bad score on the exam (hire-able, but about the lowest you could get otherwise). I've also been looking for other jobs that require a bachelors but dont care beyond that, but haven't had much luck. Where should I be looking for things like that?

Deebaser

Go corporate! We have cake.
Search career builder for for education level in your area and apply for everything. In the interim, hit up a temp agency and try to get cash/temp to perm work from there.

Whatever you do, don't stress, being a recent grad sucks, but it'll get better.

Drakeon

Deebaser wrote: »

Go corporate! We have cake.
Search career builder for for education level in your area and apply for everything. In the interim, hit up a temp agency and try to get cash/temp to perm work from there.

Whatever you do, don't stress, being a recent grad sucks, but it'll get better.

Well, I currently have a job at a grocery store, its only part time, but it's certainly better than nothing. Usually doing 16-24 hours of work for $8.50 an hour or so.

NotYou

Well, it seems like you're narrowing down what you don't want to do, so, what type of careers are you interested in?

Drakeon

NotYou wrote: »

Well, it seems like you're narrowing down what you don't want to do, so, what type of careers are you interested in?

That's part of the problem I think, not entirely sure yet. I just found a few federal jobs that looked interesting and applied to those (basically investigations support, complementing field agents work), but don't have much hope for them based on past experience and how long they take to get back to you.

starmanbrand

So you're focused on Criminal Justice type careers? Because if you're not enjoying them, you aren't restricted because your BS is in that field.

NotYou

Drakeon wrote: »

NotYou wrote: »

Well, it seems like you're narrowing down what you don't want to do, so, what type of careers are you interested in?

That's part of the problem I think, not entirely sure yet. I just found a few federal jobs that looked interesting and applied to those (basically investigations support, complementing field agents work), but don't have much hope for them based on past experience and how long they take to get back to you.

I don't have a lot of advice for you. I just know that what I needed to do in my own life became significantly clearer once I made a decision on what I wanted. The choice I made isn't perfect, or even necessarily right, but making a decision has certainly clarified what I need to do.

Zeon

Just apply for any job you think might be interesting. You have a degree. Youre "qualified" for pretty much any job out there. Even if you dont meet all the qualifications on the job posting, apply anyway.

Deebaser

Drakeon wrote: »

Well, I currently have a job at a grocery store, its only part time, but it's certainly better than nothing. Usually doing 16-24 hours of work for $8.50 an hour or so.

No doubt. I'd still talk to a few temp agencies and take some excel/word tests. Being an office bitch looks better on a newly minted resume than grocery clerk. Also, allow me to echo that just because your degree is in "criminal justice" doesn't mean you have to restrict your search to jobs in your field.

Your degree is proof that you can write a 10 page paper in a month and wake up before noon on occasion. Careers have been built on less.

Kyougu

Deebaser wrote: »

Drakeon wrote: »

Well, I currently have a job at a grocery store, its only part time, but it's certainly better than nothing. Usually doing 16-24 hours of work for $8.50 an hour or so.

No doubt. I'd still talk to a few temp agencies and take some excel/word tests. Being an office bitch looks better on a newly minted resume than grocery clerk. Also, allow me to echo that just because your degree is in "criminal justice" doesn't mean you have to restrict your search to jobs in your field.

Your degree is proof that you can write a 10 page paper in a month and wake up before noon on occasion. Careers have been built on less.

God Yes.

One of the stumblings block I faced last year when I graduated was that all my resume had was retail work (though least it was manager position) and one lone volunteer stint. That really hindered me in some work.

Drakeon

Kyougu wrote: »

Deebaser wrote: »

Drakeon wrote: »

Well, I currently have a job at a grocery store, its only part time, but it's certainly better than nothing. Usually doing 16-24 hours of work for $8.50 an hour or so.

No doubt. I'd still talk to a few temp agencies and take some excel/word tests. Being an office bitch looks better on a newly minted resume than grocery clerk. Also, allow me to echo that just because your degree is in "criminal justice" doesn't mean you have to restrict your search to jobs in your field.

Your degree is proof that you can write a 10 page paper in a month and wake up before noon on occasion. Careers have been built on less.

God Yes.

One of the stumblings block I faced last year when I graduated was that all my resume had was retail work (though least it was manager position) and one lone volunteer stint. That really hindered me in some work.

So, Word/Excel tests, where would I take those? Like, would I look at my local community colleges for classes and take those?

Deebaser

You don't really need classes. Some recruiters will give you the tests based on what you say you know to verify that you actually fucking know it. This helps prevent them from looking like assholes to their clients.

In excel, if you learn how to use "filters", "pivot tables" and "vlookups" (easy to find how tos online) you're in a better situation than most.

Corvus

Drakeon wrote: »

Kyougu wrote: »

Deebaser wrote: »

Drakeon wrote: »

Well, I currently have a job at a grocery store, its only part time, but it's certainly better than nothing. Usually doing 16-24 hours of work for $8.50 an hour or so.

No doubt. I'd still talk to a few temp agencies and take some excel/word tests. Being an office bitch looks better on a newly minted resume than grocery clerk. Also, allow me to echo that just because your degree is in "criminal justice" doesn't mean you have to restrict your search to jobs in your field.

Your degree is proof that you can write a 10 page paper in a month and wake up before noon on occasion. Careers have been built on less.

God Yes.

One of the stumblings block I faced last year when I graduated was that all my resume had was retail work (though least it was manager position) and one lone volunteer stint. That really hindered me in some work.

So, Word/Excel tests, where would I take those? Like, would I look at my local community colleges for classes and take those?

Most temp agencies, when you go in, will test you on the software you claim to be able to use. The ones I did in the past were essentially a dummy version of Excel, where you'd get a prompt to perform a certain task in Excel, and you had to click in the right places to show you actually knew how to do it.

If you don't already know how to use those programs in a business setting, any community college or whatever should have a short term program that can hook you up.

Dr. Frenchenstein

Govt jobs, more often than not, take FOREVER to get back to you about anything, you don't necessarily need to get discouraged there.

Descendant X

I imagine that with a criminal justice degree you could possibly get into parole or probation work. I have a BA in Criminology and am now a parole officer , albeit in Canada.

It's mainly a desk job here, but from what I understand in the US it's more of a field job and for some reason parole/probation officers are armed?

Please disabuse me of that notion if it is not true, because it seems rather odd to me that someone who is supposed to aid in reintegration is packing heat during the workday.

Kakodaimonos

Depends on the jurisdiction/state. In quite a few parole officers are sworn peace officers. They have the same powers of arrest that police do. I've talked to a couple guys who worked as POs. It's an incredibly frustrating job and you're constantly going into sketchy neighborhoods to perform random spot checks on your "clients". And you may be pulling someone in for violating probation/parole who doesn't really want to come.