Criminology positions

[movementsperson]

As a social movements person with no job for next year (PhD in hand from top 20, several publications), I can't help but wish I studied criminology. It is unbelievable to me how many jobs there are in criminology! Sure, they are less likely to be R1s - but still - a job is better than what I am facing - adjunting and bartending to get by next year. I'm just complaining but do crim people feel like they have a better shot at getting a job??

[yup]

Oh, crim undoubtedly has a better job market. As do certain subfields of sociology. The ASA recently released a fact sheet about the mismatch between popular grad student specializations and the available jobs, which should be required reading for every incoming grad student.

[crimey]

Yes. We have more job possibilities.
Crim PhDs can apply for Crim jobs in Soci depts, jobs in Crim depts, and jobs in CJ departments. However, I will point out that not every Crim job fits every Crim PhD. Some CJ depts would laugh at me if I applied since I focus on criminal behavior and they want an expert in criminal justice system procedure.

[smashthestate]

A social movement scholar who gets hired in a criminal justice program would probably find most of the faculty members as way too authoritarian and conservative. They probably would find your research as too left-- I have heard more than one CJ professor complain about "feminist" job talks.

[unclekarl]

Crim positions are generally used to train law enforcement and a lot of research is geared toward addressing issues in security and corrections [see NIJ calls for funding proposals]. Nothing wrong with that, but its a disclaimer I would give to most sociologists thinking about entering the crim world.

[crim]

I'm starting a job this fall at a university where crim is one of the most popular majors on campus. There are apparently three times as many crim students as soc students, and I've been told that my classes will be comprised of mostly crim students. One professor told me that they're mostly planning on careers in law enforcement.

[a criminologist]

Jan 21, 2012 19:49:10 GMT -5 unclekarl said:

Crim positions are generally used to train law enforcement and a lot of research is geared toward addressing issues in security and corrections [see NIJ calls for funding proposals]. Nothing wrong with that, but its a disclaimer I would give to most sociologists thinking about entering the crim world.

Maybe at the undergrad-only level it's to train future law enforcement (which isn't just 'cops', btw), but in grad programs they train crime analysts, government analysts/researchers, non-profit workers (Urban Institute, etc.), and academics.

Of course, at the undergrad level, most Soc positions train future bestbuy workers, and at the grad level, unemployed/adjunct teachers...

[crim]

Yes, I do feel like I have many more opportunities because of my crim focus. All of the contacts I received for phone or on-campus interviews were crim positions (all within sociology departments, though). To be honest, crim isn't the favorite of my two areas but no one is hiring in area #2 and--foreseeing that--I stuck with crim. I think the only reason soc departments hold on to criminology (which is increasingly separated from soc) is that it's the money-maker. Students aren't lining up to take classical theory but they love them some criminology.

[another criminologist]

Jan 21, 2012 21:19:45 GMT -5 @a criminologist said:

Of course, at the undergrad level, most Soc positions train future bestbuy workers, and at the grad level, unemployed/adjunct teachers...

Hahaha. Let's be besties, okay?

[ok]

I have had more than one US border control agent mention s/he was a sociology major in undergrad, in response to my answer that I was a sociologist. I don't know why this pleases me so much, but it does. Perhaps it's because DHS agents certainly benefit from ethnographic observational skills.

[good]

Jan 25, 2012 22:01:53 GMT -5 ok said:

I have had more than one US border control agent mention s/he was a sociology major in undergrad, in response to my answer that I was a sociologist. I don't know why this pleases me so much, but it does. Perhaps it's because DHS agents certainly benefit from ethnographic observational skills.

I'll have to remember this for the fall, where I'll be teaching at a university where CJ is the most popular major and I've been told most of my classes are filled with CJ majors.