Being a criminologist was always a dream of mine. Since I was a little kid, I've been watching series on television like CSI New York and things like that. This article would be useful for people who want to learn about what it's like being a criminologist and what they do. Even if you are not interested in becoming a criminologist, it is always good to go read about something you don't really know and maybe it'll change your mind.
Being a criminologist is like being a detective in a way. Its stressful, interesting, exciting, unpredictable and a lot more. If we wanted to put every adjective there is to describe what's it like being a criminologist, it would take more than one pages.
Criminologists studies social behaviors and how certain factors can make those behaviors deviate from the norm. They usually work with the law enforcement, both federal and local, where they analyze the behaviors and methods of criminals to increase their chances of criminals being apprehended. They also try to predict patterns and motives for some behaviors in a demographic group. With that, they try to asses the responsiveness of crimes to various methods of law enforcement.
Every day of a criminologist is kind of different but yet, still the same. They arrive at the department where they're assigns a criminal, or they work on a case that they've been working on and work with their team to catch the criminal or try to understand his motives.
They usually work in a department where they have an office and collect data on their computer. Although sometimes they have to go and do an interrogation, or they've been put in the field and try to talk to the criminal.
To become a criminologist, you need to have a background on sociology or psychology. The courses that you should take are statistics, writing, computer science, and logic. For the most part, criminologists are employed by law-enforcement where there is a background and security check. They look for people who showed responsibility, creativity and logical thinking. You need to know how to design and construct a research project. If you know everything you need to know, you should be good to go.
The average salary in Canada is $55k but it varies between $30k to $112k.
You don't need additional training to become a criminologist but, you need to be sure you want to become one because, this job can be gruesome and put a lot of anxiety and challenge on you. You need to be ready psychologically and mentally.
The dangers of being a criminologist is to being killed or attack. You're not in the front line but you work with criminals. Some may be harmless but others can be really dangerous. Also, you need to be ready mentally. This job can be a lot of effort psychologically. You will see things and criminals are going to tell you some stuff that may be disturbing so you need to put yourself together and not go insane.
The chances that criminologists will be replaced by robots are small. In fact, they may be inactive.
We don't really know when the criminologist decides to retire but, all we know is that if you're in, you're in for the ride. In fact, most of the time, criminologist will stay for more than ten years in this job. They start as junior and works until they become chief.
In conclusion, being a criminologist seems fascinating and unpredictable. I know that it's a lot of work to get there and it is a long ride, but I think it's worth it. I hope this article helped you to learn about what it's like being a criminologist and maybe change you mind about what careers you want to do.