psych major options

[Jess Tegelman]

i have heard that it is tough to find a job now with a criminal justice major so i decided to get a psych major and pair it with a death investigation certificate. i took a chem course as but nothing close to what a major of science would require. I just need some answers on what this major and cert. would do for me.. will I have to continue on to grad school with my psych major now? I really want to go into scene work but hearing from counselors of how selective departments are I tried to go on a safer route.. I would just feel reassured if I knew this was a decent field to go into, as well as the average salary for investigators. i don't want to graduate and get slammed with loans and have trouble finding a job because thats all I've heard.. I live in Milwaukee and I feel like everyone is telling me something different and the internet is not really the best advice...help?

[Steve Staggs]

Jess—

It sounds like you don't have much direction or a real plan on getting into "scene work." If you mean working crime scenes as a CSI I really don't think a masters in psychology is going to help you much.

I suggest you look at the following page: How to Become a Crime Scene Investigator. It should give you an idea of what you need to do to become a CSI or Forensic Scientist.

There are over 500 jobs listed in the employment opportunity page of the Crime Scene Investigator Network. Look through the job listings to see what the different agencies require in education. At the same time you can see what the different agencies pay.

My advice is to decide where you want to work, find out what they require in education, and then get that level of education.

—Steve